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“But they weren’t in the pan?” Granny’s brows shoot up.
“No. I, uh, was just about to crack them when the buzzer rang.”
“Oh, good. Breakfast. I’m starved. We could all head up and—”
“No! I…that’s alright. Whatever you have to say, just do it right here.” I clench my eyes shut for a second while I fist the frying pan’s handle so hard that it will probably be embedded in both my hands for life. She’s trying to lure me upstairs to finish me off. She’s not even trying to be subtle about it.
When I open my eyes, Granny doesn’t look mad. She’s actually looking at Ash, who is now this sludgy gray color. He still manages to look handsome, though, but I guess that’s the kind of color for someone who just got his life half destroyed by a tabloid article written by his ex-cursed-ex-soulmate.
“Go on,” Granny urges, and I brace myself. Is she ordering him to fuck me up because she doesn’t want to get her hands dirty? “I wanted to come with him because I didn’t trust him not to mess this up.”
That does it. I brace myself like a ninja, legs spread apart and one hand gripping the frying pan above my head, ready to strike. “Come one step closer, and I swear I’ll scream. I’ll also knock you senseless with this frying pan if you lay a finger on me. No one will believe it wasn’t self-defense. You found out about the article, came here in a murderous rage to try and break my kneecaps, and I knocked you a good one. I’ll have the whole jury on my side.”
Ash’s brows rocket up to match his granny’s. Beside him, his granny slaps her thighs, bends over double, and lets out a wild burst of laughter that people can probably hear five miles away. I’m shocked the glass doesn’t blast out of the front door since it’s so loud.
“Oh god. Child, we’re not here to hurt you. Dear sweet Jesus, what were you thinking? If I wanted to do that, I would have brought thugs.”
“I knew it,” I mutter.
I glance at the car by the curb. The big burly driver is sitting in the front seat.
“Oh, him? That’s my driver,” Granny chuckles. “I’m tupping him. That’s why he came.”
“I knew it,” Ash mutters.
“No, we’re not here because we want to do something to you or cause trouble for you. We’re here because we wanted to tell you that we understand why you did what you did. I now know why you wanted to write the story in the first place. I’m sorry I had to shut your father’s paper down after I bought it. The truth is, I promised I wouldn’t, but it just wasn’t making any money. I know a lot of people lost their jobs, but I do want you to know I offered each and every one of them a position in my other companies. Some took the jobs, but some refused, like your father. I did try to make things right. I’m sorry your dad wasn’t well after it happened. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I thought I was just doing business as usual. I did pay a fair price for his paper, but I know you probably saw it as a personal loss, and so did your dad. I didn’t know you were struggling with other losses, or I would have checked in. I would have personally come and explained why I had to do what I did.”
I have to scrape my mouth up from around the level of my knees. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “I…yes, ma’am. I’m sorry that I…that I did what I did.”
“Did you do it because you hated my family and me, or did you do it to break the curse?” Ash asks. He’s remarkably self-composed, and his face now has a little more color in it, too, I’m relieved to see.
I turn and set the frying pan down on the stairs. I guess I won’t be needing it for beatings or to stave off beatings. “I…because…well, I couldn’t just keep the ring on my finger forever. What were we going to do? Just leave it there and hope the curse works itself out? Or were you getting serious about cutting my finger off?”
“You threatened to cut her finger off?” Ash’s granny smacks his arm.
“No! I mean, I wasn’t serious!” Ash grumbles. He turns back to me while rubbing his bicep. “I wasn’t serious about that, but you probably thought I wasn’t serious about anything else either. That I wasn’t into the soulmates thing and the curse, or even love. You heard all of it, the pact my cousins, my brother, and I made. You knew I’ve been running from it my whole life and that I was even willing to invent a fake marriage to get away from it.”
