AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her face suddenly contorts in fury. “To who? To Juliet and mybrother?”
“Yes,” I reply. “She doesn’t want Dylan—” I’m unable to finish my sentence because my teeth rattle in my mouth when Madisonsmacks me so hard across the cheek, I almost fall backward from the force.
I stare, stunned, moving my jaw from side to side. Why the hell is she slapping me overthat? If anything, I thought she’d be happy I didn’t want anything to do with Juliet and her child.
“Have you forgotten what he did to me?” she screams. “He is thelastperson who should ever be a parent! I would never wish my childhood upon anyone. And now you’re signing all rights over to two unfit parents?”
“It might not even be mine,” I pathetically counter as I rub my stinging cheek.
“Either way, until you’re sure, you have to take responsibility for your actions. That child is innocent, and it deserves the best chance at life. If it’s around my brother, it’ll never get that.”
She’s right.
I know there is a small crowd forming around us and frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t called the cops. But the masses don’t deter Maddy in the slightest.
“How did you keep this a secret for so long?”
And this is where the plot thickens.
“The night of her engagement,” I confess, closing my eyes briefly. “She gave me an ultimatum,” I conclude, watching her face drop.
“What was it?”
“If I slept with her, she’d keep all my secrets safe.”
She bites her bottom lip. “And did you?”
I pull back, disgusted. “Of course I didn’t!”
Her shoulders drop. “Then what did you do?”
“I fuckedwithher,” I reveal.
She scrunches up her nose. “What? I don’t understand what that means.”
“I manipulated her. I made her believe what she wanted to believe. And when she did, I tricked her into signing an NDAso she couldn’t tell anyone about us. But that wasn’t enough. I wanted her to pay for what she did to you. So I made her my puppet.”
She looks as horrified as I now feel. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why go to all this trouble?”
I sigh, revealing why I decided to venture down this sinful, depraved path. “Because she was blackmailing me with the only person she knew I’d do anything for.”
“Who?” she whispers.
It’s eerily silent, so silent that when I speak, it sounds like my answer echoes loudly in the still night. “You.”
“I don’t understand,” she says, shaking her head slowly.
Taking a small brave step toward her, I declare, “If I was to play by her rules, she’d keep your…brother away from you.”
She pales.
“Don’t you see, I had no other choice. I play her game, and you’d be safe,” I say, almost pleading with her to believe me.
But she doesn’t.
“Lying to me was keeping me safe?”
“It was a small price to pay. I’ll do anything to protect you.” When she shakes her head in incredulity, I press, “I did it to protect you.”
