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Fuck.
Fuck.
I storm to the kitchen and grab a cup of cold coffee from earlier. Staring out the window, I sip the sludge, wondering what the fuck I’m going to do. I’m losing my damn mind, and I need to get my shit together.
Enough is enough. I’m getting too lost in my own demons. Once I cool down and get control again, I’ll prove my demons will not control me.
But for now, I’m still fucking pissed.
Pissed at myself.
I head back to the room, determined to not let her see just how much her actions and her very presence sends me on a spiral of destruction.
I’ve never been one to lose my temper. Though I’m known—or was before I died—for being ruthless and deadly, I always acted with a level head and steady emotion. My father is known for his rage and fury. The staff of Medusa Enterprises often operate under fear rather than respect. My grandfather, on the other hand, rarely lost his control. When it came to Cronus Godwin—the true patriarch of our family—every action was meticulously thought out, and no act was out of anger. I often considered myself much like my grandfather until this very moment. Nothing could break my stone exterior. Nothing—until her.
Daphne almost got herself killed.
By my hand.
I had wanted to kill her, punish her, and then fuck her all in a span of a few minutes. The woman had made me completely lose control, and I hated myself for it.
I am not a man to lose control.
Staring into the mirror over my dresser and dabbing at the claw marks on my face with a tissue, I try not to look at Daphne crouched in the furthest corner of the cage. I need to calm down, and her very presence causes my blood to boil.
This is not how I do business. I have a plan and need to follow it to a tee. This little vixen will not change that.
Blood trickles down my cheek.
Fuck. It looks like I got my ass kicked. A grown man wouldn’t even have the guts to attempt what Daphne just did.
“There will be consequences for this,” I say, more to myself than to Daphne as I continue to stare into the mirror and not her as she watches me from the cage.
“How long do you plan on keeping me here? Like this?” Her voice is softer than before. Her rage has clearly simmered, which helps soothe my inferno.
“I warned you to behave.” I nearly hiss in pain when the tissue touches a deeper scrape, but I won’t give her the satisfaction of knowing she caused me discomfort.
“I know. I wasn’t thinking. I acted on impulse.”
She’s attempting to tell me what I want to hear, but I’m not a fool; I recognize her lies. She’s smart. Very smart. And the fact she literally tried to kill me, or at the very least seriously hurt me tells me she’s as ruthless as I am. I may have truly met someone who has the same level of darkness that runs through her veins.
“Actions speak louder than words,” I say.
“I…yes, I know. I’llactbetter.”
Though my homicidal thoughts are leaving my body, I’m still furious with Daphne for what she tried to do to my brother. Yes, I took the fall, but her intentions were to destroy him. She went after my twin, who I’d throw myself on a sword for. Why would she do something like that in the first place? Surely not just for a divorce. I don’t buy her bullshit excuse.
I knew Daphne was a smart and savvy woman when she entered the family. My father would have never allowed the union if she hadn’t been. Before she walked down the aisle, I had watched her. Studied her every move. I had to make sure she was good enough for my brother. Though she came from the Eastside of Heathens Hollow, she didn’t act like some backwood hillbilly. Though not formally educated, she was street smart and extremely sharp. Landing Apollo Godwin as her husband was a score, and she knew it. I didn’t see her as a gold-digger, however. I saw her as a true survivor. A woman who wasn’t going to just live in a shack forever but would fix her situation however she had to do so. I admired that. I think everyone in our family admired that.
Though I hadn’t seen even a glimpse of the woman I believed her to be since stealing her from the hotel. All I see now is a woman acting out without thought, and if she was any other person, and if I was still acting like Ares—the man I once was—she would have already had her neck snapped.
“I don’t have time or the patience for your antics.” Swiping at the last bit of blood, I wonder how I’m going to explain the condition of my face to people tonight. Between my swollen and bruised nose from yesterday, and now that my face looks like a mountain lion attacked, it will certainly give the partygoers something interesting to discuss when I’m not within earshot.
“I’m sorry,” she says. She is holding onto the bars of the cage with a look of desperation in her eyes. “I’ll do whatever you say if you will let me out of this cage. I won’t act out. I swear it.”
I turn to face her head on. “You’ll do exactly what I say, regardless of whether I let you out or not.” I’m not messing around anymore, and it’s damn time she understands that fact.
She nods as tears fall down her face. I freeze. I feel this overwhelming need to comfort her, and it fucking pisses me off more than anything. I’m literally tending to my wounds, but I’m itching to wrap my arms around her and kiss away her tears.
