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Josh nods and looks away, as though he can’t stand to look at us.
“But you two… Alanna… you were dating Ryan, weren’t you?” she asks.
I swallow hard and force myself to look into her eyes. “It’s true that Ryan and I were dating some time ago, but we broke up before I started at Sinclair Security. Silas and I… we didn’t plan this. Neither of us expected to fall for the other, but we did. It wasn’t our intention to hide it from you, but we weren’t sure you’d understand.”
“Idon’t. I don’t understand.” She walks past us, and I move to follow her before thinking better of it. She put her faith in me when everyone accused me of entering the ψ division through Ryan, enduring ridicule from other colleagues because she stood by me, and in a sense, she must feel betrayed, and I don’t know how to make it better.
“Leave her be,” Silas says. “Give it a little bit of time.”
I nod, and Silas raises our joined hands to his lips, kissing the back of my hand gently before he lets go and walks to his office. I’m tense as I sit down at my desk and pretend not to see the disgusted and shocked looks that are being thrown my way now that Silas is out of sight. It isn’t just my own team members that are judging us, it’s the other executive employees that are on this floor, too.
Josh swivels his chair toward me and crosses his arms. “So I guess you went after Silas once you realized that everything Ryan owns was actually borrowed from his brother. I was right about you, after all. You got in through nepotism, and you’re a gold digger. I don’t care if Silas fires me over this, either. You fucking disgust me.”
I reel back and steel myself, his words piercing straight through my heart. I knew people wouldn’t understand, but I didn’t realize how much it’d hurt. “It wasn’t like that at all. I have no ulterior motives when it comes to Silas, I swear.”
He grits his teeth and stares me down. “Does Ryan even know you’re fucking his brother? Or are you leading them both on?”
Ryan. It’s only a matter of time before he finds out, and I’m not sure how he’ll react. It’s one thing for me to deal with the consequences of my actions, but will this destroy the relationship that Silas and Ryan only just rebuilt? And if it does, will Silas forgive me?
ChapterSixty-Six
Alanna
“Tell me it isn’t true.”
I look into Ryan’s eyes, his expression tearing straight through my heart. I’m a coward, because I’ve been avoiding him for as long as I could, using Silas’s private elevator whenever I get to work, eating at my desk so he can’t intercept me outside and going straight home the moment I finish work. I knew I’d have to face him someday, but I’ve been delaying this moment for as long as I could. I should’ve known he’d figure out that the garage is the easiest place to intercept me.
“Tell me they’re all just rumors, mindless gossip. Tell me you aren’t dating mybrother.”
I look down at my feet and nod. “It’s true, Ryan.”
He walks up to me and lifts a trembling hand to my face. “No. Tell me it’s all a joke, Alanna.” His voice breaks, and I close my eyes in resignation.
“It isn’t. I’m so sorry, Ryan. I didn’t… I never meant for it to happen.” Except that isn’t true, is it? I’m the one who seduced Silas. I was the one who begged for it.
“You’re fuckingmybrother?”
“I… it isn’t like that.”
“What? You’rein lovewith him?”
I nod. I’ve never even told Silas that I love him, so it doesn’t feel right to admit it to Ryan, but it’s true. I’m hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Silas Sinclair.
“Do you really think he’s serious about you, Alanna? He’s only with you because he wants to hurt me. Silas can’t stand seeing me happy. For years now, he’s taken everything I own, leaving both my mother and me penniless, without remorse. You’re just another conquest, another part of his plans. You might think he cares about you, but I assure you he doesn’t. He’ll tire of you eventually, and where will you be? I would’ve given you everything, Alanna. Ilovedyou. I fucking loved you, and you stabbed me in the back, making a fool of me.”
“That’senough.”
I turn at the sound of Silas’s voice, my restless heart at ease when he walks toward me. Silas wraps his arm around my shoulder, ignoring the way Ryan flinches. “I told you to wait for my meeting to finish,” he admonishes.
I nod and look down at my feet, unsure whether I should shrug his hand off or not. I don’t want to hurt Ryan unnecessarily, but I also don’t want to lie or hide anything anymore. The lies are eating at me, and though it hurts, I’m glad the truth is out.
“Why?” Ryan asks, his voice soft. “Why did you do this to me, Silas? Why her?”
Silas looks at his brother, his expression chilling. “She was never yours to begin with. Didn’t you approach her because you knew I’d love her? I do, Ryan. I do love her.”
I tense at his words and look up in shock. This isn’t how I expected to hear those words for the very first time, but I’m glad to hear them nonetheless.
“You only went after her because you knew she was dating me. Why would you do that? Why, Silas? What have I ever done to deserve this?”
