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I once thought trust came before love, but now that both have been taken from me, I realize they happen at the same moment. Love is given within trust. It’s not immediate, but there’s no need for explanations. I didn’t need to declare my trust in Sloane—I just gave it to her. I started to see something with her.
I could see her by my side. She was loyal even when she was aggressive. But loyalty always has strings attached.
She trembles under her fear. I once thought she was strong, even when I didn’t want to admit it. How quickly the vision I had of her changed is beyond me.
I don’t fight it. I should have seen the signs. She deserves a shiny fucking medal for the way she blindsided me. It feels like I’ve been drinking acid for weeks on end. The pain is hard to swallow, but I have to.
All this time she’s been using my weaknesses against me, tearing me down until there was nothing left but bone. She accomplished what I intended to do to her before I was even capable of doing it.
I admire the brains behind her scheming.
From the moment my brother and father passed, I knew no one could ever amount to them. I’m all alone in this world, and it’s on me for thinking things could be different.
“There are many things in life I wish I could forget, Sloane. But I’ve got to tell you ... ” I pause and choke back my anger. “Meeting you is the only one I can think of.”
Her face turns pink from the tears that stream down her face. I’ve never heard someone cry like this before.
“You met my sister. You met my niece. I let you in ...” I say, defeated. “You,” I say with a laugh. “You did all this for Giovanni?”
She looks into my eyes, trying to find an emotion in mine to cling onto.
Lev was right from the beginning. It was fucking stupid of me to think I would have Sloane by my side. Of course, she’d do anything to protect Giovanni—just like everyone else on this fucking planet would.
“You’re just like the rest of them,” I tell her.
She walks up to me, placing her hands flat against my chest. Her lashes clump together, and she looks up at me with those doe eyes of hers.
I feel ashamed. The woman who grabs onto my shirt begs for my mercy. It’s a strange concept to wrap my mind around. I think I might have loved her ... I would still do anything for her, but at the same time I can’t even stand to look at her.
She betrayed me.
She went behind my back and played me like a fucking puppet on strings.
It was my father’s doing, apparently. He wanted her by my side for some reason, but he would have told me. He would have told me what his fucking plan was.
Her head falls on my chest. A pained sound falls from her lips, but she knows not to say another word.
She took away my love for her. All because of Giovanni.
“Since you seem to care about him so much, you can cry at his funeral.”
Looking back at me, her mouth parts slightly, and she shakes her head. I take in a deep breath and grab onto her wrist. I lead her to the stairs, and she holds onto the railing with a strong arm.
“Mikhail, you need to listen to me,” she says with a broken voice.
When I lift her off the ground, her hands lose their grip on the railing, and I bring her upstairs.
“Your father was thinking of the Clarkes,” she tells me.
At this point, I don’t give a fuck what my father had planned. There is nothing but anger running through my mind.
Giovanni took absolutely everything from me. Even Sloane.
I throw her to the ground and stare at her. “I didn’t ask for much. I just wanted you,” I tell her, and I turn my back. “I hope he was worth it.”
Closing the door behind me, not taking a last look at her, I lock it.
I walk down the hall and hear her fists banging against the door. As I step down the stairs, Lev looks up at me and nods.
