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He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “No.”
“Cian,” I breathed, my voice rising. “Tell me what the hell is going on here.” I swallowed the sob about to escape my lips.No, keep it together until we figure this out. No tears. No weakness.“Tell me.” My voice shook and I took a step forward. “Did you burn down my warehouse?”
He marched towards me until there was only an inch of space between us. I didn’t cower away, even though I probably should have. He tilted my chin up, making me look him in the eyes. They were dark and filled with—worry?
“I would burn down the whole fucking world for you, Nova.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip and I shivered involuntarily. “But I did not burn your warehouse down.”
“But why am I here then?” I whispered as he pressed against me.
“I rescued you from a den of snakes, little mouse.” He leaned down, his lips grazing mine so softly, so gently. The tears that I had tried to contain came spilling down, a muffled sob followed.
“I—I don’t understand.” I pulled away, wiping the tears away.
“You will soon enough.” He walked to the other side of the bed and came back with a box, placing it on the table with the lamp. I took a step forward, not knowing what I would find. His eyes burned into me, sending chills through my body. And just like that, he turned and walked out, shutting the door behind him.
I reached my hand out and pulled the lid off. What was I going to find? Something morbid? But it wasn’t. There was a stack of photographs, and I pulled them out, placing them on the table.
I looked at my face in the pictures, some of them just taken days ago. Pictures of Juliet. Owen. All of us. My back tensed when I reached the bottom of the pile. Pictures of Ryzen and Riddick. Ryzen leaving his office; meeting with the wedding planner; out at a club with Riddick, women draped over them like ornaments; getting a fitting for his tuxedo; standing in the middle of a group of men with guns out; handing a duffel bag to a man dressed in all black, his face covered.
The fire in my chest grew with each picture I looked through. They became more explicit, my fingers shaking as I saw exactly what was happening.
I dropped the photos covering my mouth and gasped at the display in front of me.
Pictures of Ryzen having sex with a woman. But not just any woman.
I would recognize that platinum-blonde hair anywhere.
Iva Covington.
I pushed away from the table, my legs tangled in the blanket, knocking the box over as I tried to steady myself. Something else fell out. Something I would never have expected to see.
A black rose.
To be continued…
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