AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I swallowed.
“Anton, I… I wanted to apologize for what happened back in Jeruna.”
Wow, really? That’s the best opening I could come up with?
“I mean, I was just a stupid kid but it doesn’t make what I did okay,” I said twisting my hands in my lap. “It was wrong, and… it was cruel. But I swear to you, I didn’t know they were going to push it that far. It was stupid… I already said that,” I mumbled to myself. “Truly, if I could go back and change any of it, I would in a heartbeat. What… What can I do to make it up to you? You name it… I’m so sorry.”
He tilted his head, his jaw setting in a hard line. “That’s your apology? You think you can stroll in here, say you’re sorry, and make it all go away? How stupid are you?”
I flinched.
“We were just kids!” I said, my voice rising. “Yeah, it was shitty, but come on, Anton! It was just a prank. That was six fucking years ago. It’s not like we killed anyone.”
Wrong answer, dumbass.
As if in slow motion, I watched his eyes fill with rage, his lips distort into a furious snarl and his knuckles whiten as he gripped the armrests of his chair.
“Just a prank?” he said in a low, menacing tone.
“Anton, I—”
“Just a fucking prank?” he shouted.
He exploded out of his chair
I withered in mine, heart pounding, and watched him circle around his desk towards me. My lips parted in fear, I shrunk into my chair, pushing myself away from him.
“Do you know what your ‘little prank’ cost me? Cost my clan?” Anton asked through his teeth. “For three fucking years, my clan was outcast and shunned from the Empire for being dishonored. THREE FUCKING YEARS!” He slammed his hand against his desk. It resounded through the room like a thunderclap.
“I’m s—sorry,” I sobbed, curling into myself.
I had never seen him, or anyone, so enraged. For the first time, I truly feared for my life. The thugs at the hotel would have violated me and maybe even sold me, but I doubted they would have injured me permanently. This Anton standing before me had murder in his eyes.
“Sorry?” He fisted my hair and brutally pulled me to my feet. I whimpered in pain, pressing my palms against his chest for support. “Now you’re sorry? You three cunts almost cost me EVERYTHING! Had you pulled your little prank one hour earlier, the elder clans would have canceled the investment contract I’d spent ten years putting together.”
He shoved me away from him and I stumbled to the floor. It was a bad fall, with my knee and elbow taking the brunt of the impact. Although it hurt, I watched him while rubbing the sting from my scalp where he had gripped my hair. He circled around me like a shark, his face twisted with fury.
“This… All this,” he said, waving at the room, “everything I built would have never existed had the deal not already been signed by the time you bitches decided to fuck with me. Do you know what Braxians do to those who trample their honor and shame their clan?”
I shook my head, my vision blurry from the tears drenching my face.
Anton leaned forward, his face inches from mine. “Ever wondered what happened to your friends? Why their careers ended so abruptly?”
I slapped a hand over my mouth to hold in my choked sobs, leaning away for fear he would strike me. But Anton straightened and resumed his predatory pacing around me.
“Your fate would have been just as unpleasant had Marcus not locked you away. So no,pet, your apology is not accepted. I have waited a long time to regain the honor you so casually spat on, and you will pay every credit with interest.”
My mind was reeling. I couldn’t think straight. The venom, the hatred in his eyes… How had I not seen the depth of his contempt for me in the past two weeks? Darla… Steffie… What happened to them? And what would happen to me? Whatever punishment Anton planned for me would be painful.
“I’m sorry.... I’m so sorry.”
Distantly, I knew it wasn’t the right thing to say.
“No Grace, you’re just starting to be. Remember your words that day? ‘You seriously think a girl like me would let a half-breed Braxian cock anywhere near me?’ Remember that?”
Did I ever... That had been part of the little speech Darla designed for the occasion. Braxians were rabid in their need for revenge, and it always directly tied to the nature of the offense. That explained why last night his friends said he should have fucked me to death and wrecked my throat. However, Anton saw me as an investment and didn’t want to damage my vocal cords. Some other parts, though, weren’t as essential for stage performance…
“Well guess what? You’re about to be full of that half-breed cock. Get on your fucking knees.”
