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Alright, I’ve had enough.
“You know what, Jan?” I stand up. “I wasn’t feeling sorry for you before, but I am now, because now I know what you think of yourself.”
Jan snorts.
“You’re jealous because you actually want to be Cinderella. You want a better life, and you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all here because we want a better life, and we all have a chance at it.”
“Maybe I do. You don’t.”
I don’t have a chance at a better life? I don’t understand.
My eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
Jan chuckles. “You don’t have a clue, do you?”
“About?”
She grins as she twirls a coil of her hair around her fingers. Then she leans forward and whispers in my ear.
“That you’re having sex with a murderer.”
I go still. Blood drains from my face as a chill goes down my spine. Even so, I square my shoulders as I step back.
“I don’t believe you.”
I don’t want to. I can’t.
Jan clicks her tongue. “Then I feel sorry for you.”
She laughs as she turns towards the door. I grab her arm.
“Who told you this? What exactly are you saying Gavin did?”
Jan laughs louder.
“Tell me!”
She wrenches her arm away and looks into my eyes. “I’m saying your Prince Charming killed his previous prize in cold blood.”
My eyes grow wide. My breath leaves me in a gasp.
“No!” I shake my head. “You’re lying.”
“Yes, she is.”
Fiona appears from behind Jan and steps forward. She throws Jan a reprimanding gaze.
“Your protector will hear about this,” she tells her.
Jan snorts. “Good. Finally, something exciting will happen.”
I look at her in confusion. She did all this for excitement?
After she leaves, Fiona places her hands on my shoulders.
“Are you alright?”
I nod. “But I’d like to know the truth.”
“You already know it. Gavin isn’t a murderer.”
“I meant about his previous prize, the one who came before me.” I look down at my hands. “It’s unfair that others know more than me.”
Fiona holds my hand. “They don’t know anything.”
“But you do, don’t you?” I look into her eyes. “Fiona, please. This is bound to happen again, and when it does, I want to be able to defend Gavin. I can’t have people pulling the rug out from under me. I can’t have them twisting me with lies and turning me against him.”
Fiona says nothing.
“Please?” I beg again.
She lets out a deep breath. “Alright.”
She closes the door and then sits on the tufted bench. I sit beside her.
“Her name was Nadine,” Fiona starts. “She was the first prize Gavin ever had, and I know for a fact it wasn’t a sexual thing. She had dark hair. She was young, too, just a year older than you. Gavin said she reminded him of his sister.”
My eyebrows arch. “Gavin has a sister?”
“Had,” Fiona corrects me. “She died when they were still children. Some accident, I think.”
I rub my arm and frown. I didn’t know that. Then again, I don’t really know anything about Gavin.
“That’s the reason he chose her, I think. She reminded him of his sister and he wanted to help her. Just like with you, he bid a huge amount on her. He brought her home and took care of her. She was a bit like Lily. She cried easily. She was constantly on the verge of breaking down. Gavin treated her like some fragile work of art. He took extra measures to make her feel at home.”
I nod. I can imagine Gavin doing that. Just as I thought, he may seem cold and indifferent, but he’s a good man.
“Nadine started to improve,” Fiona goes on. “And Gavin was pleased. They started getting along. They’d do things together. Gavin thought everything was going well. Then Nadine told Gavin she loved him.”
I pause. Is that why Gavin was constantly reminding me of my place? Because he was afraid I’d forget and fall for him like Nadine did? Is that why he got angry when I tried to cook him dinner?
“Gavin didn’t pay much attention to it at first. He thought she was going through a phase or that it was hormones or something. He thought she’d get over it, but she didn’t. She was serious about him. She told me she wanted to be his wife. I scolded her, of course, but she wasn’t listening. I could tell there was something wrong with her, with the way her mind was working, so I told Gavin I’d send her a psychiatrist.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said he’d take care of it, of her,” Fiona answers. “But that only fed her delusion, I think. Nadine relied on Gavin so much. She wanted more and more of him, like a spoiled child, except she wanted him, too, like a woman wants a man. You know what I mean.”
I nod.
Fiona places her hand over mine. “You know, I don’t know if they ever did have sex. Nadine said something about Gavin not touching her. She told me she thought it was because she was ugly, because of the baby. But I think it’s because Gavin thought of her like a sister.”
