Page 58 of Bound Lies

“No, it’s not fine! How the hell did he find out?”

Kieran’s jaw tightens as he offers me that signature glare. “Does it matter?”

“Of course, it matters! Oh, my god, this is bad. This is very, very bad.”

“Relax, princess. He was going to find out, eventually.”

“I swear to god, if you call me princess one more time⁠—”

“I dare you to finish that sentence.”

There’s nothing but challenge in Kieran’s eyes, but I don’t have the energy to fight him. The lack of sleep followed by the plane ride has left me depleted, and I finally give in and perch on the edge of the bed.

“He’s going to kill me.”

“Oscar was going to find out eventually, and besides, he’s not the one we need to worry about. Sean is going to lose it when he hears you married someone else, and especially when that someone is me.”

“Why does it matter if it’s you?”

“Because he’s been looking for an excuse to go after me for years, and this gives him one wrapped up with a damn bow.”

Kieran pushes off the wall and stalks toward me.

For a moment, I think he’s going to sit beside me on the bed, but he doesn’t. Instead, he hovers in front of me, which, quite frankly, I find more annoying.

“Until we get back, you’re going nowhere without me, understand?”

I scowl up at him. “I don’t need your protection. Especially when it’s obvious you couldn’t care less about me.”

“Maybe not. But you sure came running to us fast enough. You wanted my family’s help, and now you have it, so you have no choice but to do as I say.”

That hits a nerve. “Go to hell.”

He smirks. “We’re already there, princess.”

God, he’s infuriating! But the worst part is I know he’s right. I did go to the Sullivans for help, and I willingly agreed to this whole arrangement, so now I have no choice but to see it through. Even if that means letting Kieran goddamn Sullivan call the shots.

I start unpacking my bags and pull out the one thing that’s been grounding me through this whole mess, my textbooks. I make sure not to accidentally pull out the evidence folder that I brought along with me on the trip, as I didn’t trust Kieran not to have one of his brothers do a search on my room back at the penthouse.

I might have signed on the dotted line, but that doesn’t mean that I will blindly trust the Sullivans. I need to watch my own back, which means where I go, the envelope of evidence goes.

But Kieran doesn’t need to know that.

I lay out my notes on the bed among the rose petals and flip open my Economics textbook to start working my way through the practice exam questions.

My final is in a few days, and no amount of mafia drama or fake weddings is going to stop me from studying.

“What the hell are you doing?”

I don’t even look up. “What does it look like?”

“Studying?”

“Gold star.”

He walks over, grabs one of my books, and starts flipping through it.

I let out a sigh of annoyance and glance up at him.