Page 139 of Freed
“No?” I look at her then, really look, and let her see exactly what I think of what’s left unsaid. “From where I’m standing, Elizabeth, it looks like you’ve been lying to me from the moment we met.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
The words crack through the room. And she can’t. I see her try. I see the war in her face and the instinct to say anything except the one thing that would actually matter. But she can’t.
So I nod once. A small, deadly motion.
“That’s what I thought.”
I leave her standing in the kitchen in my shirt, barefoot and pale and furious, and I do not let myself look back.
Because if I do, I might remember her in my bed last night.
And right now, I need the anger more.
26
Birdie
I stand in the kitchen trying to calm my racing heart.
It’s useless.
My emotions are everywhere—rage, hurt, humiliation, all of it ricocheting through me so fast I can barely separate one from the next. Part of me is furious enough to let him keep believing the story he’s built in that arrogant, wounded mind of his. Let him think I was sleeping with Dante before I even met him. Let him choke on it.
But that isn’t what hurts most.
What hurts is how easily he reached for that conclusion. How quickly he would believe I betrayed him before he would stop and really look at the timeline. Really look at me. A sharp, ugly laugh escapes me. My God. He would rather think I cheated on him than consider the truth—that my lie has nothing to do with Dante and everything to do with him.
That thought knocks the air out of me more effectively than if he’d slapped me.
Because last night, half-asleep and half-undone, he all butsaid he loved me. And the worst part? A tear slips down my cheek. I was starting to feel the same way. Not now. Not with this cold, cruel version of him standing where that tenderness was supposed to be.
I swipe angrily at my face just as Lorenzo comes back into the kitchen. He’s changed. Dark coat on, keys in hand, expression carved from stone. He looks like war in an expensive suit.
“I said get dressed.”
I stare at him. “Why?”
His jaw tightens. “Do not fucking test me, Elizabeth.”
“Or what?” I cross my arms over my chest. “You are so unbelievable I don’t even have words for you.” I take a step closer. “No, wait. I do.”
I should stop but I don’t.
“I just keep thinking about how disappointed Sienna would be in you.”
His eyes flash black.
“Don’t you dare mention her.”
The fury in his voice should make me back down. Instead it lights mine.
“Why?” I ask, shaking my head. “Because you know I’m right?”
His nostrils flare. His hand tightens around the keys hard enough to whiten his knuckles.
