Page 31 of Dissolving Prejudice

The memory, which was once so precious, had now dissolved into nothing but a bed of thorns stabbing me from the inside out. He needs to suffer just like I have. My lips quirked up into a vengeful smile with the thought.

“Beats me. I tossed it away years ago.”

Diesel

“Beats me. I tossed it away years ago.”

My nostrils flared at his words, and I immediately jerked back until my shoulders hit the chair. Brat. I knew he was lying through his teeth because there was no chance he’d toss it away. What annoyed me was the fact he was lying about it—the fact he was still putting on this idiotic act.

I knew he was a vengeful little bitch, but feeling his wrath was nothing like I remembered. Now, it wasn’t hot and intoxicating but fucking cold. I hated it. I hated this ice wall he’d built between us and refused to let down.

But you deserve it.

“Can I ask my question now?” He fluttered his eyelashes at me as if he didn’t just crush my heart.

“Do whatever you want.”

“Aww,” he pouted. “Did I hurt your feelings?” He spoke to me like I was some baby, and I scoffed.

“Just ask your damn question, Shay-Lee.”

He licked his lips before smiling like the little devil he was. “Since you haven’t answered my first question, I’ll try my luck again. What did you do for Dion? Have you been upgraded from a mediocre prostitute, or are you still selling your cock to the highest bidder?”

His desperate attempt to get back at me was starting to get on my fucking nerves. Still, I had to hold myself together despite the punches he kept throwing at me, as I had it coming. I couldn’t tell him what I did for Dion because then I’d have to involve him in the crimes I’d committed. And there were many. From breaking people’s bones to chopping off a few fingers when needed, I did a hell of a lot of bad things. I wished I could just lock it all up and toss away the key. But unfortunately, that wasn’t how life worked, and the shit I did would follow me forever. Yet, while I was bound to my crimes, Shay-Lee wasn’t, and over my dead body would I implicate him. After what he’d been through, I’d never risk him getting close to that world ever again. Of course, it all happened because Dion had tricked me into a deal, but that wasn’t something I could tell Shay-Lee about either. I couldn’t just tell him I’d killed his father because it would make him an accomplice to murder. My inability to be honest caused miscommunication between us, but at this point, I dug the hole to my own grave and would have to find a way out of it. The good part was that I had no intention of being drawn into self-pity and instead was determined to find my way out of this grave. Even if it meant clawing my way out and stepping on others’ bodies in the process.

So, without protesting, I took another bite from that hideous thing. The slimy texture, the awful taste, and the raw smell made me gag, but I overcame the strong urge to hurl and swallowed it down my throat. It tasted even worse than the first bite, and my entire body shivered with disgust. Reaching for my glass, I washed down the remaining taste with wine, yet the horrible flavor was still stuck in the back of my throat.

Coughing, I cleaned my mouth, then looked at him. “My turn.”

“Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Why didn’t you tell me what he actually did to you?”

My question was followed by a dreadful silence as Shay-Lee finally dropped his smile.

From the day Soren revealed to me that Shay-Lee was sexually abused by his father, the same question had haunted me. Why did he keep it from me? I knew expecting him to reveal such a dark secret was a lot to ask, but the foolish part of me believed we were close enough for him to trust me. Even when we were a couple, he owed me nothing and had every right not to share his secrets, but why he didn’t tell me was what bothered me. Not the fact that he didn’t.

Instead of answering, Shay-Lee’s brows snapped together as a deep crease formed between them.

“Shay-Lee?” I asked, wondering if perhaps this wasn’t the time to bring it up.

“I don’t want to answer this question,” he said while doing everything he could not to look me in the eyes.

“Then take a bite—”

My words were cut off as he pushed the plate forward so violently that all its contents splashed all over me. He then stood abruptly, and I quickly did the same while cleaning some of the food off my body.

“Shay-Lee, wait,” I said after he grabbed his jacket from his chair and turned to leave.

“Fuck off, Diesel.”

Just then, our waiter came with the main courses.

“S-sir?” he asked right before Shay-Lee pulled a pile of bills out of his wallet and slammed it on the table.

“Use the rest as a tip,” he hissed, then dashed out of the private room.

I ran after him, nearly bumping into our confused waiter while I did. Only it wasn’t so easy to catch up with how fast he was running away. Outside of the restaurant, Shay-Lee didn’t stop at the valet to take back his car keys and instead continued to walk down the street. Thankfully, I managed to catch up to him after a little bit.