Page 128 of Uncrowned

My bottom lip pouted because it was true.

“Never for two weeks, and never so far away. This time feels different. I don’t like it. Take vacation and stay here with me. You pretty much run your family’s companies. You’re the boss. Stay.”

“And miss the convention? Penny…”

I let out a long groan, collapsing to her bed.

“I forgot about the convention. You’ve been so excited to go. I think it’s the main reason you even decided to meet with your rival.”

She smiled. “But not my rival for long. Dodge Corp can either sell to me, or I can destroy them. It’s simple.”

“You’re a shark, and I love it, Marian LaRoe. Savage, dangerous⁠—”

“Shark,” she said, jumping on the bed next to me to lie down. “Sharks are bad. I know this. But I’d rather be a shark than a scared mouse.”

Broken.

Lies.

Yes... this is who I was now. Robot…

“I’m a scared mouse.”

“You’re allowed to be a scared mouse. You’ve got a shark protecting you. You’re safe now.”

Tears came as I thought over Vaughn. Even though I went through the motions of having my conversation with Marian, I knew better than to let myself feel it.

The stranger I had become—the act I had perfected—had to get me out of here.

Katia knew the truth. Marian did not.

Thanks to Katia’s little talks, I knew anything revolving around Vaughn was top secret, and that was a relief. But with the secrecy came my own. I found myself testing Marian. I wanted to see if she’d be more than my friend. I wanted her to help me. I couldn’t keep doing this. I had to leave. I wasn’t just desperate anymore; I was becoming devious.

“Marian, I’m so jealous. I want to meet what’s-her-name. That fancy author you’re always reading. She has to be good with how often you’re glued to those books. I know you’ve used the term dark romance before, and you’ve warned me and explained the sort of content the stories have, but I was going to ask if I could⁠—”

Her lips parted as she shot up and pulled me to stand. I knew in that moment I had her. Books were Marian’s life. Especially the ones she stayed glued to.

“I shouldn’t be this excited, but oh my God.”

“See, that’s why I want to read them,” I laughed. “Your reaction is addicting. You love those fictional worlds. I want to feel that, Marian. I want to feel something other than fear. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’m curious. I want to give it a try.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I want you to read them but⁠—”

“I’ll be okay,” I assured. “The parts you’ve told me about seem a bit scary, but I want to at least try. I need to face this fear. It seems like starting in a book is the best place. Besides, I need this. Like, really, really n⁠—”

I was being pulled into the library before I could finish. As she began explaining the dark content, I let myself study every expression that crossed her beautiful face.

“Dark? I’ve lived the dark, Marian. This can’t be darker than that.”

She slowed, her eyes narrowing through her flash of anxiety.

“You say you need this. I haven’t been through anything like you, but I do know pain. This does help. A lot. And the stories… Penny, you have no idea how much you’re going to love them. Once you start, you’ll never want to stop. That’s okay, just don’t say I didn’t warn you. You asked for this.”

We headed to the bookshelf, and I watched her features draw in as she slowed. Pain. Heartbreak. It was so obvious as she stared ahead at the book, her hand hovering just short of the spine.

“Marian? …Marian? Earth to Marian?”

Seconds passed. Almost a minute. My intrigue exploded, and my mind twisted possiblities a little more. She blinked hard, shaking her head.