Page 98 of Corrupt Me

“You’re mine. And I’m yours,” I say breathlessly, taking the globe from his hand and pressing it to my chest.

The moment he’s gone, I place the snow globe on my desk with the fullest heart possible.

Sitting down, I power up my laptop and screens. While I enjoyed the time away, I am sure Felix hasn’t lost a moment thinking about how he can get us. That knowledge gnaws at my happiness.

Another text distracts me. It’s Eric again.

Someone told me they saw you coming back. Don’t I deserve to know about that as your friend and future boyfriend?

This guy has issues, but I can’t keep ignoring him. I don’t want to alarm Eric or make him suspicious.

We just got back. I am tired.

Where were you? I couldn’t get a hold of you.

I don’t owe you an explanation.

I need to see you. I miss you.

Sure. I bet Felix would love to know where we have been. No, thank you. While I know Eric may feel something for me, I can’t trust him. I don’t want to be sidetracked again.

I’ll let you know when we can meet this week.

Hunter is so going to be pissed. And I can’t keep this from him. I check Eric’s call history and one conversation makes me pause—it’s between Eric and my mother.

I am done waiting. She was promised to me. Where is she?

I can’t tell you, my mother says. She doesn’t know either. My insides knot at the knowledge that she’s communicating with him, and I palm my belly to soothe the growing unease.

When she returns, I’ll have a serious talk with her. And then we can announce your engagement.

I jab a shaky finger on the stop button when Hunter walks inside. The shift in the air announces his presence, and my senses prickle with awareness.

“I knew I’d find you at your desk,” he says in a playful tone.

I can’t bring myself to respond to him. My finger is still suspended over the play and pause button. That phone conversation runs circles in my head.

In one swift move, he rolls my chair around. “What happened, Bailey? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He whips his head toward the laptop.

“Don’t.” I should know that he won’t listen, but I am too shocked to stop him.

His nostrils flare, his entire posture changing as he listens to the conversation. “Over my dead body. Did he contact you again?”

“Hunter, we can’t blow my cover.”

“Fuck that. I’ll torture the information out of him. They can’t bloody marry you off. I’ll never accept that.”

“Baby, I would never marry him, but I need to know why my mother is involved.”

I don’t want to believe that she was the one who helped Felix, but I have never believed in coincidences, either.

There’s a knock at the door. I startle, which makes Hunter even more agitated. When I say, “Enter,” my friends all spill inside. Gone are their carefree faces from vacation.

“Cassandra is keeping something from us,” Kaden says, jaw tight.

“And when I called her—you know, as her daughter—she said, ‘Not now,’” Celine says, a line digging between her brows.

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