Page 173 of The Contract

But I need to hear her say it. I need to hear her lie to me one last time before I tear her world apart.

My jaw tightens as I pull my phone from my pocket, my thumb hovering over her name.

I press dial and put the call on speakerphone.

The line rings once. Twice. Three times.

The longer it rings, the harder my pulse hammers in my chest. Every second she doesn’t pick up, the deeper the knife twists.

She knows. She fucking knows, and she’s a goddamn coward.

Just when I think the call is about to roll to voicemail—it’s answered.

A sharp inhale, then—“Damien.”

I go completely, violently still.

Every cell in my body freezes, and black forms around the edges of my vision.

Motherfucking Adrian Kingston answered her phone.

His breath is heavy, a little uneven, like he’s been interrupted—like he’s busy.

I look at the screen again, praying for a miracle that I accidentally dialed the wrong number.

But it’s hers.

My blood runs cold. My fingers tighten around the phone. “Where is she?”

“Now’s not a good time,” he adds, exhaling what sounds too damn much like a groan.

A cold, slicing silence fills the room, and something in me fractures as I hear what’s happening on the other end of the line.

The same fucking thing she and I did this morning. My insides are in knots, on the verge of implosion.

Adrian chuckles softly, low and knowing. “Oh—that’s it, sweetheart. Right there.”

A sound filters through the speaker. Soft. Wet. A muffled giggle.

The ground tilts beneath me.

I can’t breathe.

I can’t fucking see through the rage that explodes in my chest.

Adrian sighs, dragging out the sound, his voice slow, taunting. “She’s talented, you know? Always had a way with her mouth.”

My hands curl into fists, my pulse thundering in my ears.

“You’re lying,” I grind out, my voice deadly, trembling with fury.

“Am I?” There’s a smirk in his tone, something viciously smug. “You want to deny it, baby?”

Another fucking choked giggle. She won’t fucking answer because her mouth is stuffed with his cock. My stomach churns.

I hear Marcus inhale sharply beside me, but I can’t even look at him. All I can hear is her.

My Elena.

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