Page 88 of Tainted Romance

"Sometimes talking about it helps, especially when you're talking to me, who also thinks Zane is a jerk."

I paused on the last porch step.

"You would just agree with him." I kept my eyes forward on the gate.

"Come on." Ryder stood beside me now. "You're talking to the guy that makes the poison to kill the bond between mates. No one is hated more than me."

I tilted my head to the side to stare up at him. "Zane hates me."

"He hates the gardener as well if that makes you feel better."

Ryder's light-heartedness caused the tears to slow. He sat on the porch step and patted the ground next to him.

"I think he hates me more than the gardener."

"Maybe, but no-one, and I mean no-one, can take the top place of Zane's hate list than the June Cleaner."

"June Cleaner?"

"Mom hired a new cleaner; of course, it was in the month of…"

"June," I guessed.

He smirked. "Good looking and brains, don't get that often."

"Thought you were telling a story."

"I was, but then you had to inject."

"I promise I won't interrupt again."

This light-hearted banter was actually helping; taking my mind off the devil upstairs.

"Anyway, the cleaner was doing the washing. A common everyday thing you know. No one thought much of it. Anyway, Zane had this top…"

"I think I have an idea where this is going."

Ryder shook his head with a wide smirk. "Nope. No-one could have seen this happening. The cleaner wanted to speed things up, so she started ironing two things at once, and it just so happened that Zane's white t-shirt got ironed with one of mom’s."

I frowned at him. "And?"

"And Zane got the logo 'teacup club' on the back of his top. The funniest part was he knew nothing about it until he got home, even though students at school had been teasing him all day."

Ryder couldn't hold back the chuckle now. "Aw," he sighed, pulling himself together, "It was a classic one."

He planted a hand on my cold knee. "Now, tell me, what happened that has scored you on Zane's hate list."

"More like kill list." I muttered, "He won't ever speak to me again."

"Not so long ago you would have seen that as a good thing."

I stared at him blankly. "That was before I knew he loathed me to the point he wished I never existed."

"Come on, even I see the way he looks at you. Zane doesn't loathe you, and I reckon he would kill anyone for even thinking about hurting you."

"Maybe." Tears began to well. "That was before he knew."

"Knew what?"

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