Page 86 of Shades of Ruin

He’s closed off with me, nowhere near as happy and easy as he was with Angélica. I try not to take it too personally since I can’t be certain what sort of monster his mother has made me out to be. She could have told him any number of horrifying things, the truth of what I’ve done in the past is terrible enough to compete with any lie.

“Angélica let you cook with her,” I remark as I lead him toward the dining room.

“Oui,” he answers a little more brightly. “It was fun. I would like to do it again.” He pauses. “If you would allow it, that is.”

His timid hesitance reaches somewhere deep inside me. I’m not around kids often, but I recognize the sound of one who lives in fear so well I could be talking to a nine-year-old version of myself right now. “You are welcome here whenever you want. Whenever you need a place to hide or be seen or just exist for a few hours without the rest of the world bothering you, come here.”

Trying to dampen the sudden intensity in the air, I add, “I’m not as skilled in the kitchen as Angélica, but I could show you a few tricks too if you want.”

“A-are you sure? Maman said you are very busy. I would not want to disturb you.”

My steps falter, my fists clenched at my sides with the effort it takes not to say what I really think about his mother. “I think you’ll find your maman sometimes says things without revealing the full truth,” I answer, trying my best not to slander the woman he knows any more than necessary. “Angélica and I would both be very happy to have you in the kitchen anytime you want to stop by.”

“Is Angel your girlfriend?”

I smother a smile at him calling her the same name I do. “She is.”

Tobias’ face falls. “Maman will not like that.”

I frown at him, a trickle of unease creeping up my spine. “No, I don’t suspect she will. But I’m used to making your maman mad.”

“Are you not scared of her?” he gasps.

My frown deepens. “Areyouscared of her?”

“Sometimes. She—hurts people.”

My heart clenches tight in my chest. “Does she hurt you?”

“No, never me. My firstnounou.Some of theservantes. Tutors. Sometimes when she is angry with me, she will hurt someone close to me instead.”

Jesus, that is some fucked-up shit. But the twistedness of it stirs something lurking in the back of my thoughts. “How does she hurt them?”

“I don’t know,” he answers, his eyes shifting around like he’s suddenly anxious.

“It’s okay, Tobias. I won’t tell anyone.”

“She hits them. Sometimes she c-cuts them.” He stares at the wall in front of him. “Sometimes worse.”

Fuck, how did I not see it before. “Has she ever killed anyone, Tobias?”

His blue eyes are wide with panic as they flash to mine. “I-I don’t know. She never lets me stay that long. She makes me watch until blood spills, and then I’m sent to my room. One of my tutors—the one that Uncle Claude really liked—she never came back.”

Jesus Christ, I’m an idiot. It’s beenherthis whole time. And I didn’t even consider it until now.

“Tobias, I want you to go back and find Angélica. She’s in my office. It’s through the kitchen and down the hall on the left. I want you to stay there until I come to get you. Can you do that?”

“Yes, I think so,” he answers, his gaze darting between me and back toward the kitchen. “Why? What are you going to do?”

“I think it’s high time your maman and I had a little chat.”

Chapter Forty-One

GREYSON

Ican see her from the very back of the dining room, her bright blonde hair shimmering like a halo encircling the head of the least angelic person I know. I’m not even surprised to see that she’s dressed completely in red—it’s always suited her, and she’s smart enough to play to her assets.

She taps her red nails against the table, a huge diamond ring on her left hand—courtesy of current husband number four. As one of the biggest tycoons in France, he’s certainly an upgrade from Blaise. Mygolden girlhas turned gold-digging into an art form at this point.

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