Page 146 of Unrequited
“You know why,” he says. “You shouldn’t be here.”
I amoverthe coldness. “I’m not leaving.”
He steps closer. But the cold in the air shifts, becomes something else. It’s in him. In his eyes. They’re empty. Shuttered. Dead.
“You disobeyed me,” he says. His hand closes around my arm, tightly. It hurts.
And he walks me toward them.
Toward Branson. Toward Ashland.
What the hell is he doing?
“I told you to go inside,” he says. “You disobeyed. So I can punish you right here.”
This isn’t like before. This isn’t play. This isn’thim.
“Seamus,” I plead. “No, you can’t?—”
He doesn’t stop.
“Did you really think this was all about you? That you could do whatever you wanted?”
He waits for me to answer. But I can’t. I’m frozen. I can’t speak.
“You know why you’re here,” he says sharply. “You were convenient.” His mouth twists, and he doesn’t meet my eyes.
“I don’t need you anymore, Zoya. You can’t even give me a child.”
The words are like a fist. I suck in a breath.
“Seamus… you’re lying. This isn’t you. What are you doing?”
He steps closer. Drops his voice.
“No, Zoya. Thisisme. You just fell for a fantasy. You fell in love with what you wanted me to be.”
“Why are you saying this?” I whisper. “Seamus?—”
But then I remember what he said.
Trust me.
No matter what happens.
But I can’t.I can’t.
“This is over,” he says. “I must choose loyalty to my family.”
“What?” My voice breaks. “What are you?—?”
We’re at the edge of the cliff now. The wind howls. My feet slip on wet stone.
“Your family doesn’t want you anymore,” he says, leaning in. “You betrayed them.”
His breath touches my cheek. “And I don’t want you anymore either. I used you to get to them. Now that I have access, this is over. I’m a McCarthy… loyalty to blood comes first, regardless of what you think this charade was about, regardless of what you want or how you feel about me.”
Then his hands are on my shoulders.
