Page 89 of Sugar Coated Lies
“She’s gone.”
I halt.
“I told her all about our scheme and how you met her. I figure everything you did for her afterward was out of pity due to that weak heart you’ve got in your chest. She was devastated. So much so, I told her to consider her debt to be paid.”
I whirl on him and punch him in the face.
He falls against the windows and grins.
“She never stole from you, you piece of shit,” I say. “It was a crew member from the yacht. They found your wallet and cards on the floor.”
“You don’t know that.” He straightens, unperturbed, and rubs his jaw.
“I had a PI look into it, and I learned facts from your dad. You never looked into it. Hell, you could have asked your dad who stole the card and rang up that huge bill. Instead, you blamed Everleigh because you wanted it to be her. Just like you wanted her, only she wasn’t into your fetishes and that wasn’t okay. Was it?”
“No other woman has ever complained about my sexual preferences. They do the opposite and beg me for more. It’s not my fault Everleigh is a prude. I don’t do anything that women don’t want done to them.”
My fingers curl into fists. “You’re such an asshole. If you weren’t so full of yourself, you’d see that. Everleigh isn’t a prude. She just wasn’t into being tied up or gagged by you. She isn’t a tease, either. She genuinely liked you because that’s how she is. Everything she does is with sincerity and kindness, and you took advantage of her. You tormented her with your sick games, and for what? So you could feel vindicated for something she never did, or is it because she is the first girl who rejected you to your face and beat you at your own game?”
His eyes tighten as he lifts his chin and stares down his nose at me.
“I might have met her under deceitful circumstances, but I’ve done everything I can to make up for my behavior, and in the process, I fell in love with her. Nothing I’ve done for her has been for you. You’re nothing. She’s everything.”
“Wow.” His icy tone matches his cold gaze. “I see falling for trailer trash has turned you into a traitorous piece of shit. That must be some pussy she has between those legs, because you’re clearly whipped.”
I punch him in the face again, knocking him off his feet. Blood drips from the corner of his mouth.
He laughs and wipes away the blood as he stands. “And I’m the bad guy? I haven’t once swung at you for betraying me.”
Only because he can’t take me. Benedict has never gotten physical in his life. He uses his friends to do his dirty work and prefers to assert his dominance over young women in the bedroom. It’s an ego trip.
“I don’t give a shit what you do to me. You’ve hurt the only person who matters. Probably the best person in the world. Get the fuck off this property and never come back.” I point at the door.
“Are you fucking joking?” He raises his palms, like my reaction is absurd. “You’re choosing a piece of ass over me? She’s a phase. It’ll pass. You and I have been friends forever.”
“Too long. I should have dropped your ass years ago. You’re cruel, with the way you manipulate people and brag about it. Get help and stay out of my life. I’m done.”
He stares at me with shock.
He doesn’t get it, never will. He thinks the way he treats people is nothing because it means nothing to him.
“Get out,” I bark. “Or I’ll drag you out.”
“So the bitch has turned you against me.”
I inhale a deep breath, knowing if I touch him again, I won’t be able to stop myself from hurling him down the stairs. And since my attacks have no effect on him, I try a different approach. I turn my back to him, my body as hard as steel, my fists clenched at my sides as I wait for him to leave. He will when he realizes he’s getting nothing more from me.
Benedict only pursues people he can hurt or stir a reaction in.
I count backwards from fifty and force myself to take deep breaths.
He huffs a few times, then stalks off. Eventually, I spot him through the window as he gets behind the wheel of an M8 Gran Coupe. The BMW is the same one I have, except for the color. Mine is gray; his is as black as his heart. I hope he burns himself on the leather seats.
I search the parking lot for Everleigh’s car, where she parked it this morning.
Gone, like he said.
I don’t even know how to begin to fix this. She’ll want nothing to do with me, and she won’t trust me. Who knows what that sick fuck put in her head?
