Page 113 of You Were Always Mine
My jaw aches from grinding it. My palms sting from where I’ve torn skin against the wall. Still not enough.
She doesn’t get it. She can’t play me. She can’t take me apart and then give herself to him. I won’t let her.
I’m not a fool.
I’m not a backup.
I’m not the mistake she hides behind lies.
I’m the truth she’s terrified of.
And I’ll burn before I let her rewrite me as anything else.
Kai
The door doesn’t stand a chance. I shove it open so hard the frame rattles, the wood slamming against the wall like a gunshot.
She’s on her bed, startled, eyes wide like I’ve just torn into her nightmares.
Good.
Because I am her nightmare.
Rage boils in me, blistering hot, with no space left to think, no space left for restraint. I’m across the room before she can draw a breath, my hand snapping around her throat, pinning her back against the headboard with a crack that makes the whole bed shudder.
Her mouth opens, but no sound makes it out — not with my fingers squeezing, not with my weight bearing down.
“Lie to me again,” I snarl, my forehead pressed to hers, my breath hitting her lips, “and I’ll carve the truth out of you myself.”
Her pulse beats frantically under my palm, her body trembling against me. I see every flicker of fear, every flash of shame, every drop of betrayal I feel mirrored in her eyes.
“You think you can fuck with me, Scar? Smile pretty, sell me scraps, then run back to him?” My voice is all gravel and venom, my grip tightening until she claws weakly at my wrist. “You think I don’t know?”
Her lips part, but it’s only a gasp, a strangled whimper against my hand. I drink it in like it’s proof. Proof she’s mine. Proof she can’t run.
I slam her harder into the headboard, rage vibrating through me.
“Say it. Say his fucking name. Say you gave yourself to him.”
The door slams against the wall so hard the frame shakes, and she jerks upright in bed, eyes wide like she’s already guilty. Like she knows.
I’m on her before she breathes my name. My hand clamps her throat, not gentle this time, not restraint — punishment. Her back slams into the headboard, the entire bed frame rattling.
“You think I don’t see it?” I spat the words ripping out of me raw. “You think I don’t fucking know?”
Her nails claw at my wrist, her lips parting, strangled sobs spilling through the squeeze of my hand. “Kai?—”
“Don’t.” I slam her harder into the wood, teeth gritted, veins splitting hot under my skin. “Don’t lie to me again. You want him, don’t you? You fucking want Tyler.”
Her tears streak fast, soaking my thumb where it digs into her pulse. “No! Please, it’s not?—”
“Say it!” My roar cracks the air between us, spit flying, ragedripping down my tongue. “Tell me you weren’t with him. Tell me you weren’t giving him those looks, those filthy little smiles you save for me. TELL ME, SCAR.”
She sobs so hard her body convulses, her voice a broken rasp. “I swear—I swear I wasn’t?—”
“LIAR.” My fist slams the headboard right by her face, wood splintering under my knuckles, pain shooting up my arm. It only feeds the fire. My grip on her throat tightens; her legs thrash under me.
“You think you can play me? Think you can crawl into my bed, beg for me, and then run to him?” My face presses against hers, sweat and fury dripping onto her skin. “You’re mine. Do you hear me? MINE. And if I find out he touched you?—”
