Page 87 of For Wrath and Redemption
“Just say it, Claire.”
She sighs. “But you said a lot of shit that hurt me. You got me in a very vulnerable position, and then you turned on me. You called me terrible things. You tried to make me feel guilty for your mother’s death. That shit had to come from somewhere. You had already been thinking it, fuming over it, and your goal was to hurt me. I can’t just forget that because we’re attracted to each other.”
I squeeze my eyes shut again. She’s right. And even though it’s more than just physical attraction for me, she’s right. I fucked up.
“I know,” I say finally. “I’m sorry. I was so out of line, and you didn’t deserve that. You shouldn’t have been the target of my anger.”
“No, I shouldn’t have. Had you talked to me like an adult instead of talking yourself into a grudge, I’d have told you the truth.AndI would have told you that I’d already ended things with your dad. I’d been thinking about doing it for a while, actually.”
My brows slant, then I turn around and face her. “When?”
“The day you took me to Belém.”
“Fuck.”
She laughs. “Yeah.”
“Was he fucking his secretary?”
“Probably.” She shrugs. “But it was more than that. That was just my breaking point. If I’m being honest, I’d been thinking about ending things since around the three-month mark. That’s when I found out he was my CEO.”
“You didn’t know.”
I’m such a fucking prick. She didn’t know.
“No, asshole, I didn’t know. I told you I wouldn’t sleep with someone just to get a job. I never would have agreed to the first date if I’d known. He knew who I was, but I had no idea who he was. I should have done it then, but...I don’t know.” She rubs her forehead and closes her eyes. “I have an aversion to failure, I guess, and ending things seemed like a failure. It messed with my inferiority complex or something, and I think a small part of me was also worried that if I ended things, he’d have me fired.” She groans, then laughs. “Guess my instincts were right on that one.”
“What? He fired you?”
He’s a fucking asshole. He’s such a fucking asshole. And I’m exactly like him.
“He tried, but I quit before he could officially do it. Sent a resignation letter that I’d already had drafted, then deleted all my files from a campaign I was working on.”
“You already had the letter drafted?”
“Yeah. Told you, I’d been thinking about it for a while. I like to be prepared.”
I give her an amused half smile. “Is that chess, too?”
“My life is a chessboard.” She smirks, then rolls her eyes. “Now he’s actually trying to get me to come back just to finish that campaign. Said if I don’t, I’llnever work in this city again.”
She drops her voice low, reciting my father’s threat with a menacing air of superiority. I can actually hear him saying it.
“Is that what that email was about the other day?”
She nods, and I feel like an even bigger asshole. That’s what tipped the scales for me. That’s when I let my wrath take over. The whole time,she’d just been threatened by my own father. She’d been fucked over by both of us in the span of twenty-four hours.
I go back to my father’s phone call yesterday. It all makes fucking sense now.
“He called me yesterday and asked for you.”
“I blocked his number and marked his email address as spam. Did he tell you what he wanted?”
“Not why he wanted to speak to you, no. But he told me to be careful of you. He said you’d use me. Trap me.”
She scoffs. “That’swhat set you off? You thought I was going to, what, get knocked up and take you for all you’re worth?”
“No.” I shake my head. “Fuck, I don’t even know. I know you wouldn’t do that. I know it, but my head is such a mess, Claire. I don’t know how to explain it.”
