Page 66 of Crushed
CHAPTER 22
Cormac
It was brutal knowing that the control I had over Scarlett was slipping through my fingers. But I had to move forward. Like Scarlett had once said, I couldn’t dwell on what could have been. I could only try to mold a different future.
But that didn’t change the ache in my chest, the overwhelming dread.
Scarlett had stayed in the estate, though not in my bedroom. A staff member had shown her to one of the extra rooms, an area that wasn’t as spacious as mine, but had a view of the gardens. Perhaps she knew that I would be distant from the Dahlia District, and decided to stay.
In the morning, after having stewed over it all night, I was restless and angry, ready to settle this. I had too many affairs to watch over to think about Scarlett’s loyalty, or lack thereof, too.
But she was all I could think about.
As I made my way through the corridors, I saw her storming towards the front entrance. I grabbed her by the wrist.
“Tell me the truth,” I demanded. “Who were you meeting with?”
“Why would I tell you?” she snapped, wrangling her wrist out of my grip. “You already know.”
“You will tell me because I am your owner, Scarlett.”
“Not when it comes to my job. Not of my personal life.”
My shoulders flexed, holding straight, making my presence and dominance known. Scarlett lifted her chin, unafraid.
“Issac Berman,” I said. Security had confirmed it the night before. “You were meeting with him. Why?”
She stared at me, trying to analyze how much I knew.
But I wanted to hear her say it. I wantedherto admit the truth.
“We…” She trailed off, then looked away. “He hired me to do something. But I told him I couldn’t anymore.”
“What did he hire you to do?”
“Why does it matter?” Her features tightened. “What if I saw him at the Dahlia District? If I was doing my job? Do you really need to know every gory detail?”
This was beyond insulting. I wanted her to say it. Because otherwise, how could I trust her? If I couldn’t get her to tell me the truth, then what good was our relationship? If she lied to me about this, what other secrets would she keep?
If something happened to Scarlett, and I could have somehow prevented it, if only I had known the whole story, it would destroy me. I needed complete honesty.
I would never settle for kept secrets ever again. Even if that meant withholding my trust from Scarlett.
But I had to try.
“Don’t play dumb with me.” I grabbed her by the shoulders. “Why did you meet with Issac?”
“What I do in my personal life is my own business,” she hissed.
“What you do as my property when you are under my roof ismybusiness.”
“I wasn’t under your roof. I was in a coffee shop.”
I glared at her. I wanted to give her the chance to say it on her own. A chance to be honest. Then I could tell her that I had always suspected her of something, but that it had only been recently that I learned that her intentions were malevolent.
And that’s why I couldn’t love her. I couldn’t let myself. I refused. She hid things from me. Dangerous secrets.
“You are making me regret…” She clenched her fists so tight that her knuckles turned white.
