Page 50 of Scent of Desire
They all gazed intently at me as if I was the crazy witch that needed to be interned.
“Miss, I—” The nonathletic valet finally caught me but stopped his chase at the view of Christian. “I’m sorry, sir. I tried to stop her from disturbing you.”
“It’s fine.” Christian dismissed the valet with a wave of his hand. “Lily is like family.”
Asshole.
I dug my nails into my fists harder, squaring my shoulders. The valet excused himself, and my eyes gunned between Christian and my uncle.
“Lily, are you okay?” My uncle pretended to worry about my silence.
“I know what you did.” My lips twisted in repulsion, and anger rose in me like a tide that couldn’t be tempered. “You stole mom’s perfume!”
My uncle’s face went ghostly white in a catatonic stupor, and his eyes widened in alarm. He didn’t blink but gulped cowardly, processing the fact I had exposed his lies.
“How could you!” I screamed, making the windows shake and my howl echo across the room like the shriek of a fury. “How could you betray her like that?”
My uncle remained mute with regret, the world probably collapsing at his feet at this precise moment.
“Lily, what are you—” Adonis tried to interfere.
“Ask your father!” I yelled at him. “No. 27 is my mother’s perfume. My uncle sold it to your father when she died. You’re all fucking liars!”
Christian laughed. “Nonsense. When did you hear something like—”
“I’m so sorry, my Lily,” my uncle pleaded, tears wetting the corners of his eyes.
Christian’s face tightened. He became rigid, shooting a warning glare at my uncle. Adonis was lost, his eyes swiveling between me and his father.
“It was the only way,” my uncle lied.
“There is always a way, Uncle! Just like the way you chose to abandon me. You betrayed her! My mother would have never wanted that. Why did you do this? You never cared for any of us,” I bit out, tears like a hot torrent of lava spreading on my cheeks. “At the sisters’, you left. You never came to pick me up. You never loved me.” I pressed my lips together, trying to stop those wretched tears. He didn’t deserve them. “And you never loved Mom. I hate you!”
All my demons came out.
The ones that were eating me alive for years.
I gathered them today, choosing to not be against them but with them in a battle that would destroy my soul.
“Lily, please…” My uncle’s lips trembled before he hid them with his hand. A tear of regret dropped on his cheek, but it was already too late.
“Come on.” Christian advanced toward me, readjusting his suit as if I was a business deal he wanted to win. “I’m sure there is no need to yell. We can all come up with an agreement and talk like civilized adults.”
The way he smiled at me with confidence and the lack of respect for my family sent a shiver creeping down my spine. He had used my weak uncle and stolen my legacy. He was a gifted manipulator portraying himself in a blessed light while he was a pervert. A narcissist.
I picked up a spicy scent that burned and tingled me. I wiggled my nose, but the smell sneaked into my cells. I took a step back, on the verge of tripping under the chills of fear scouring over me. My mouth opened in a silent scream. “No, it can’t be—”
I hit the porcelain vase from behind me, which shattered on the ground.
Odors never lied.
It all rushed back and hit me at full speed.
Black pepper and cinnamon.
“You.” Each fiber of my body shook, the hair on my skin rising with alert. “It was you at the club.”
Christian’s withering eyes darkened, but his creepy smile remained polite. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lily.”
