I can’t allow myself to think about it, and I swallow thickly, my Adam’s apple bobbing as I press a kiss against her forehead.
“What can we do?” I ask her. “What is your father saying?”
“That he can make sure I’ll stay,” she whispers. “That I can still live with them. But this changes everything. You know he won’t let us get married now.”
“You don’t know that,” I tell her, trying to calm her down. “He might still want to go through with it. Nobody’s that fucking evil, Lily Anna.”
She lets out a bitter laugh, shaking her head as she says, “You obviously don’t know my father very well.”
Oh no, I do, darling. That’s the fucking problem.
“Won’t the other family want you to come see them?” I ask. “I mean, they must be wondering now that they’ve found out their daughter is… someone else.”
“Daddy… Oh God,” she chokes out another sob, realizing she can’t call her father by that name anymore. “He’ll make sure I can stay here, but I’ll be at his mercy then, Dexter… He’ll be fully in control of me.”
My head is starting to hurt, the headache behind my eyeballs threatening to make me lash out at Lily Anna, who’s done nothing wrong. I touch my fingertips to my temples, massaging them as I try to think.
My betrothed has just found out she was switched as a baby as part of a hospital fuck-up. This means she’s not an Oakes – and not a Firstborn. It also means another girl is going to take her place in Eden Falls, and she’s faced with two choices – go live with her real family, thousands of miles away from me, or stay here at Emilian Oakes’ mercy. I have no doubt his sick obsession with Lily Anna has now reached its head. It’s going to get worse and worse now that he knows she’s not actually his daughter. He’s going to steal her away from me, and I can’t allow that to happen.
“There’s another way,” I tell Lily Anna, and she raises her tear-streaked face. “I can help you.”
“How?” she asks, her bottom lip trembling.
“Hear me out,” I tell her. “It’s… it’s a lot to take in. But I think we can get away with it.”
“Okay,” she whispers, nodding eagerly as she sits closer to me, her dress fanning out on the floor beneath us.
She looks so goddamn beautiful tonight, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday. She’s wearing a poufy gown made of pale pink tulle, and elegant tall pumps. I’m almost three heads taller than her now, but the heels put her a little closer to my height.
Her parents – well, I suppose just the Oakes now – threw her this birthday party and decided to drop the bomb on her minutes before they started greeting guests. When I came up to Lily Anna, she was already shivering and tearing up, and we took advantage of the first moment we got to sit atop the stairs leading up from the grand hall in Oakes Estate. The partygoers below us look happy and carefree, and Lily Anna is anything but.
The full impact of what’s about to happen is hitting me now. I could lose her. I could lose her forever.
“We need to play our cards right,” I tell her softly.
“Like how?”
“Well, this stays between us,” I whisper. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Not even Araminta?”
“No,” I laugh despite everything, tucking her hair behind her ear as I look at her affectionately. “Not even Araminta.”
This girl is a daily reminder that I fucking do have a heart.
“So, tell me,” she says, eagerly closing the distance between us until she’s practically sitting on my lap. “Tell me what we should do.”
“You need to go into hiding,” I tell her, touching my palm to her thigh. “We need to convince your family, new and old, that you’re gone, and there’s no way to find you.”
“Emilian won’t give up until he finds me,” she mutters. “And I have a feeling neither will the other family.”
“I know,” I nod. “That’s why we need to fake your death.”
“W-What?” she stutters, giving me an incredulous look. “We can’t do that.”
“We can, and we have to.” I grab her hands by the wrists, bringing them closer against my chest. “Listen to me. You won’t get hurt at all. We’ll say I was the witness. You threw yourself off the cliffs – you couldn’t handle leaving me, or Eden Falls.”
“Nobody will buy that,” she whispers, her eyes finding mine.
I know her so well by now, I can tell what she’s thinking. She wants me to tell her there’s another way. But I know there isn’t. If she wants to get out of this damn mess with me, she’s going to have to listen and do as I say.
“After the faked suicide,” I go on in whispers. “I’ll set you up here, in the house. I’ll keep Anders working for me. You know him, the butler?”
She nods and I cuddle her against my body, trying to make her feel better.
“He won’t tell a soul. We can trust him.”
“What about the rest of the staff?” she wants to know.
“I’ll fire everyone. We can’t risk this coming out. You’ll have free reign of the premises. You can do whatever the hell you want – we can even travel together – as long as nobody from Eden Falls sees you. Just Anders and me.”
“But for how long?”
I knew this question would come next, and I also know I’m woefully underprepared for it.
I close the distance between us, kissing her lips gently.
“I’m assuming your father will bring the other girl here?” I ask, and she nods. “Well, then he’ll still want me to marry her. You know he needs this alliance between our families. And I’ll go along with it, pretend I’ll get married to the new girl.”
“But you don’t even know her,” she whines. “What if she’s terrible? An awful, whiny, annoying bitch?”
“Nothing like you, huh?” I grin at her wickedly, and she smacks my forearm. “Kidding. It doesn’t matter what she’s like, because I’ll never, ever feel anything for her.”
She gives me a doubtful look. “Even if she’s pretty?”
“Pretty?” I repeat. “I don’t give a shit about pretty. I have the most stunning girl in the world already.”
Seemingly pleased with my answer, she grins, even though another tear’s sliding down her cheek as we speak. “What happens after?”
I squeeze her hand, knowing the next part of the plan will be the worst for her to hear.
“I go along with the plan, but I never marry her,” I say softly. “You know your father-err, Emilian Oakes just wants an heir. A kid that’s got his blood and my own. So, I’ll just give him that.”
“W-What?” she asks, her bottom lip jutting out in obvious disagreement. “You’re going to marry her and have kids?”
“No,” I smirk. “I’m going to fuck her the moment she gets here. Knock her up. Then Oakes has what he wants, and you can come out of hiding. I’ll marry you.”
“But she’ll have your kid, Dexter,” she shakes her head angrily. “This is a horrible, sick plan.”
“It won’t mean anything to me,” I insist. “I’m just giving Oakes what he wants so he’ll leave us alone. So we can start a life together.”
“But I don’t want you to sleep with her,” she whispers, more tears sleeping down her cheeks.
“It won’t mean anything,” I say, making her look at me. “It won’t mean anything, baby… The only thing that matters is right here before me. You’re all I want. I don’t give a shit about this new girl.”
“Her name’s Pandora,” Lily Anna sniffles.
“A really stupid fucking name,” I say, and she manages a smile. “It sounds like a name for a toy, a doll, not a real person.”
“You’re serious about this,” Lily Anna finally manages. “You’d really do that. For me.”
“I’d do anything for you,” I tell her. “Fucking anything, you know that.”
She stares at me, shakily asking, “So there’s really nothing else we can do?”
“No,” I shake my head. “
I don’t think so. Even if I help you hide, one of the two families will find you and demand you return. There’s gonna be a fucking legal battle over this. It’ll get fucking ugly, baby.”
“I can’t believe this is my life,” she sobs. “I don’t want this to be my life!”
“It’s only until I can sleep with her,” I try to calm her down. “Only until she arrives here, and I can put a baby in her belly.”
“That thought makes me sick.”
I kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. “Me, too.”
“Promise you won’t fall in love with her?” Her question is barely audible over the sound of the party downstairs. “You won’t pick her over me?”
“Never,” I whisper my promise, raining kisses over her skin. “I swear…”
* * *
2 weeks later
“So, this is it, huh?”
Lily Anna looks around the room with a faint smile on her lips.
“I hope you like it.” I pat the bed, motioning for her to join me. “I had it filled with some of your favorite things.”
“It’s still kind of creepy, Dexter.” She shudders. “I mean, this is the room your parents died in, for God’s sake.”
“Which means nobody will question that I’ve sealed it off,” I tell her. “Even if people come over, they’ll understand why it’s off limits for them to go looking in there.”
“I’m really not sure,” she mutters. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“It’s the only option we have,” I remind her. “Look, you have windows overlooking the gardens. You have books, a computer, a phone. You’ll be fine here.”
“Just until she comes here, right?”
“Of course.” I squeeze her hand. “The moment I’ve done what I have to, you’re coming back out.”
“So…” She chews her bottom lip. “Everyone knows by now?”
“Yes,” I nod. “They all know.”
“Were people upset?”
“Very.”
“How upset?”
I furrow my brows at her, saying, “Why do you care about that? None of those people matter, Lily Anna. Everyone was devastated. Bryony sobbed when she found out.”
“And my father?”
“Your father is distraught,” I mutter, wondering why the hell she even wants to know about him. “He disappeared after the news broke. I haven’t seen him since.”
“Good,” she whispers, making me wonder what she means. “So… you want to christen the bed?”
“No, not today,” I say. “I still have to make an appearance at the station. They’re going to start the search for your body tomorrow. Not that they’ll ever find it.”
She sighs heavily. “It’s already started. You’re pulling away from me.”
“I’m not, baby,” I say calmly. “I’m right here, and I’ll be back in a few hours to take care of you. Until then, Anders is available for anything you could possibly need. He’ll take care of you.”
“But I don’t want Anders.”
“It’s only for a few hours.”
“I said I don’t want him!” She jumps up, pure rage emanating from her small body. “I want you to stay, Dexter.”
“I can’t stay,” I try to explain. “I have to give a statement at the station, baby. There’s no way around it. I’m sorry, but I’ll be back tonight, and we can watch a move or something. I’ll bring you your favorite cupcakes from that bakery in town, how about that?”
“I don’t want fucking cupcakes!”
She looks so full of anger, like she’s about to fucking explode. I get up, approaching her to calm her down, but she picks up a lamp from the nightstand table and throws it in my direction.
The lamp narrowly misses my head, shattering against the wall while Lily Anna screams in frustration.
“Are you fucking crazy?” I snarl. “You could have hurt me!”
“Good!” she cries out. “I should have! You’re leaving me! You weren’t supposed to leave me!”
“Lily Anna, I have to – to protect you,” I remind her, attempting to grab her, but she slips out of my reach. “Please, just… talk to Anders. I’ll be back soon.”
I walk backwards out of the room while her screams continue. Anders is already waiting outside the room, his face creased with worry. I don’t need to say a word – I’m pretty sure he saw what she did with that lamp.
He walks into the room, talking to her in soft, calming tones, but it’s of no use. She’s losing it, screaming and tearing at her own hair and I haven’t even left the Manor yet. But I know I have to. It’ll look suspicious as hell if I don’t show up at the station, and I can’t let people get suspicious about my absence.
Regretting everything, I turn on my heel and leave. The sound of her screams follows me out of the room.
* * *
“What happened?”
Anders presses the ice pack against his swollen eye.
“She attacked me. I’ve never seen her like that, Master Booth. She was out of control, like a wild animal.”
I peek around the open door at her sleeping form in the custom-made bed I had carved out for her. She looks so peaceful now that we’ve forced her to drink some tea with a sleeping pill mixed in. I can barely believe this is the same person – the girl I love, the girl who fucking lost it when I announced I had to leave for a few hours.
“Did you get to the bottom of it? Find out what set her off?” I inquire, but Anders shakes his head.
“She was… she wanted to hurt me, I think,” he blurts out, and I narrow my eyes at him. “To teach you a lesson. She went crazy.”
“I’m sure she’s just nervous about this.”
“I don’t know,” Anders mutters, shaking his head with worry.
“You can’t tell her about this yet,” I mutter. “But I found out something that could potentially be a problem.”
“What is it?”
“Emilian Oakes has sent Pandora to a boarding school,” I manage to get out, swallowing thickly. “He thinks she’s not prepared for Eden Falls yet. She was sent to St Cecile’s three years ago, and has a year left there.”
“But that means…”
“I know what it means,” I snap. “But you can’t tell her yet. Not when she freaked out this much about a mere couple of hours away from me.”
“She won’t take this well,” Anders warns me.
“I know,” I get out through gritted teeth. “Just… let me figure it out.”
He gives me a curt nod, and I walk into Lily Anna’s bedroom, closing the door gently behind me. I sit next to her on the bed, my fingers wandering over her skin.
I make a mental promise to myself to take care of her no matter what. She’s the love of my life, and despite today’s little outburst, there’s nothing she could do to make me stop loving her.
At least I think there isn’t.
Seventeen
Pandora
I follow Easton out of the house, nervously glancing over my shoulder as we walk down the stairs leading away from the house. My sequined dress glides along the marble, and Easton holds my hand firmly, guiding me toward the exit.
“Hurry,” he says, a playful look in his eyes. “We can’t let anyone see us. Your father would kill me if he knew I was doing this…”
“I don’t care,” I tell him resolutely. “I’m done following his orders, or anyone else’s for that matter.”
I don’t mention Dexter, but I don’t need to – we both know whom I mean.
We make our way to the gravel driveway where a black limo with tinted windows is waiting for us. Easton opens the backdoor for me, the perfect gentleman as always, then climbs inside next to me.
“Where are we going to go?” I ask him, giddy with excitement as the doors close and the car starts moving along the gravel pathway leading away from Oakes Estate.
Easton presses a button next to the glass panel separating us from the driver, saying, “Step on it, we need to get out of here as soon as poss
ible.”
The driver steps on the gas, and my new fiancé settles into the seat next to mine, his eyes full of warmth as they meet mine. A sudden pang goes through my chest, reminding me of Dexter who is still inside the Estate none the wiser about what I’ve decided to do.
But I told myself I wouldn’t do what he wanted anymore. I have every right to live my own life. I’m done being controlled by these men who think they own me. It’s time I took matters into my own hands.
“I know the perfect place,” Easton finally answers me, his words cutting through my jumbled thoughts. “It’ll be an hour’s drive though, so settle back, relax and enjoy.”
I do as he says, leaning my head against his shoulder and enjoying the first quiet moment of the day since the party started. Easton seems distracted, scrolling through his phone, so I try to busy myself with the view. The city looks beautiful illuminated in lights, but we soon pull away from the view, driving over a large bridge I saw when I first arrived in Eden Falls.
“Are we leaving the city?” I ask.
“Yes,” Easton nods. “We’re going to a gorgeous lake house. You’ll love it, I think.”
“Oh,” I say. “You don’t think they’ll find us there?”
“No, we’ll be back tomorrow night, and nobody will think to look for us there,” he says, putting his palm over my hand and giving me a reassuring smile. “It’s Julian’s parents’ place, he said I could borrow it for the night.”
This makes me a bit worried – why would he take me to Julian’s place, when they don’t get along at all? But nonetheless I nod wordlessly, staring out of the window again while Easton fumbles with his phone. We’re moving further and further along, away from the bright lights of the city and down roads that seem quieter, with less and less cars on them.
A funny feeling settles in the pit of my stomach, and I glance behind us. Another limo is behind ours, which makes me furrow my brows in worry. Is someone following us?
I’m about to ask Easton about it, but just then, the driver pulls off into another road, and the other limo disappears. I settle back in my seat, quickly forgetting about the other vehicle with my heart pounding with anticipation of what’s to come.
A Hurt So Sweet Volume Two: A Dark High School Bully Romance Page 15
