Beautiful Monster (Dark Lies Duet 2)

I'm screaming, too, shrieking and wailing, and for one split second, I know I'm losing my mind. This is where I break. I'll never be whole again. I'm going to cross the line and fall over onto the other side, never to return.

But I don't. And no matter how hard I fight and scream and claw at his arm, Christian’s hold on me remains. He clutches me tight to his chest, his possession.

“A pleasure as always, Cynthia,” he taunts.

She spits on the floor and mutters an Italian curse. He only snorts in amusement and drags me out of the room. The last thing I see is her stricken face before the door swings shut.

Then her words start to playback in my mind. His family killed my family. All I needed was to hear it from her lips. I hope he doesn’t punish her for this.

I bounce off the back seat when Christian throws me back into the car. “Goddamn it,” he snarls after climbing in and slamming the door. “That little display was beneath you. How am I supposed to trust you to behave yourself when you act like a child?”

“It’s true, isn’t it?” I’m not letting him get away with blaming this on me. “Did your family really kill my family?”

“Yes.” He leans across the seat, bringing his face close to mine. “My father ordered a hit on your family. Are you satisfied?”

I stare up into his eyes and know he’s telling the truth. “Why? What did he want?”

His nostrils flare, the muscles twitching in his jaw. “Everything your father had.”

My mouth falls open, making him snort before he backs off.

“And for the record, he also wanted you dead. I refused to let that happen, and I still do.”

“Why does he want any of that?”

“Does it matter? The result is the same. You are under my protection from him, but the only hope of solidifying that protection is by marrying me. Which is what you’re going to do, as soon as possible.”

His words trickle through the horror movie rolling in my head. “That’s not going to happen. I’m never marrying you.” He wanted me dead. That’s why my parents died. Because of me. The shitstorm just keeps growing, like a hurricane.

“That’s what you think.”

“It’s what I know.” I want so much to curl up in a ball and cry until the pressure in my head eases. I can’t take this. It’s too much. But I won’t humiliate myself like that. “You tell me your family killed mine, then tell me we’re going to get married? Why would I want to marry you after everything you’ve done? After what you just told me?”

He cocks his head to the side, “Knowing I’m protecting your life isn’t enough?”

“If living means being married to you, my life isn’t worth all that much.”

His eyes light up, and I understand I’ve stepped into a trap. I don’t need to hear it to know what the trap is, either. It’s obvious.

“What about Cynthia’s life?” he murmurs before a slow smile spreads across his lips. A genuine smile that’s so much scarier than the cold, harsh kind. “Is her life worth much? Because if you don’t marry me, she’ll be the one who suffers the consequences, and after that little show, I’ll bet, even if you don’t think your life is worth something, you’re not willing to let Cynthia die because of your poor choices.”

I clench my teeth. “I hate you, and I mean it. With every fiber in my soul.”

Christian merely smiles. “You can hate me all you want, but no matter what happens, you’ll become my wife.”

6

CHRISTIAN

Siân sits across the table from me with her arms folded over her chest and her lips pouted. She hates me, or at least she likes to pretend she does. I laugh internally because we both know the truth.

She may not necessarily enjoy the circumstances, but she's already admitted to loving me once. Something tells me that to save her precious Cynthia, she'll do everything that I asked. After our visit, after she'd learned that my family was responsible for her loss, I knew that this would be hard.

But she's mine in every sense of the word. My ways may not be that of Prince Charming, but she means everything, and a part of me came to know that a long time ago. Which is probably why I decided to watch her instead of taking her early on. I knew that if my father found out that I did not kill her like he ordered me to, he would do it himself. Or better yet, it'd be some sick, tormented thing where he takes her and adds her to the list of girls that he sells.

At the time, I thought nothing of it. It would be just like always, another young girl sold to the highest bidder in the name of keeping the wrath of my father at bay.