“Oh, Joe is awesome. Ever since his wife went missing five years ago, he’s thrown himself into his work and manages the whole garden, and it stretches acres and acres. So it’s a huge job. And he’s always so generous and kind. I think he’s lonely.”
“That’s sad.” I tried not to think of my parents, of the image of Mom lying on the kitchen floor dead. I didn’t want those memories to ruin the moment.
“I sometimes joke with my mom that this compound should be called the broken island because nearly everyone here has come from a damaged background.”
Before I could school myself, my thoughts flew to Hendrix and his brothers, and how their father treated them, then I said, “Yeah, Hendrix’s upbringing is quite devastating too.”
“Not to mention, what happened with his fated mate,” she whispered, her eyebrow wriggling.
My legs stopped moving with her words, and I grabbed her hand. “Wait a moment. Hendrix has a fated mate?”
“Had.” She grinned just like the other girls at the bar would when they gossiped about the latest drama. I wasn’t included in their conversations, but I heard enough whispers to know what they talked about.
“Oh, you don’t know?” Eliza’s eyes were huge, and she drew me under a tree the size of a two-story house, blossoming with white flowers.
My stomach tensed up, as he’d never mentioned anything about his fated mate. I was deliberately ignoring the flash of jealousy teasing up my spine as I thought about it.
After looking left and right to make sure no one was near, Eliza said, “He rejected his fated mate because she cheated on him. He was furious and kicked her off the island, then disappeared himself for a full month. No one knew where he went.”
My heart twisted, and I pressed a hand to my chest to ease the growing tightness.
“Then he came back and pretended like it never happened. No one dared mention her name, and anything relating to her had to be thrown out.”
“Wow.” I pinched my lips and an unease creased my brow. He never said he rejected his fated mate, even after knowing what Brayden had done to me. Frowning, I started to burn up with anger that he withheld that from me.
The morning fight between the brothers flashed into my mind. Along with his words about sharing me. My instinct had told me something was wrong.
My gut clenched harder. And I was convinced I’d hurl.
He rejected his mate, and the reason he wanted to share me was because he wasn’t that into me. I was someone to have fun with, to pass around.
“It was a big deal, and everyone was talking about it,” Eliza continued. “Especially since she cheated on Hendrix with River.”
“Fuck,” the word slipped from my lips, and a wave of sickness hurled through my stomach. Bile hit the back of my throat as all I could picture was the chaos that went down earlier in the day. River acting all weird and possessive, Caspian standing up for me, but then Hendrix’s attack on River.
And his remarks made perfect sense.
Sharing would be new for you,he’d said.
Fury surged through my veins, turning my insides to spitfire. I tensed, wanting to go to Hendrix and ram my fist into his face. He rejected his fated mate and then brought me here, pretending he cared about me.
Fuck him! Though I cringed with the knowledge I had slept with River… Shit, that complicated things.
“Hello, Syn,” Eliza said, snapping her fingers in my face. “Are you alright?”
“I-I’m not feeling too well. Do you mind if I go back to my room please?”
Her cheeks flushed, and she nodded. “Of course, right away. Look, I didn’t mean to upset you. I shouldn’t have told you that about Hendrix.”
I took her hand in mine. “You did nothing wrong. I think the apricot is just sitting funny in my stomach. Maybe we can continue the tour on another day?”
“Yes, I would love that.” With her smile returning, I did my best to grin when she looked at me until I reached my room Then I shut the door, and a growl vibrated in my throat.
Furious at Hendrix, I paced in the room, tossing the pillows at the wall, ripping the bed sheets off. I knocked the chairs aside. I wanted to hurt him, to hit him.
A headache pulsed at the base of my head the more I went over everything I’d learned.
Hendrix’s promises and his insistence that I was special to him made no sense if he happily shared me. Part of me felt like a hypocrite for questioning him, but the fact that he rejected his fated mate, just as Brayden had done to me, hurt. And it made me fucking furious that he never told me.
Unable to tame the fire in my heart and stop my mind from racing, I threw myself onto the messy bed and closed my eyes. Then I counted down to calm myself, to think this through.
I had no clue how long I’d been lying on the bed, but the raucous sound of voices outside had me climbing to my feet and going to the balcony. Night spread over the heavens, and I realized most of the day had passed.
Frowning, I searched the grounds for the commotion. I eyed two guards dragging someone toward the far corner of the yard. The man wrestled against them, and I moved to the railing, watching with curiosity.
The man’s cap went flying in the scuffle, and then I saw his face. It was Joe, the gardener.
I shivered, shaking with the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
I couldn’t look away as he thrust against the two men hauling him, but Joe wasn’t a big man and stood no chance against them.
Fear crept through me. I could never harm a living creature. Maybe it was something I would work up to if the person deserved it, but these guards were rough with Joe.
They shoved and kicked him, and he dropped to his knees. His hands remained tied behind his back the whole time.
My feet were locked in place, like somehow they were fused into the balcony, because nothing would get me to move while I watched Joe.
What was going on? I hugged my middle as a shiver crept down my spine.
The guards stepped away from Joe, leaving him kneeling on the lawn.
I caught sight of River strolling from around the corner of the mansion and moving toward Joe. He was rubbing his chin, and from my spot, I couldn’t hear what they said.
Only Joe’s howling cries sounded, and I could tell he was pleading.