Cruel Legacy (Cruel 3)

I watched her melt at my words. A small smile just for me and then a nod.

“Yes,” she said softly. “Please come in.”

“So dramatic,” Amy muttered and then strode directly to the heater to warm up.

I stepped into Natalie’s apartment for the first time. I understood immediately why she’d liked the place. It felt like her. Quaint and cozy with exposed brick and sparse belongings. A desk shoved up to the window, so she could stare out at the city streets below as she daydreamed and wrote out her magnificent stories.

I gritted my teeth to keep from commenting on how fucking awful Lewis was for making her lose this. “Where are you moving anyway?”

Natalie chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t know if this place is…being recorded.” She nervously glanced around the room, paranoia setting in. And I hardly blamed her. “So, how about I just show you when we get there? It’s not far.”

“Fair enough. Where should I start?”

Natalie pointed me to the closet and passed me a few boxes. “Label it Closet, and I’ll figure it out from there. I don’t have much stuff. Should be quick with three of us.”

“I remember the two suitcases you carried your whole life in.”

“I’m kind of regretting having more than that right now. It’d be a lot easier to load those suitcases up and go.”

“I like that you’re putting down some roots though.”

“Something like that,” she muttered. Then she was about to walk away but stopped. “Hey, thanks for your help. I feel…a lot safer with you here.”

My hand came up to cup her cheek on reflex. “That’s all I want for you.”

Amy noisily cleared her throat. “Let’s get to work, people. Lots to do here.”

We broke apart sheepishly and returned to the large project in front of us. I got to work. I had no experience in packing, but how hard could it be?

After an hour of stuffing shit into boxes, I was wishing that I’d played a little bit more Tetris, growing up. Nothing fit how it was supposed to, but at least I was trying. Together, we were making it work.

I closed up one more box and then stood and stretched my arms overhead. My back ached a little from being hunched over the boxes. Who knew packing boxes could make a person feel so out of shape?

There was a knock on the door, and Amy groaned from the other room. “Finally! I never thought the pizza would get here.”

“I’ll get it,” I said, reaching for my wallet. I opened the door and simultaneously pulled out a twenty. “How much do I owe you?”

“A lot more than twenty, Kensington,” Lewis said crisply from the doorway.

Chapter 7

Natalie

That voice.

Oh god. I knew that voice.

I dashed out of the bedroom, dropping the shirt I’d been about to fold. Lewis was here. He was here. My mouth dried up, and my stomach clenched.

I was shocked to find that my anger didn’t surface at the first glimpse of his beautiful face. The perfect brown skin, high cheekbones, and molten dark eyes that I’d grown to adore over the time we were together. I’d always admired his good looks, but it was his easy smile, his quickness to laugh and joke, the poise of his powerful body that knew himself so completely, and the way he could draw me out of my protective shell that had won me over.

There had been something so good about Lewis. But it was a mask. An Upper East Side mask that I’d let myself be glamoured by. If he had ever been that carefree boy who loved to read and play baseball, then I had never met him.

My heart ached, cracked as his eyes slid to my features. As the mask tilted, I saw the truth of his own pain from our breakup. Or maybe I was just seeing what he wanted me to see. It was so complicated. He had ruined my life out of spite. Pure spite. I didn’t want to be conflicted. We would never be together again. Never. And I wanted to destroy the sympathetic side of my personality that said he was hurting and I should care.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded.

Lewis’s gaze swept from mine back to Penn, who looked ready to punch him again. “Checking in.”

“You’re not wanted here,” Penn said.

Lewis just smirked. “Never stopped you.”

“Cut it out,” I snapped. “Both of you. I am not going to deal with this right now.” I stepped around Penn and glared at Lewis. “How did you even know I was home?”

“Checking your security footage again?” Penn taunted at my side.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lewis said smoothly. “And I guessed you’d be here because of this.”

He produced his phone and passed it to me. I warily took it in my hands and saw he had it open to Page Six. He scrolled about a quarter of the way down the page, and there, in a small photo amid other celebrities, was me. I read the caption in shock and excitement. This was…exactly what I’d wanted.