The King (Gentlemen Rogues 2)

Push it down. Do not feel this.

I felt like I could blow up at anyone who dared speak to me or look at me, and the idea that I might run into Gabe made me ill, just like it had five minutes ago.

I took the winding path to the main lodge as rage simmered just under my flesh.

I went to the private residences, completely ignoring the whispers of the workers in the other half of the manor. I just didn't have the energy for it. When I finally made it to my room, I closed the door, expecting the familiar surroundings to calm me, but they didn't. Instead, it made me even more restless.

As I passed my desk, I caught a whiff of something familiar and frowned. There was a note on the top drawer. I owe you, and I’m sorry. I hope this begins my repayment.

There was a trail of arrows pointing toward my bathroom. When I opened the door and walked in, there was a plain, nondescript bottle about eight ounces in size sitting on my vanity.

As I approached, the scent alone told me what it was, and I froze. There was no fucking way. No way he could have done this. But as I leaned forward, too afraid to touch the bottle lest it shatter or disappear, I could smell it. It was my mother's perfume.

"What have you done?" I whispered.

Holy shit, he’d found my mum's perfume. After all this time, he had found a way to recreate it. He'd gotten me the one thing that I couldn't get myself. And he wasn’t even here so I could say thank you and also punch him and tell him I hated him.

The question was, could I forget everything about how he’d hurt me?