Page 29 of Beautiful Sinner

“When have I ever lied to you?” Except for now of course.

“You never have. That’s why I trust you.”

I can’t deny the sting in my chest. Viktor trusts me more than anyone, sometimes even Inessa. We’ve been through thick and thin together. He has no reason to distrust me and I know I can’t make up lies about Connor. I have to only tell Viktor the truth about him but there’s no way I can tell Viktor about the version of Connor I met at Dante’s club. Yes, it would mean I wouldn’thave to marry Connor, but it would also cause more chaos that I don’t want to bring down on our heads.

“I’ll talk to him,” I say.

“Thank you.”

Viktor stays in his office as I meet Connor in the foyer. He’s studying one of the paintings on the wall – it’s a Picasso.

I inhale and prepare myself to make the most out of this. “Do you like it?” When he looks at me, I point at the painting. “It’s one of my favorites.”

Connor shrugs. “I was never one for art. Seems like a waste of time. And I always thought Picasso’s paintings were ugly.”

“They’re not ugly.”

“To me they are.”

“Fine. My brother wanted me to come and talk to you.”

“Oh yeah?” I hate his smug smile and swagger to his walk like he thinks he already has a claim to me. “About our upcoming wedding.”

“I am not marrying you,” I say flatly.

“I don’t believe that. I saw Viktor’s face when I suggested it. He seems interested. Moreso than that ugly old man.”

“Grigori isn’t going to marry me because he tried to touch me and I told Viktor about it. So if you want any chance at marrying me, you won’t try to touch me.”

“But I want to touch you.” He sidles up close to me. Let him. Let him try to touch me and I’ll tell Viktor right away and then I won’t have to marry Connor. “I want to finish what we never got to finish at the club that night.”

“Careful. If you touch me, Viktor will not let you marry me.”

“Then I’ll just tell him about where we really met. I’m not sure he’d appreciate learning that his sweet little sister is a bit of a slut.”

I gasp and step back. “I am not.”

“Then why were you there that night?”

“No reason.”

“There was no reason you were in Dante’s club that night?Dante’sclub?”

“I just wanted a little bit of fun. I chose the club, not knowing it was Dante’s. It was an honest mistake.”

“And yet, I saw you talking to Matteo Conti. I saw you leave the club with him. What was that all about?”

“I think you’re mistaken,” I say. “I didn’t leave with Matteo. I barely know him. I’ve met him once.” Yes, I’m flat out lying to Connor, but I don’t care about that. He’s not a good man. I just know that if we get married, he’ll try to force me to be with him. He won’t respect my boundaries – not like Matteo has.

“Ok,” Connor says. “I’ll believe you. But you should know that I really don’t. I think you have a secret, Julia. You don’t want your brother to think badly of you, right? If you marry me, I’ll never tell him about where we really first met.”

“And I won’t tell him how you tried to force me to take drugs. I can tell you this will end a lot worse for you than for me. He’s killed men for less than that.”

“Maybe he won’t hurt you but he’ll definitely lock you back up. And I can tell that’s not something you want. So if you want a bit of freedom, Julia, then choose me. Marry me. I can give you a life of excitement.”

Or a life of fear. “I don’t want to marry you, Connor.”

“Give me a chance. I know we started off on the wrong foot but I can show you that I’m not all bad. Let me take you on a date. Let me show you how much fun I can be.”