Page 110 of Bared Betrayal

“You were the one terrorizing me?”

He scoffs. “Don’t be so dramatic, Kallie. You were never in danger.”

Thirty

KALLIE

“Say it’s not true.”My voice is nothing but a whisper, Gabriel’s words still ringing in my ears. “Say it’s not true, Sebastian.”

Sebastian’s eyes flicker with a dark intensity, and I shrink back from the raw power emanating from him. His voice is low and menacing as he speaks. “I was only doing what you didn’t have the guts to do.”

I take a step back and shake my head in denial, unable to process what he’s telling me. “No,” I say in disbelief, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

“Yes,” he blurts. “I gave you time. I was patient with you, waiting for you to open your goddamn mouth and say it.”

“How?” My voice chokes. “How did you know?”

“Gregory.”

“Gregory? Elenor’s butler?”

“He thought you looked familiar but couldn’t figure it out. Took the dumb fuck more than a year to finally recognize you.”

“So, it was you. The articles. The texts.”

Sebastian merely arches an eyebrow at me in reply, seeming amused by my accusation. “I had to do something to push you to talk.”

“You selfish little shit!” Gabriel yells.

“Why?” I ask, looking Sebastian in the eye. “Why would you do this to me?”

“Don’t you see it? Please tell me you see it, Kallie.”

I swipe at a tear on my cheek, and he frowns at my lack of response.

“Because this story is fucking gold,” he says with vigor that makes me shiver. “This is the kind of shit the world craves. Think about it. A beautiful woman, a talented artist with a tragic past, meets a young, up-and-coming celebrity and falls in love. We could set the entire world on fire. It hits every single hot button. It would trend across the board.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. He’s saying all these words; it’s coming out of his mouth, but I can’t make sense of it. “You want to use my life as entertainment?”

He scoffs. “Trust you to see this entire thing in a negative light.”

“Are you serious?” I glare at him in disbelief. “There is nothing positive about you trying to scare me so I’ll talk, and you get more time in the spotlight.”

“Despite what you might think, my reason for doing this isn’t purely selfish. You needed to come out with the truth for your own sanity. And being married to me puts you in an ideal position to help others just like you.”

“Justlikeme?” I narrow my eyes in disbelief. “And what exactly am I, Sebastian?”

“Look.” He lifts his hands in mocking surrender. “All I’m saying is that this story breaking was beneficial for both of us.”

“You dumb son of a bitch,” Gabriel exclaims. “Beneficial for both of you? I fail to see how this is beneficial to her.”

“You stay out of this.” Sebastian points at him, his glare shooting daggers. “Kallie,” he looks back at me, “think about it. This could kickstart your career as a world-famous artist. Your paintings will be worth millions. And you will have the power to help victims like yourself. Don’t you see? You can take all the bad that happened to you and turn it into something good.”

“This isn’t about me,” I grit, tears now streaming down my face. “This is about you. About getting more eyes around the world on you and your acting career. You wanted to sensationalize my trauma and reap the benefits of it.”

“You think I wanted to see you subjected to the scrutiny of the tabloids? I had no choice here, Kallie. If Gregory could figure it out, how long before someone else figured it out? This had to come from you. You were supposed to be the one to tell the world who you really are, but when you…” He swallows his words, wiping a palm down his mouth as his eyes flash with hurt. “When you called off the wedding, I had no choice.”

“So, you leaked it to the press.” I’m barely able to breathe through the shock. “You son of a bitch.”