Page 43 of Gilded
MALIA
I look down at the city as the chopper heads out over the ocean.
I’m an emotional disaster. Both angry and touched that Luka had someone bid on the snake, pushing the price higher.
Even though I’m pissed at Luka for what he did earlier, even though I’ve always known my time with him was limited, I’m still heartbroken that it’s over.
And knowing this ugly stage of my life has begun, a dark hopelessness has settled in.
After pulling on my wrap, I use the edges of the Legos on my wrist, not to calm my anxiety, but to remind myself that men are men. Soren didn’t even notice I was wearing it.
Considering the life ahead of me, maybe Luka did me a huge favor tonight, forcing me to remind myself that fairy tales are bullshit. And I need to take care of myself.
This is my life now, forced to live with this man I hate. This man who disgusts me on every level. I’d better figure out how to manage that in the next twelve hours.
But there’s no denying I feel like I’m bleeding inside.
After we land and get into security’s SUV, Soren says, “Gather what you need for a week. You’re going straight to the estate after the wedding. I’ll have someone deliver the rest of your things.”
It’s happening, this terror I’ve been anticipating for weeks. I’m exhausted. Despondent. Sick.
At the house, Luka and Jairo are waiting in the living room. My will to pretend is depleted, and I pass by them on the way to my room without speaking. There, I close my door loud enough for everyone to hear, then crack it open to listen.
With everyone in my father’s office and the door open, I can catch pieces of the conversation.
“I’m impressed with your work.” My father has to be speaking to Luka. He’s never said such a thing to Soren. “I want to put your plans for South America into action now. And we can go all in after the wedding.”
“If we go all in tonight,” Luka says, “my men can move forward while we’re at the wedding. We can lock down trouble spots like Colombia right now.”
I open the door wider, turn my head to direct my ear down the hall, and close my eyes to heighten my other senses.
“Now that I don’t have to focus on Malia,” he says, “I have time to take on all the sites. I was explaining to Soren how powerful it is to have both a bird’s-eye view and boots on the ground.”
A sob catches in my throat, and I close the door. I turn and press my back against it, covering my mouth. That’s what I get for eavesdropping. Hearing things I don’t want to hear.
Desperation spikes through my veins. It feels like the venom of the snake I’ve spent so much time with over the last two months.
A knock on my door makes me jump. I spin and back away, staring at it in horror. I have twenty-four more hours of freedom from Soren. I’m not giving it up.
Another knock. I still don’t respond, frozen to the spot.
“Malia.” Luka’s quiet voice makes my air rush out. But I still don’t answer, even though everything inside me wants to. “Baby, let me talk to you. Please.”
“Go away, Luka. You don’t have to waste your time focusing on me anymore.”
“You know I have to tell them things like that. Come on, love. I can’t be out here long.”
Fuck. I open the door. “What?”
He glances toward the living area. “Let me come in for a minute.”
“Just say what you need to say.”
“I can’t do that out here.”
I exhale in frustration, step aside, close the door after him, and cross my arms. “What you did tonight was… I don’t even have the right words. Rude, condescending, humiliating. It was wrong.”
He steps toward me and takes my arms. I try to step back but meet the wall, and I feel hysteria dancing along my nerves.
“I said what I said to cover for my impulsive need to touch you,” he says. “I just… I just lost my mind thinking about you with him.”
I’m not going to argue with him over whether he’s been honest or not. “You definitely lost your mind. It was beyond impulsive. You didn’t use a condom. Do you want Soren raising your child? It was shortsighted and selfish, but none of this matters anymore.”
“I promise you, if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get you away from him. I’ll set you free.”
“Don’t. I don’t want another person I can’t trust in my life. Just move on. And while we’re on the subject, I wanted clean money to buy that snake. I wanted to start that charity out on the right foot with honest money.”
“Fifty thousand will disintegrate before your eyes. You’re going to need far more than you think. Europe isn’t cheap as far as escape locations go. You need to take care of yourself. It doesn’t matter where the money comes from.”
My mouth drops open while my mind circles our conversations. I never told him about the fifty thousand. I never talked about Europe. The realization that he’s been monitoring my internet usage is devastating.
“You’re just another chameleon trying to get me to believe in a mirage.” I need him to back off, before I cave to ease this pain. I uncross my arms and push him back. “ Listen to me. It’s over. You did your job. I’m marrying Soren tomorrow. It is what it is.”
I hear someone in the hall, and my heart rate spikes. Luka goes still, and we both stare at the door until the voices pass.
He grips my face and kisses me, a fierce, hard, passionate kiss that leaves me aching and dizzy. “You may be marrying him tomorrow, Malia, but you belong to me. You’ll always belong to me.”
He slips out of the room, and it’s over.
It’s over as abruptly as it began.
I cover my face with both hands, press my back to the door, and slide to the floor, my heart shattering.