Page 96 of How to Belong with a Billionaire

I gaped at him. “Of course it is. I should never have trusted him.”

“Then the fault lies with your father for being unworthy of your trust.”

“Iknewwhat he was like,” I protested. “So I should have known he was using me.”

“Perhaps. But there is no weakness in putting your faith in people, especially when they’re people who should, by rights, protect and care for you.”

I covered my face with my hands. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It doesn’t matter. He manipulated you.”

“I’m so stupid.” Tears began to drip between my fingers. “So fucking stupid. Letting myself believe that I’d mean anything to him.”

“Arden, please. You…” Caspian paused, sounding oddly helpless. “You can’t let yourself think this way.”

“He never wanted me in the first place because I took away Mum’s attention…which I’m not supposed to know but I overheard Hazel and Rabbie talking…so I should have realised he didn’t want me now.” I drew in a wet and shuddery breath. “I mean, why would he? Look at me. I’m pathetic and I’m stupid and I’m weak and I’m selfish and I make bad decisions and I fuck everything up. But I guess I just really…hopedhe might—”

“Enough of this.” Caspian pulled me into his arms and held me, while I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. “Jonas is a despicable man and you are precious.”

I was too far gone to even make a Gollum joke. If anything, the nice things he was saying just made everything hurt even more. “Don’t. I used to love how well you thought of me. But right now, I belong in a fucking dustbin.”

“You do not.” He gave me a little shake. “And if you keep talking like this, I really will have him assassinated.”

I yelped. “Don’t joke about it.”

“I’m not. I hate that he has made you doubt your worth.”

“He didn’t.” I sat up again, drying my face as best I could. “I did. Caspian, I put my family in danger because I was just so fucking desperate to let someone make me feel special.”

He closed his fingers tightly around my wrist, the band on his fourth finger gleaming with a kind of sickly sheen. “No. You made a mistake. That is all. And your family isn’t in danger. I won’t let anything happen to them. I promise.”

“I thought promises were for children.”

“You told me they were for—” Caspian stopped abruptly.

Lovers.

“Can I have that tea now?” I asked. As much for my sake as for his.

Obviously relieved, he handed me the cup.

And I stared into the murky grey-brown liquid, somewhat dismayed. “Um. What’s this?”

“Tea?”

“Are you sure?” I touched a finger to the surface, momentarily dispersing the oily film that had gathered there. “Because it looks dreadful. What did you do to it?”

A flush was creeping over his cheeks. “I don’t know. I followed a WikiHow.”

“You followed a…Have you really never made tea before?”

“Well, as you know, I prefer coffee and”—he gave me one of his more abashed smiles—“other people bring it to me.”

God. I shouldn’t have been capable of finding him adorable right now. But I did. Just a little bit. And then felt immediately guilty for thinking about Caspian instead of my family. Sick with self-recrimination, I took a heedless gulp of tea.

Caspian was watching me anxiously. “It’s horrible, isn’t it?”

“Uh…yeah. Really horrible.”