Page 41 of King of Obsession (Kings of the Underworld #1)

He picks up the bag and throws it my way. I see various items, including toiletries, pajamas, a new uniform, new trainers, workout clothes, and even a black dress and sandals. I bring the bag up to my room, taking out each item.

They’re things I forgot to appreciate, but now I do as I carefully place them in the closet and bathroom. He still cares, that stubborn man, and my chest warms.

The lines blur once again as he walks into my room. I know with every fiber of my being what we had is tarnished forever, but maybe we could bridge this rift.

“Thank you for—”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I guess keeping up the pretense it is.

“I am heading to bed. You’ll stay at the compound tomorrow,” he informs me.

I shake my head, refusing to allow him to put distance between us. “Where you go, I go.”

“This is an order.”

“Enzo…”

Don’t cut me out is what I want to say, but no words come out.

Maybe we both need some space, and he’ll learn to appreciate my presence.

I know he’s just trying to shove me away like I don’t affect him.

He can lie to himself for as long as he wants.

The truth will always break down the walls he erects.

“Fine.”

He’ll be the one to come back sooner, not able to be without me.

“So agreeable,” he mumbles.

Narrowing my eyes, I thrust a finger at him. “Don’t push your luck.”

“Or fucking what?” he asks, cutting the distance between us and forcing me back. My back hits the mattress, and he climbs on top of me.

I am about to lift my hand to hold on to him when he grips my wrist with one hand, forcing my arm back. Pinning me while with the other, he grabs my neck and squeezes. He can’t do it and we both know it.

There’s a war waging in his eyes as he lets out a sound of an injured animal that pierces my chest, lancing my heart that yearns for his love. I wish I could make it right, but know I never can.

I chose you, Enzo, even if it doesn’t appear that way. But betrayal is betrayal.

There are so many things I long to tell him, but it wouldn’t change a damn thing. Our love story is in ruins—decrypted and blown up by an unforgivable past.

I close my eyes for a moment, wanting to hide my vulnerability. He pushes himself off me, leaving me desolate, my body aching to feel his pressed against mine again.

I feel his pain, his need, as if they’re my own.

“It was not one-sided,” I whisper.

His back stiffens, muscles straining behind his shirt.

“Shut up, Luciana. I believed your lies once. I might be a fool, but—”

“Is this how we’ll spend our lives?” I ask softly when he’s about to close the door.

“Not a lifetime, just a while longer.”

“My ghost will be even worse to live with than the reality of me.”

“Nothing is worse than the reality of you,” he says and slams the door shut after him.

That is his truth. I’ve lost him.

The pain is so swift and so precise it’s like he ripped out my heart. I won’t survive his hatred.

I pace, not finding my peace. I need to get out of here.

Quickly tiptoeing out of the room, I assume Kill is with Enzo, so I slip out the door, getting lost in the night. I need a bit of distance to make my poisonous thoughts stop injecting my soul with their lethal venom.

I know he will find me, but I am too emotionally messed up for a game of hide and seek.

I was never a believer in the notion that love can save you and all that crap about finding your person. Yet, my inner voice said he’s it.

I did stupid things in the name of loving him. To save his ass so he can call me a nightmare from his high horse.

I take in the fence surrounding the compound. The freedom on the other side of it doesn’t appeal to me. I am lost. I don’t know who I am anymore. Behind this fence, I can pretend I don’t care about finding out.

The illuminated paved path leads me to the pond. I drop down and take off my shoes. Dipping my toes in the freshwater, I smile at the fish rising to the surface to see if it’s food or an intruder.

Leaning back on my palms, I tread my feet in the water, gently not to disturb the koi’s habitat.

“I can track your ass anywhere,” he says low enough the night gets chillier.

I don’t bother looking at him.

“You needed space, and so did I.”

He crouches in front of me, expelling a long breath ringing with annoyance. “Is there something in your brain that has trouble understanding the terms of you being here?”

I whip my head to him, staring him down. “Since you’re asking so nicely. Yes, there is. While I know we are enemies now, not long ago, we were everything else. And it’s fucking with my head.” I will give him only honesty from now on till he chokes on my truth.

He opens and closes his mouth, clamping it shut, exposing the muscle in his jaw that tics.

“Not my problem.”

“Nooo, you have your shit together.” My voice doesn’t hide that I call bullshit.

“Tomorrow, you’ll be monitoring a delivery to the warehouse.”

“Will you be there too?” I ask, even though I know what he’s planning to do.

“No.”

“Then you know my answer.”

He sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “This is not a negotiation.”

My hand lifts of its own accord, wanting to caress his face pulled taut—distraught because of me. Emotions overcome me, and I palm his cheek. Touching him anchors me.

He closes his eyes for a second and when he opens them, they bore into me with a mix of anger and hurt. He rips my hand away, his rejection fisting my heart. Tears instantly well up in my eyes.

“Shock me. Do it, Enzo, again and again and fucking again. I won’t change my mind once it’s made.”

He stalks away as if a horde of hyenas are in line, waiting to devour him.

Out of the shadows, his sister appears, and she takes a seat next to me.

“You have some big lady balls.”

I shrug, blinking the tears away. “Fake it till you make it.”

“I should hate you, but…”

“Better to hate me. I react strangely when people care about me.”

I want to add just ask your brother , but I let the unspoken words linger between us.

“Men fear you. Must be nice,” she says, looking in the distance.

“Yeah, but you’re the princess.”

She sighs, wearing a faraway, forlorn expression. “In the ivory tower. No one wants to be her anymore.”

I smile, her presence not bothering me at all.

“But I could never be you either.”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t know who I want to be anymore either.”

We exchange a look that tells us we’re both women who have had to pretend for a long time. Something akin to companionship stretches between us under the moonlight.