Page 107 of Ruthless Chaos

He shakes his head. “That must be why he’s so territorial about her. I’ve never seen him like this.”

The last part of that sentence hurts, but I shelve the feeling like I always do.

Stay focused, Cass.

Once I get that bitch out of the picture, Alexander will be mine again. He might not love me now, but he will learn to.

“I don’t need this list anymore,” I say with a smile, tearing the page out of my notepad and crumpling it up. “I know what I’m going to do to break them up. If her virginity is so important to him, I’ll make sure she loses it to someone else.”

Liam wears a look of intrigue. “How are you going to do that?”

“Don’t worry. I will take care of it,” I chuckle. “Just focus on getting better.”

He smiles. “They say I’ll be out in two weeks or so.”

“That’s perfect,” I say, giving him my brightest smile.

Liam and I are an unlikely pairing, but I’m in the habit of collecting favors.

In our Freshman Year, I helped him secure his spot on Kingmaker by providing him with the unique drugs he needed to win his challenge of fucking the most girls. At the time, I had no idea how I wanted him to repay me, I only knew that having access to the Kingmaker inner circle would come in handy at some point.

I wasn’t wrong.

Finding out that he has his own grouse with Alexander—his fuckingcousin—was the icing on the cake. I’m not entirely sure what Liam’s true motives are, but it hardly matters to me.

Alexander will be my husband, one way or another.

Even if it means I’ll have to drag him up the aisle, broken and bleeding.

I’ve known that the only way to get Alexander on his knees before me was to hit him where it hurts. For years, I’ve tried—and failed—to find that vulnerability. That chink in his armor to lodge my knife.

Thensheshowed up.

In some ways, I should thank that fucking monkey. She’s given me the opening I need to make Alexander crawl back to me—heartbreak. If he likes her that much and loses her, he’ll be defenseless.

It won’t matter that I’m the reason he’s hurt.

He’ll only want to get rid of the pain.

Then, I will make him mine.

TWENTY-SEVEN

ALLIE

The door bursts open.

I startle but don’t scream, clutching the covers closer to my chest.

Thank god I’m dressed this time.

The panic freezes me in place, my logical brain reminds me that I know what’s happening. Things were too quiet for too long.

Another admittance trial.

The room is pitch black, and I’m alone—Tara slipped out to get ice cream and never came back. Despite this, they know how to find me.

Their heavy boots thud against the wooden floor, and hushed whispers hiss in the thick, tense air. I can’t make out their words.