Page 114 of Terror Tuesday

“Until you saw me?” I worry that he’s never really known people before. Tucked away from everyone, and then latched onto the first thing he saw.

“No. I mean, yes, in a way… It wasn’t your looks that caught my eye, though you are stunning.” Waving his fork over my body, he says it like it’s obvious. “As I said, the more I watched you, the more I wanted to know you. You were so polished andobedient. But underneath the pink, I thought you were just like me.”

I still in my chair. “Like you?”

His green eyes lift across the table and hold mine. “Dangerous.” He swallows his bite and shrugs. “You just didn’t know it yet.”

The food is excellent, but my mind is racing. “So then the night with Hunter…”

“I didn’t know you were going to show up to the warehouse that night. That was just a bonus for me. And I decided to act on the opportunity. Watching Hunter’s tantrums for all those years was enough. I’d had it. So I came up with a plan to give you a test. Hunter and Bryce were the pawns, but I needed to see how far you’d bend. Not for them. Foryou.”

He pauses for long enough for me to remember forcing Hunter’s dick onto Bryce’s…

“But when you turned the game around on them? When you used your power instead of letting it be taken from you—” A slow smile stretches across his lips. “That’s when I knew. You were willing to rebel.”

Vanq stood behind them, not really seeing what was happening at the moment, but I do wonder. “You…wanted to see me do that to them?”

His face screws up with something like disgust, then changes to a menacing grimace. “No. I wanted to see whatyouwould do when the mask came off and the orders no longer made sense. You could’ve submitted andobeyed. You didn’t. You redefined the rules. You passed the test by breaking it. Then, I just needed to punish them for thinking they could ever touch you again.”

“Butwhy then? Why didn’t you show yourself sooner?”

“Because, my Monarch…you weren’t ready.” His words are a key turning in my chest, unlocking secrets I didn’t want to discover. It’s unsettling—like he’s always known me better than I know myself.

He’s stunned me into silence, especially as he continues. “If you hadn’t experienced men like Hunter, how would you knowwhat was trulygoodand what you deserved? The caterpillar hasn’t experienced what it’s like to fly.”

His voice dips lower, like he’s confessing a truth he’s carried for too long. “Only through the struggle…does she come to know true freedom.”

My eyes sting with tears. It’s hard to breathe. “You’re right. If you’d shown up freshman year, I probably wouldn’t have paid you the attention you deserve…” I’m sad to say it. But I was looking for presidential material. Someone to lead me to becoming a politician myself. No matter the cost. “So what was your plan with the video?”

“I had to make you hold the weapon. Feel the power in your own hands.Yourphone.Yourchoice. Not mine. If you hesitated, the video could’ve lit the fire for you if I threatened to release it. But I hoped you’d take action first—on your own. That was the point. To show you that you could take control of your past. Without a mask. No help.Justyou.”

“I deleted it,” I tell him proudly. “Not sure how you would blackmail me into doing anything.”

“Well…it’s never trulydeleted. But I took care of it from the cloud.”

My pride turns into embarrassment. “Oh…”

His eyes flicker with some recollection. “That little rebellion in the warehouse was the first step toward taking on bigger issues.”

“Reggie Blackwell,” I whisper his name. A ghost in my memory now.

“Yeah. With most people, anger covers up fear. But I wondered with you if it were the opposite…”

“What do you mean?”

His smile curls slowly as he answers me. “Were youafraidof the depth of your wrath?”

My mind flashes back to Elliot in the corner, watching me drop the watch in the pond. “You saw it. You sawme.”

“Always.”

Now that we’ve finished our meal, the electricity between us is undeniable. His hand reaches for mine on the white-clothed table.

“Was that it, then? You wanted me to take out my rapist?”

For once, Valen turns shy, reminding me more of Elliot. “You want the entire story? He wasn’t just your rapist.”

My pulse pounds harder, as if my brain has been protecting me from the real answer. The one sitting deep inside that I’ve been terrified to face.