Page 184 of Wicked Believer

My gaze tracks to where Lucifer and Charlotte pose for yet another photo together on the red carpet. If it weren’t for how fast her smile fades in between rounds of photos, you’d never be able to tell anything was wrong, that I fucked up—put the blade in play to punish Lucifer, and now her Seer of a best friend is in danger instead. But I’ve stalked the two of them long enough, even when they didn’t know I was looking, that, though I may not have had Charlotte in all the ways Lucifer has, I know them both.

They’re fucking perfect for one another.

It’s almost disgusting, it’s so obvious.

And they’ll find a way to make it through any challenge.

Including this. And me.

Charlotte glances up at Lucifer, and there’s such an intense, vulnerable adoration in her eyes that if Ihada beating heart, I imagine it would ache at the sight of her love and devotion for him.

How could I ever consider coming between them when they’re so clearly meant for each other?

But fuck, how I felt when she kissed me ...

I haven’t been able to get it out of my head ever since, and the answer to why I’m putting myself through this torture is simple.

My attention falls to Lucifer.

I know my ex. I know him well. I know him better than anyone, even Charlotte.

And while I may havehatedher, loathed her very existence, the first time I laid eyes on her for how jealous I was of her, now that I know her, I ...

Can’t let him do to her what he did to me.

Break her heart. Destroy her because he’s too fucked up to truly love anyone, Charlotte included. Not in the way they really need.

I still love him.

I don’t fucking want to, but I do.

But I also hate him.

And in Charlotte, I’ve found a kindred spirit.

She understands me better than he ever could.

Because I once stood in her place.

He may have never looked at me with the playful affection in his eyes he has whenever he watchesher, but I know for a fact that if left unchecked ...

He’ll destroy her. Even if he loves her.

Just like he nearly destroyed me.

Charlotte isn’t ancient like I am.

She needs someone to protect her, be her buffer, so if and when the time comes, Lucifer’s twisted obsession with her doesn’t annihilate her completely.

And I guess I’ve decided there’s no one better fit to protect her than me.

The former lover who’s now going to be his enemy.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Charlotte

We’re standing in what’s essentially the backstage room at the CFDA Awards, held in the Beaux-Arts Court inside the Brooklyn Museum, and in less than five minutes Lucifer and I will be going out in front of the roughly five hundred and fifty celebrity attendees. I’m so full of nerves and unprocessed tension that my hands are practically shaking, but it’s not the massive crowd of sitting dinner guests or even the thought of standing on stage in front of them all that has my anxiety skyrocketing.