Something crashed inside me — the last fragile piece of hope.
Then Victoria whispered something I couldn’t hear, and Lewis groaned. Their voices grew softer, breathier, then dissolving into hungry moans that made bile rise in my throat.
I couldn’t listen anymore.
When I finally left the bedroom, eyes red but dry, I found Maxon in the kitchen. Pretending to be Lewis.
He was humming while setting plates on the table. When he saw me, his smile brightened. “Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?”
A lie wrapped in honey.
I stared at him, numb. “Fine.”
His brows pulled together, concerned. “You look pale. Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to take you to the doctor?”
I shook my head quickly. “No. I’m okay.”
Before he could ask anything more, the front door opened and in walked the monsters themselves — Lewis and Victoria. Laughing. Touching. Radiating happiness as if they hadn’t been plotting to destroy my life an hour ago.
“You two are early,” Maxon said lightly.
“We’ll be staying here for a bit,” Lewis answered, dropping a bag by the couch. “Family bonding and all.”
Victoria hooked her arm with Lewis’s and grinned. “Let’s make the place lively!”
I nodded quietly, swallowing down the scream clawing up my throat. There was no point exposing what I knew — not now. Not with the three of them circling me like wolves.
Later that day, Victoria found me alone in the living room. She sat beside me, too close, the smugness radiating from her like perfume.
“You look tired,” she said sweetly. “Is married life already dragging you down?”
I bit my tongue. She leaned in, voice dripping venom. “Or maybe Lewis is getting bored of you. He always said you were the… dull one.”
My palms trembled.
“And honestly?” she whispered. “You never deserved him. Or anything you have.”
Something inside me snapped.
“Shut up,” I said through clenched teeth.
Victoria smiled slowly, like she’d been waiting for this. “Make me.”
She shoved my shoulder — a weak, childish push meant to provoke — but I shoved her back. Harder. She staggered, let out a dramatic shriek, and intentionally crashed into a side table. The porcelain vase toppled and shattered into glittering shards.
Right on cue, Lewis stormed in.
“What happened?” he demanded, eyes darting between us.
Victoria ran straight into his arms, trembling like an abused kitten. “She pushed me!” she cried.
I stepped forward, heat flooding my face. “She started it—”