He had something on me.
I replayed all the answers to the clues in my mind; my ex. Sex. Making a video.
It finally clicked.
Dean had used it to blackmail Roman.
The truth slammed into me at the exact moment the orgasm hit. My back arched, the belt biting into my wrists as my body shook, my cry raw and breathless, echoing in the room.
Roman didn’t ease up-he devoured me through it, holding me down, prolonging the bliss until I was gasping and trembling against the sheets, lost in a haze of pleasure.
When I finally sagged, boneless and panting, he lifted his head. His mouth glistened, his eyes dark and unreadable, a storm brewing within them.
As I came down from the high, the severity of the situation crashed into me like a freight train.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, the weight of realization settling heavily on my chest.
“You know now,” he said simply, as if he hadn’t just torn me apart in every conceivable way…
“Oh my God,” I whispered, my chest heaving with the enormity of it all.
As clarity washed over me, the realization struck like a thunderclap, and the words erupted from my lips, sharp and fierce. I had all the answers, each one leading to a singular, devastating truth.
Dean had captured our moments together in secret, and now, he wielded that footage like a weapon, manipulating Roman to bend to his will.
“How could Dean stoop so low?!” I exclaimed, my voice reverberating in the charged air between us. My skin felt aflame, a feverish heat coursing through my veins, and I found it impossible to remain still. I wrapped my arms around myself, as if my embrace could quell the violent tremors that rattled my core.
Beside me, Roman lay relaxed on the bed, his demeanor infuriatingly serene. How could he maintain such composure in the face of chaos? Was this a skill he had mastered, or was it simply part of his nature?
How could he remain unaffected when everything around us felt like it was crumbling?
With one forearm casually resting behind his head, he regarded me with a steady gaze, unblinking and unyielding, as if he had anticipated my eruption long before I even opened my mouth.
“Calm yourself,” he instructed, his tone measured and cool. “I will deal with the weasel.”
The flatness of his voice only served to fan the flames of my fury.
“How can you be so unfazed, Roman?” I demanded, my voice trembling with emotion. “Do you even comprehend what this means for me?”
“Yes.” His eyes remained locked on mine, unwavering.
“Well, I can’t wrap my head around this. I-” My breath caught in my throat, and I began to pace, my footsteps muffled against the carpet, yet the sound of my anxious movement echoed in my ears, a frantic rhythm that matched my racing heart. “This is precisely why you cannot trust anyone! This is a living nightmare.”
“This is precisely why I hesitated to bring this up with you,” Roman replied, his voice low but slicing through my panic with surgical precision. “You’re becoming too agitated.”
“How can I not be agitated?!” I shot back, spinning to face him. “If he releases that footage-God-my life will be shattered!”
“Don’t say that.”
“But it’s the truth! Dean would leak that video just to hurt me. He’s that vindictive, especially after what happened last night.”
Roman shifted slightly, propping himself up against the headboard, still lounging as though he were unaffected by the storm brewing within me. It was maddening, watching him remain composed while I felt like my entire world was teetering on the brink of collapse.
“He won’t,” he stated simply.
“Oh?” I let out a harsh laugh, devoid of any humor. “And you trust Dean because…?”
A faint curve of his lips hinted at something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Because he only needs assurance that you won’t interfere with his wedding to your sister. That’s all.”
I halted mid-step, the weight of his words crashing down on me.
“That’s it?” My voice dropped to a whisper, laced with bitterness.
Roman shrugged, a casual gesture that belied the gravity of the situation. “Sounds too simple, doesn’t it?”
“It does.” My chest tightened painfully. “He’s… that infatuated with her?”
“So he claims.”
A chilling twist of something sharp and cold coiled in my stomach at the thought of my sister and Dean together. Dean’s obsession had always been grotesque, but hearing Roman articulate it so plainly scraped at a raw nerve within me.
A part of me simmered with resentment, a deep-seated hatred for both Dean and Chloe. I knew one undeniable truth: if Dean was plotting to humiliate me publicly, Chloe was complicit in it.
Any scheme that led to my utter disgrace would have Chloe orchestrating it from the shadows.
I forced myself to meet Roman’s steadfast gaze again. “What should I do, Roman? I’m terrified. Dean might actually leak the video just to get back at me.”
“I’ll make him erase it,” Roman replied without a moment’s hesitation. “But you-” his eyes narrowed slightly- “you cannot react. He must not discover that you know it exists.”
I balled my fists in frustration. “That’s going to be nearly impossible because all I want to do is throttle Dean until he can’t breathe.”
He chuckled softly, “As entertaining as that would be to witness, you cannot do that. At least not yet. We don’t know if he has copies or if he’s already shared them with others as a backup.”
“And how do we uncover that?” Panic seeped into my voice.
“I have my methods. We’ll have a pleasant little chat during the rehearsal tomorrow. You’re not planning on crashing his wedding, are you?” His tone lightened, almost teasing.
I shook my head vehemently.
“They deserve each other. Two sick birds of a feather,” I spat, bitterness lacing my words.
“My thoughts exactly.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.