“I’m sorry.”
He raised his palm. “Save it, Rhi. You and me, we’re over. I’m not doing this shit with you anymore. Trouble always seems to find you, and I’ve got enough shit to deal with being a Salvatore.”
I wrapped my fingers around his bicep, and he tensed at my sudden movement. However, he didn’t push me away.
We had enough sexual energy to charge a power plant. But that was all we had. Our families hated each other too much for us to explore a real relationship.
“Marcello, I’m sorry. I never meant to involve you in this shit with Cillian.”
“Why were you with him?” Marcello folded his arms over his chest. “You could have come to me.”
“I can’t believe you’re jealous of Cillian.”
“I’m not.”
I sighed. “Not like you would understand.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t understand? Really, Rhi?”
“Fine,” I huffed. “I needed money for college. My dad froze my trust fund because I hooked up with the son of his enemy.”
Annoyed, he shook his head. “You fucked Cillian to pay for college? Seriously, Rhi? My brother was right. Could you be more pathetic?”
Fighting the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks, I bit my bottom lip. It took every ounce of my willpower not to punch him in the face. “Like I said, you would never understand. You have never had money problems. People like you don’t live in the real world.”
“How much did he give you?”
“Thirty thousand. Tuition is expensive at Beacon University. They were going to throw me out of school.”
“I would have given you the money.”
“Look, that’s in the past. I can’t take back my bad decision, only move forward.”
Marcello slid his long fingers through his messy dark hair and groaned. “I wish you would have come to me, Rhi.”
“I knew you would flip out. Your behavior right now only reinforces my decision to ask Cillian for the money.”
“So that was the deal? He forced you to have sex with him in exchange for paying a year of college?”
“It wasn’t like that. He loaned me the money.”
He smirked. “Loaned?”
“Yeah, we met weekly. I gave him what I made from The Ink Yard, but it would have taken me years to pay him back.”
“I’m surprised he took the money. Not like he needed it.”
I rolled my shoulders. “He refused me every time. I didn’t realize he was using the meetings to get closer to me.”
“So what happened?”
“We got closer over time. At first, I kind of liked him. I was attracted to him, even though I knew it was wrong. You hadn’t talked to me for a while, my dad was being an ass… and it just happened. He was there for me when I needed someone.”
“Don’t blame this on me. I didn’t force you into his arms.”
“I’m not,” I sighed. “Just explaining why I let it happen. I was lonely, broke, and he took care of me.”
“I take care of you.” He dipped his head down. “I would have helped you.”
I grabbed his shirt in my hands. “Forgive me, Marcello. It was a mistake.”
“No, we were a mistake.”
“You want this.” I tightened my grip on his shirt. “You want me.”
“I do,” he whispered, his eyes meeting mine. “But we can’t always have what we want. You always need help. I’ve never met anyone so prone to danger.”
I rolled my eyes.
“How did it happen?”
I slid my hands up his muscular chest. “Not now.”
“You want to fuck? Tell me, Rhi.”
“Cillian drove us to Manhattan for dinner. We ate on the balcony at his penthouse apartment. It was romantic, and I was mad at you. So I let him fuck me.”
Marcello sneered in response.
“He was rough and aggressive like you,” I continued, wanting him to feel the same jealousy I’d felt over Alexandrea Wellington. Marcello had been in love with his brother’s girlfriend for years. He was the only person who didn’t seem to know it.
“We fucked on the balcony. He bent me over, so I could see Central Park while he choked me from behind. One of your moves, Marcello. It seems all the Founders have similar dark tastes.”
We were both emotionally and mentally unavailable, which made our fucked up relationship work. When we were together, we could use each other, taking what we needed, and then go our separate ways. But after I spotted Marcello and Alexandrea in town, I couldn’t stand the thought of losing him. And that led to one of the worst decisions of my life.
Marcello cupped my chin with his fingers. “You’ve been fucking him all summer?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head, disgust wrinkling his nose. “Cillian was old enough to be your father.”
“My therapist says I have daddy issues,” I quipped with a wicked grin. “I guess he’s right.”
“Why were you going to kill him?”
“He wouldn’t stop pursuing me. And he was starting to get abusive.”
“I could have gotten rid of Cillian without ending his life.”