As the hidden door opened, I held my breath. I was reliving this entire nightmare from the start again. Every image, every memory forced its way into my mind, and I couldn’t stop the panic from choking me.
“Hello, Tatum.”
My heart stopped. My throat closed. And my blood turned to ice. It was him.
I shook my head. “No.”
He walked closer, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “Yes.”
I kept on shaking my head, denial keeping my mind from making sense of what I was seeing.
He cocked his dark brows. “Cat caught your tongue?”
“Why?” I breathed out the word, unable to find my voice.
“Why? Now that’s an interesting question.”
My blood boiled. “Why?” I shouted, and he pinned his dark gaze on me.
“Because this is how it was supposed to be.”
I shook my head again, my heart nothing but splinters and daggers piercing and breaking through my ribs.
“Castello.” His name came out of my mouth in nothing more than a whimper. My eyes struggled to convince my mind that what I was seeing was real.
“What are you doing, Castello?”
He placed his hands in his pockets, his eyebrows slanting down. Everything about his face was dark and cold. Even the scar around his eye seemed different.
“I’m doing what needs to be done.”
I stared at him with disbelief, my heart barely beating inside my chest. “What exactly is it that needs to be done?”
“You need to learn.”
“Learn what?”
He smirked. “Your place. Who you truly belong to.”
“I belong to you. I know that, and so do you.”
Then he started to pace leisurely in front of the bed. He looked the same but seemed completely different. Determined.
“I’m afraid you’re wrong, Tatum.”
Confusion made my mind spin into a thousand different directions. “Castello, please. You’re not making any sense. Why are you doing this? Why am I here?”
He stopped and glanced at me. “Oh, poor Tatum. You really have no idea, do you? Can’t you see? You thought you had me all figured out. You thought you knew the truth.” He walked closer and stopped right next to me on the bed. “But the truth is you know nothing.”
I hugged my knees against my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs. “I know that I love you and you love me.”
He snorted. “God, you’re even more naïve than I thought.”
Anger and panic swirled together, a slither of courage forcing its way through my veins. “Naïve? Fuck you, Castello.” I jumped off the other side of the bed. “Tell me right now what the fuck is going on! Have you been playing me all along? Was this all part of your plan? To make me fall in love with you so you can break my heart along with my soul?”
Dark eyes stared at me, the expression on his face unreadable. It seemed like he was actually thinking about what I had just said.
He rubbed his chin and then replied, “Yes. That is exactly what I was doing.”