And this time, my smirk is real. Like I said, I’ll always be at max capacity for assholes.
“He was.” I nod to her. “Sometimes, the guy who comes along after the guy who breaks your heart, that guy’s not the one either.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Whydoyou say that?” Malace whispers from just above me.
I swallow and try to put into words the way Leavon used my hurt for his own gain.
“Sometimes, people see your weaknesses, especially when you’re at your weakest, and they turn them against you. They take your trust and your love, and they prey on you.” Her silence pulls at my attention, and when I meet her eyes, they’re big and focused. “Always love yourself enough to protect the love you give.”
I can’t look away from the intense stare she’s driving into my soul. Heartstrings strum like they once did when we’d stay up late talking about celebrities and boys and the cheer team she made last year.
And then she nods.
“I wish I had a big sister like you,” she says as she smiles at me. My heart melts into a sappy puddle between Malace’s thighs, and she’s so happy, it’ll just make me look even crazier if I start crying now.
A soft knock raps across the door and saves me from spilling my emotions all over ghost boy’s dick. Ivy’s up and bouncing to open it before I can even flail myself out of Malace’s crotch.
A sad sigh sounds from behind me when I finally do lift up. I look back to see Malace staring down at his hands. He’s lost in faraway thoughts, it seems.
So much so, it distracts me from the person standing in the hall.
“King Leavon asked me to accompany you to dinner tonight,” Benton says.
My head turns quickly at that statement, only to find the two teens both giving shy smiles to one another.
Meanwhile, I’m the crazy bitch in the background stumbling forward to break it all up before their crush even has time to bloom.
“Dinner? In this economy?” I try to laugh it off, but my timing and terrible need to watch what I say in front of Malace is really screwing up my own fucking personality.
Shit, I’m a psycho, too, I guess.
“What?” Ivy asks with a confused laugh to accompany my own. God, now she’s pity laughing. I’m ruining this friendship before it even begins.
“I—I just mean, who all will be there?” I ask, hoping like hell it’s a dinner for all of the Chosen women.
“Just the three of us.” Benton beams, clearly incredibly happy to spend an evening with my sister.
And the man who wants her.
Gross.
“Um...”
“Yeah, I’d love to!” Ivy cuts in, probably trying to shut me up before I say anything else that will embarrass us both.
“Perfect,” Benton whispers. “I’ll see you tonight.”
They’re both sending out heart eyes to one another even after the door closes.
While I’m mentally preparing myself for crashing a dinner tonight.
I hate it here.
Chapter Thirteen
The pale ivorydress she wears was hand-delivered today by the king himself. He pulled her into the hall, and though I didn’t hear him, I despised him anyway. The many sheer layers of it hug tight across her chest and cascade down into sparkling, golden glitter toward the hem. As she walks, it brushes along the curving sidewalk.