“Because of this!” She throws her hands in the air. “You become unhinged whenever his name is brought up, and I would rather not provoke this side of you if I can help it.”
“Meeting him in secret isn’t a solution, Cecily.”
“Would you rather I meet him in public?”
“I’d rather you don’t meet the fucker at all.”
She flinches at my harsh tone and I take a few calming breaths. “Would you like it if I met Maya behind your back?”
Her lips purse. “No.”
“See? Just like your mind goes to the worst at the thought of her, mine does, too, but ten times worse because you actually had feelings for him!”
Her lips twitch and her face becomes paler than her hair. “I… I didn’t mean to.”
“That doesn’t change the result.” I step forward, softening my tone as much as possible. “Is there something you’re hiding from me, Cecily?”
She gulps, a gentle hue covering her cheeks. “Why would you think that?”
“I just feel it.” I don’t have her fully, even in moments where she feels like she’s mine, it’s not complete somehow. I tried to ignore it at first, to trust her andcompromise, as she likes to remind me.
But it’s impossible now.
A shard broke the reminder of my trust the moment I found out she was sneaking around to see Landon. Has it happened before?
Will it happen again?
Will I wake up one day and find out everything we have pales in comparison to the feelings she has for her precious fucking prince?
Cecily stares up at me with those big, bright eyes. “Do you promise not to be angry if I tell you?”
“Depends on what you tell me.”
“I can’t say it if you’re being like this.”
“So you’d rather keep me in the dark?”
“No. Hiding this bit of information has been eating me alive. I can’t hide it from you any longer.”
“Is it about Landon?”
She nods once. My blood goes icy cold.
“Are you cheating on me, Cecily?”
“What? No! You think I would have the mind to entertain being with anyone else after you came into my life?”
That should appease the frigidness inside me, but it doesn’t. Not even close. “Then what is it?”
“You look so scary right now.”
“Spell it out, Cecily.”
She swallows a few times, then stares at her feet before she focuses on me. “Remember that first time in the initiation?”
I nod.
“You asked me why I was there, and I never really gave you an answer. Back then, eh, you know I had a crush on Lan, right?”