“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I… I wasn’t thinking. I’ll get the car repaired, I promise. Please don’t report me to the police,” I beg.
Silas chuckles and brushes my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear instead. “This isn’t what I expected to find when the car’s silent alarm went off,” he says. “I’m impressed. You did quite a bit of damage in the few minutes it took me to get here. What is it with you and damaging cars, huh?”
Silent alarm. Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? I must’ve truly lost my mind. I’m done for. I’m going to be in debt for the rest of my life, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Silas decides not to hire me anymore.
I bite down on my lip harshly. What did I do? I let Ryan use me for months, and right till the end I’m the one that suffers most. I put my own future at stake and he isn’t even worth it. I swallow down a sob and squeeze my eyes closed. Years of hard work, all gone because I couldn’t control my pain.
Silas sighs and takes a step closer to me. Before I realize what’s happening, he’s got his arms wrapped around me. He hugs me tightly, and I burst into tears while he just stands there, stroking my hair with one hand and keeping the other wrapped tightly around me.
“What happened, my love? What did he do?”
I shake my head and hug him back, squeezing him tightly, as though holding onto him will keep me from falling apart.
“I’ll get the car fixed,” I murmur. “Don’t fire me,please. I swear I’m not usually like this.”
Silas chuckles and holds me tighter. “Fuck the car,” he says. “It’s mine anyway. It’s not his. Don’t worry about it. I’ll have it towed in a minute.”
I pull back to look at him in surprise, and he smiles. “Oh God,” I whisper. “It’s not Ryan’s?”
Silas smirks and shakes his head. “I loaned it to him because he loved it so much.”
His words bring fresh tears to my eyes. I damaged a car that isn’t even Ryan’s. The small amount of vindication it gave me drains away, leaving me feeling empty, deprived of my revenge and heartbroken in more ways than one.
Ryan’s words run through my mind, filling me with fresh contempt.He can’t have her. Never her.I swallow hard, my eyes running over Silas. “I’ll repay you,” I tell him.
Silas frowns, and I smile bitterly.
“Right now.”
“How are you going to pay me back, Alanna?”
My heart starts to race as I look into his eyes. “Silas, I’m ready to beg for it.”
ChapterThirty-Three
Silas
“Silas, I’m ready to beg for it,” she says, a vindictive glint in her eyes. Her eyes are roaming over my body, but it’s not me she’s seeing. What she sees is an opportunity for revenge. What the fuck did Ryan do to her?
“Did you break up with him?”
She looks up at me, surprised. “We’re done,” she says, her voice soft. I’m relieved at the lack of heartbreak in her eyes. She seems angry and hurt, but not heartbroken. Maybe there’s still a chance for us, after all.
“Does he know that?”
She shakes her head and grabs her phone. “No, but he’s about to find out.”
I watch her as she texts him, breaking up with him over a text message. Damn. He really fucked up, huh? I should feel sorry for my brother, but all I feel is relief. For weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do. I’ve been wanting to break them up, but I couldn’t stand the thought of forcibly breaking her heart, depriving her of the happiness she sought out. I will always place Alanna’s happiness above all else — including my own.
She smiles as she puts her phone away and takes a step closer to me. I won’t even pretend to lie to myself. I want her. I always want her.
All I could think about when she interviewed with me was what it’d be like to work with her, to steal a kiss from her here and there. I imagined her in a sexy skirt, her legs spread on my desk. I’ve wanted her in my bed from the moment I found her. Her dating my brother didn’t change a thing for me. I still love her the same. I still want her as much as I always have — but not like this.
“Come on,” I tell her. “Let me take you home.”
She blinks in confusion, and I watch her emotions and thoughts dance in those beautiful eyes of hers. “I… how about we go to your place instead?” she asks. Her sweet smile is in contrast with the calculative look in her eyes, and something about it breaks my heart. When I eventually fuck her, I don’t want her to be thinking about Ryan, and tonight he’s all that’s on her mind.
“No,” I tell her, and the devastation in her eyes nearly wrecks me. She wraps her arms around herself, and it’s not hard to guess what she’s thinking. The sting of rejection is clear in her demeanor.