Chapter 0251

“How,” I whisper, frozen, staring up at Ivan. “How did you know...”

And then his face falls as I basically admit it — this thing that he’s thinking, that he’s figured out. And I can see that I’ve really,

really hurt him.

“Fuck you, Fay,” Ivan whispers, his voice harsh with hate. “Fuck you for picking that old, dead man over me. He's fucked, Fay,”

he shakes his head now as he stares at me like his heart is broken. “And I told you that, and offered you everything. And you

picked him anyway.”

And I reach out for him, desperately unhappy at his words — and to see him so hurt — and at first he swats my hand away but

then —

Then Ivan grabs me.

And he wraps one hand around my waist, and buries the other in my hair, and pulls me against him, and kisses me like a

drowning man. Like I’m the gasp of air he'll ever breathe.

I'm completely surprised by it, and swept away, and confused —

But my body responds and I feel myself leaning into him as he wraps me closer against his chest, as he bends me backwards

under the force of his emotions, kissing me like we've come to the end of a great thing.

And then he lets me go, almost all at once.

Just — drops me, his hands and his arms gone in an instant, so fast that I stumble back a few steps and Heathcliff shies a bit at

my sudden movement. I put a hand out on the horse’s shoulder to steady myself, looking for Ivan.

But he’s already at the door of the stall, glaring back at me like he hates me now.

“Get out of the house, Fay,” he says, the words falling from his mouth like bricks. “Now. Immediately. Get out of the house this

week, or...” he shakes his head and clenches his jaw suddenly, as if catching himself. But he hauls his gaze back up to mine for

a brief second. “Or you'll be dead, Fay,” he whispers. “With the rest of them.”

And I'm still staring after him, my mouth hanging open in shock, even after he’s gone.

A few minutes later Jerome comes back to the stall door, looking curiously over his shoulder. “He didn’t look to happy — he says,

but his sentence is cut short when he sees my face. I haven’t moved, not at all, from my place next to Heathcliff.

“Fuck, Fay,” Jerome says, hurrying in to take me by the shoulders, his eyes darting over my face. “Are you all right? You’re white

— seriously, it’s a cliché, but you're as white as a sheet.”

I suck a deep breath in then, looking up at Jerome, and then I nod shakily. Jerome doesn’t believe me, though, and he wraps me

in his arms, tucking my head in beneath his chin. He holds me for a long couple of moments, muttering kind and comforting

things, stroking my hair softly as I come back to myself.

After a few minutes I pull away a bit, and he lets me.

“Seriously Fay,” he says, his voice desperate and curious and tender. “What the hell did he say?”

But I’m not ready to tell him now.

Kent. Kent has to know first.

And fuck...1 want Kent, right now. Want to be in his arms.

“Can you take me home, Jerome?” I ask in a whisper. “We have to go home. Right now.”

I steady myself a little bit in the car, and Jerome helps, realizing that I’m seriously rattled. So he does his best to make me laugh,

cracking jokes and holding my hand the whole way home.

I'm smiling at him, grateful, as we drive through the gate and head for the garages at the back of the house.

“You all right, Fay?” he asks quietly as we pull into the garage and he parks the car.

“Yeah,” I say, and then I take a deep

breath. “Thanks, Jerome,” I say,

giving his hand a squeeze as exags

to undo seatant! GéeSabout to

chaoka other joke in reply when I see

him go still and then feel him rip his

hand from mine. Confused, curious, I

turn towards the windshield and see

Kent standing there, glaring at both

of us. Please read the original

content at .

“Shit,” I murmur, moving slowly and

talking fast as I realize that just

saw Jerome holding &) Ran . “Can

yoo! se just tell him that you're

sleeping with Daniel? So that he

doesn't kill you?” Please read the

original content at .

“It will be a race,” Jerome mutters

back, reaching for his door CO

see what makes hii @hony ead off

faster e sight of me holding your

hand, or the news that I’m fucking his

son.” Please read the original content

at .

And I almost burst out laughing at that, but I glance at Kent again, and the laugh dies in my mouth. So I take another deep breath

and step out of the car, turning to face him.