Chapter 0281

It's a gamble, those words. Because he’s never said more — has never told me, explicitly, that he feels anything more for me than

just the mistress he signed up for with that stupid contract.

But I know. I know it in my bones.

And right now? He’s either going to admit it, or he’s going to lose me. Because I can’t do it anymore — not when I have it on good

authority that someone is coming to kill us all sometime this week. The time for playing coy is over. He either trusts me or he

doesn’t. We're either in this together?

Or I’m leaving.

I'm not getting killed for someone who doesn’t trust me and can’t even admit he cares about me.

And as I glare up at him, and he glares back, I know that Kent understands all of it.

We stay in that deadlock for a long time, staring at each other, each waiting for the other to break. But neither does.

Until, to my surprise, Kent shifts his position and looks down at his feet, stepping his right foot on the heel of his left shoe and

starting to step out of it.

“What?” I ask, confused, realizing that Kent’s...taking off his shoes? “What are you doing?”

“I'm coming to bed, Fay,” he snaps, looking up at me and renewing his little glare.

“What?” I ask again, still baffled as he shrugs off his suit jacket and hangs it neatly up on a spare hanger in the wardrobe.

But he doesn’t answer me this time, just sighs as he peels back the covers on the other side of the bed — Daniel’s side of the

bed, technically — and sits down on the mattress, leaning back against the pile of floral pillows against my headboard.

“Turn off the light,” he says, nodding to my reading light.

But I hesitate, glaring at him a little and grabbing a pillow that I plant staunchly between us like a little wall. Kent glances down at

it.

“What's that for?” he asks.

“So you can’t seduce me,” I grumble, “into being nice to you after you’ve been so mean to me —*

“Is that all it will take to get you to stop being mad at me?” Kent asks, raising an eyebrow at me. “Just, sex?”

“Well, probably!” I answer too quickly,

and then bite my lip as I see Kent's

mouth quirk up ara

pyjfe cine {feo at him, I bury

my face in my hand as I mumble my

reply. “You're...hard to resist, Kent.

And we both know you use sex to

manipulate me.” Please read the

original content at .

Kent laughs a dark little laugh then. “Manipulate might be too strong a word, Fay,” he murmurs softly. I feel him trace his fingers

over my knee then and I angrily swat his hand away.

“No touching,” I murmur, frustrated.

Because — damn it, I’m trying so hard

to hold onto my convictions — but}

so happy he's persy ea pleased that

He swalldWed his own pride and

made himself go all the way through

the passage, to climb that stupid

winding staircase — made himself

make the trek he usually makes me

take every night to be by his side.

Please read the original content at

.

But still. It’s not an apology. It’s not a

sigh of trust. I steel myself and tr

be newly deter, ped g@\GayStong.

Hepase hy sel -worth is worth more

than what he’s offering. Especially

now that I know just how much more

I want. Please read the original

content at .

“The light, Fay,” Kent says and I pull my hand away from my face to frown at him a little, confused.

“Why?”

“Because,” he says, giving me a little shrug. “If I'm going to confess all of my darkest secrets to you, it feels... more appropriate to

do it with the lights off.”