Chapter 108 A CHANCE IN HELL
MERRIELYNN.
I could not even bring myself to say a word when I heard what Cormac had just said.
My brain was scrambling to process what he’d just told Valtor:
We?
Me and him, a couple?
I was shocked but I didn’t let it show. Not in front of Valtor at least. He already looked shocked enough and his cocky smirk disappeared for a moment, but then he masked it with amusement.
“Well,” he finally said. “This is... unexpected.”
I simply offered a smile as he studied me for a moment. "I guess I’ll have to find someone else to take out.”
With that, he turned and walked away, ignoring Cormac completely as he left. I shot Cormac a look, but I didn’t want to talk at that moment.
I had a class to get to.
The freaking nerve of him.
The rest of the day went by quickly, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
After school hours, I decided to head over to his apartment. When I arrived, I realized that I was actually furious.
I mean, why else was banging on his door, forgetting I knew the passcode.
When I finally let myself in, I found him idling in his bedroom, staring up at the ceiling.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, not offering any pleasantries.
He looked at me and then sat up. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” I snapped. “Why would you tell Valtor that we’re in a relationship?”
He rose to his feet and walked over to me. “I meant what I said, Merrirlynn. I want us to be in a relationship.”
I stared at him, waiting for the punchline. But it didn’t come.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
“You—you’re serious?” I asked.
I was too shocked to say anything else.
Cormac?
The womanizer?
He wanted to settle down? And with me?
I narrowed my eyes at him, the disbelief quickly turning to anger. “You don’t actually want to be with me, Cormac. You’re only saying this because you don’t want me to be with Valtor. It’s your messed-up possessiveness talking, and honestly, I don’t appreciate it.”
“You really think that’s what this is about?” He asked.
“Isn’t it?” I shot back, crossing my arms. “You couldn’t care less about wanting to be in a relationship until now.”
“That’s not what’s happening,” he said seriously, stepping even closer. “I’ve fought this, Merrielynn. I’ve fought it for as long as I can. But we both know what’s going on between us isn’t something I can ignore anymore. We’re mates and I think it’s about time we make things official.”
Oh wow, I thought, literally stunned by his audacity.
“Official? Do you even hear yourself?”
Cormac said nothing, and that was good because I wasn’t even done yet.
“After everything you’ve put me through… After how you treated me since I arrived at Pinnthorpe… How you held fake blackmail over me… Now you want to act like none of it happened?”
Cormac opened his mouth, but I cut him off in annoyance. “You’ve humiliated me more times than I can count, and made my life a living hell. The only reason we even got to where we were was because of your rut.”
I looked him over before I continued. “ And now that it’s finally under control, I expected that we would go back to our normal lives. But no, you have to drop this on me?”
Cormac exhaled slowly, lowering his gaze as if he was trying to find the right words. “I’ll delete the photos,” he said softly. “The ones I crafted against you… I’ll delete them all.”
“That’s not the point, Cormac,” I said, shaking my head. “Even if you do delete them, it wouldn’t change anything. Do you honestly think that fixes everything you’ve done? I don’t even trust you!”
I saw the emotion flash across Cormac’s face, and it was as if my words had pierced something inside him.
For a second, I almost felt bad.
Almost.
But nothing I had said was a lie.
“I get it,” he said quietly. “You don’t trust me.”
“I don’t,” I said flatly, maintaining my stand.
His reaction was instant. His lips pressed into a thin line, and his head fell slightly.
Before I could fully process it, he looked up, his green eyes meeting mine intently. “I understand why you don’t trust me. But please give me a chance, Merrielynn. Just one chance to prove I’m not the guy I used to be.”
“Cormac—”
“Please,” he interrupted rather desperately. “Let me earn your trust. I know I’ve screwed up. I know I’ve been—” He paused, his jaw tightening. “I’ve been the worst. But I want to fix it. Let me fix it.”
I crossed my arms skeptically. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”
He stepped closer, taking my hands in his, making me unfold them. “One month,” he said as he looked into my eyes. “Give me one month to prove I can be a good boyfriend. If you still don’t trust me after that, then I’ll back off. No more pushing, no more games.”
I hesitated, a delicate mate bond was urging me to say yes but common instincts and common sense were screaming at me to say no.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give Cormac this chance.
Yes, I felt strongly about him.
And right then, there was something about the way he was looking at me that made me consider it.
“You’re serious about this?” I asked, my voice quieter now.
“I’m very serious,” he said without hesitation.
I sighed, taking in a deep breath as I stared at him. “Fine,” I agreed. “One month, Cormac. But don’t think for a second that I’m going to make this easy for you.”
A small relieved smile appeared on his lips. “Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“Good,” I muttered, already questioning what I’d just agreed to.