Chapter 26 TRUE LUNA
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX | TRUE LUNA
LYRA
My heart sank, fear returning to me again. I saw the betrayed look in her eyes, the tears that were about to fall, and I knew right then that I was in trouble.
“It isn't what you think, Anika. I don't like Orion anymore. I have no feelings for him. I don't want him. You can have him all to yourself.” I tried backing away slowly, hoping my words would calm her down and make her believe I wanted nothing to do with that man, because I really didn’t see Orion as human.
He was a monster.
But she held the gun tighter. “If you move one more inch, I'll shoot you,” she growled.
I froze, raising my hands in surrender. She circled me like a predator ready to devour its prey, and somehow, I felt safer with the hooded figure than I did with her.
I knew what Anika was capable of, and that knowledge terrified me.
As long as she wanted something, she never knew when to stop. When I was five, she pushed me down the long stairs of our house because I wouldn't let her take the wooden toy Grandma made for me. My parents never bought me toys, but she had a whole room full of them. Still, she wanted the one I had.
When I told my parents, they said, “She's just a kid. Let her play with your toy. Stop being selfish.”
When I refused, saying she had plenty of her own, I got the beating of my life. That was the beginning of my physical abuse.
In high school, she pushed me off a three-story building “by accident.” The only reason I survived was because I wasn’t human. I spent weeks in the hospital, and when I came home, still in a cast, my parents beat me again for “pretending to be sick to avoid chores.”
Those are just some of the vile things she did to me. All those times, she never needed a weapon, yet she hurt me deeply.
Now, with a gun in her hand, I could only imagine what she would do.
“He rejected me because of you,” she cried, her grip around the gun shaking.
If I weren’t in such a pathetic situation, I might have laughed at how she was trying to play the victim.
“I don't want him. You can have him. Maybe you should ask him why he rejected you, because I’m not the reason. I’m mated to the Valentino twins now,” I explained softly.
She moved closer until the gun pressed against my temple. “He made me have an abortion. I aborted my precious baby because he wanted to claim yours. He deceived me. Lied to me. All because he wanted you back.”
I swallowed, afraid to move or breathe. Sweat pooled down my body, and all I could do was silently pray the twins would appear any second.
“Put the gun away, Anika. Let’s talk this out,” I whispered.
She shook but held the gun firmly to my head. Slowly, she lowered her hands, crouching and breaking down.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Two shocking things in one day. Anika actually listened to me, and she was crying. I had never seen her cry. No matter what, she always acted cold and untouchable.
Whatever Orion did must have completely broken her.
I wasn’t sure if I should run or comfort her. No matter what she had done, she was still my sister.
“I’m so sorry, Anika. I really am. I’m sorry for everything Orion did to you. But I can promise you, even if he was the last person on earth, I wouldn’t want him. I hope you both find a way to fix things,” I said, finally turning to leave.
“Wait! Don’t leave me. I need your help,” she cried.
I paused, but kept walking. “I can’t help you.”
“Please, you have to,” she pleaded.
Her voice cracked, and despite myself, I stopped to listen. “Why do you think I’d help you after everything you did to me?”
She wiped her tears and dropped the gun, which eased me slightly. “Because Orion will never let you go unless you help me. And I can help you find out who the real father of your child is. I can also help you escape the Valentino twins.”
I pressed my lips together, suspicious but curious. Anika had never helped me a day in her life. Not once. Which meant she wouldn’t be doing this for free.
“And why would you want to help me? What’s in it for you?”
She exhaled, determination in her eyes. “I’ve been fighting you all my life, Lyra. Because you were pretty. Because everyone noticed you. When we grew older, I hated that Orion wanted you. I wanted him. I loved him. So I made sure he became mine, and I bullied you so he’d see you as weak and pathetic. I was foolish, but I did it because I loved him. I’m so sorry. Orion doesn’t deserve my love, and it took me too long to realize that. He’s nothing but a monster who uses people until they’re no longer useful, then throws them away.”
Her words were so painfully accurate that I couldn’t help but wonder what Orion had done to make her see him so clearly now.
“And what do you want in exchange?” I asked quietly.
“Orion threw me out after the abortion and left me to die. I almost bled to death. He probably thinks I’m dead. He’s only searching for me to deceive people. I want vengeance, Lyra. I want him to pay for everything he did. And I want you to help me do it.”
I couldn't believe my ears, but I knew that Orion was capable of doing that, and even much more horrible things. It took me so long to realize it but when I did, I knew I wanted nothing to do with him.
“And what do you want to do with him? How do I come into the picture?”
I wanted to help her not because I've forgotten her for everything she did, but because of what she had to offer me, including freedom from Orion's hands.
“I want you to help me kill him.”