Chapter 72 72
“What the fuck do you mean?”
His voice cut through the room cold, lethal.
Sofía didn’t flinch. She held his stare, blue eyes blazing with unwavering resolve, defiance flickering in their depths.
“I lied,” she said evenly, her fingers drifting slowly over the gauze wrapped around her hand.
“Ana, don’t fuck with me,” he growled, the warning sharp and unmistakable.
“I didn’t love you,” she repeated, her tone calm, almost detached. The words landed heavy, brutal, impossible for him to process.
“You didn’t lie then you’re lying now,” he snapped.
A cold chuckle slipped from her lips.
“That’s what you think,” she shot back, her voice turning sharp, precise. “That’s what you need to believe so your heart doesn’t shatter.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Your mind can’t accept the truth,” she continued ruthlessly. “That’s why you’re stuck in denial.”
Then again mercilessly
“I never loved you.”
This time, she couldn’t look at him. She turned her face away, refusing his eyes.
And deep inside his chest, something shifted. The crushing weight lifted. He could breathe again.
She was lying.
So he played along.
“Then why pretend?” he demanded, anger vibrating through his voice. “Why pretend you loved me?”
She shrugged, careless on the surface. “You sold my house. I needed somewhere to stay. So I pretended.”
A lie but not a perfect one. He caught the faint hesitation tucked between her words.
“So you’re saying you faked being in love with me just so you could live here?” he asked calmly.
Her gaze snapped to him before darting away again. She nodded once.
She didn’t trust her voice not when it could betray her.
“And our little make-out sessions?” he continued coolly. “They didn’t bother you either?”
Her uninjured hand curled into a fist. She nodded again, adding a careless shrug.
She wanted him to feel it the same pain he’d carved into her with his lie.
A man who despised liars.
Irony at its finest.
She flinched when his knuckles brushed her cheek, sparks igniting instantly.
Her eyes flew up to meet his dark ones, a sharp gulp betraying her.
“So if I take you right now,” he said evenly, dangerously calm, “it wouldn’t bother you. In return, I’ll give you your apartment back.”
Her eyes widened, fury detonating through her veins.
“How dare you!” she screamed, lifting her hand to slap him
He caught her wrist mid-air.
His jaw clenched. His eyes hardened.
She dared to hit him.
His grip tightened as he yanked her toward him, rough enough that she fell onto her knees, hovering over him. Her hair spilled around their faces, closing them in like a curtain.
“Never do that again, Ana,” he warned, his voice deadly quiet.
Fear slid down her spine in a sharp, electric pulse.
She jerked back, struggling, and when he released her, she didn’t hesitate.
She ran.
But his arms locked around her waist, dragging her back and throwing her onto the bed. She bounced hard, gasping, hair falling into her face as she shoved it aside.
Horror seized her when she looked up.
His shirt was already gone. His belt followed, tossed aside carelessly.
Her heart stuttered.
His forest-green eyes darkened flashing gold, then snapping back again.
Predatory. Dangerous.
Every cell in her body trembled.
Understanding hit her like ice water.
She scrambled onto all fours, desperate to escape.
Too slow.
Fernando caught her ankle and yanked hard.
She screamed as she was dragged back, clutching the sheets. Her dress rode up her thighs, exposing her legs as she thrashed.
He flipped her onto her back, looming over her.
Her fists rained uselessly against his chest and shoulders, desperate, frantic.
With a low growl, he seized her wrists and slammed them into the mattress above her head.
“No!” she cried.
Her breathing came fast and ragged, but she didn’t stop fighting not even as pain tore through her wounded hand.
Her gaze locked onto his chest, the vicious tattoo staring back at her. The mark on his neck its meaning suddenly terrifyingly clear.
He won’t hurt me.
He won’t do this.
She clung to the thought.
“Look at me,” he growled.
She squeezed her eyes shut, heart racing wildly.
“Let me go!” she screamed.
His jaw flexed.
Then his mouth descended on her neck.
Fire exploded.
Open-mouthed kisses scorched her skin neck, jaw, collarbone each one searing, overwhelming.
She cried out, arching helplessly.
“Stop!” she screamed, finally wrenching her uninjured hand free.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and yanked hard.
An animalistic growl tore from his throat as she forced his head back.
Their eyes locked.
Forest green.
Ocean blue.
Her heart trembled violently.
He won’t.
He slammed her wrist back above her head, capturing both wrists with one hand, forcing her chest upward as she winced in pain.
Tears burned her eyes as they stared each other down, breath mingling, fury colliding with fear.
“I will not stop,” he said, a dark smirk curling his lips.