Chapter 28 Haven't you?
Jason.
Before I stepped out of the room, I took one look at the seemingly weak Dahlia, and something close to guilt brushed my heart, but I pushed it away.
Guilt meant weakness, and I, Jason Riggs, was anything but weak.
" Take a rest. I will come to wake you up later." I threw back at her, a subtle smile playing on my lips.
Later? There was no later. There wasn't ever going to be a later between Dahlia Brooks and me. There, where she lay, weakly, as the aphrodisiac took effect in her body, slowly, her cheeks tinted red, and her posture fatigued, that's where we parted our ways.
From then on, we would have nothing to do with each other, not in this lifetime, and certainly, not in the next.
She would get entertained by someone else, her family driver. She would get a wild ride of pleasure, geared by the aphrodisiac, probably, the only pleasure she'd ever experience, considering the plans that we had for ger.
You see, it was nothing personal. What was she going through? Had nothing to do with me or her as a person. You can call it fate. She was weak, and nature naturally despised weakness, and it decided to get rid of her.
She couldn't blame me, I was just the executioner, under the thrust of fate.
In our world, you were either the predator or the prey. Sadly, she became the prey in the hands of the one person she loved with her all.
By the time I completely disappeared from the room, she was completely mutilated by the drug. I could hear the soft whimpers that escaped from her lips.
She was already horny. And for a heartbeat, a wild thought crossed my mind. She had spent her entire life around me, practically begging me to see her, to fck. It wouldn't hurt to claim her first, no?
Well, I quickly pushed those evil thoughts away.. There was a person that I loved, the worthy, and gentle Sofia, the only woman suited to be the future Mrs. Riggs. I wasn't going to betray her for anything, much less, for the woman I had never liked.
With that, I resolutely locked the door behind me, not taking as much as a final glance.
' Good bye, Dahlia. ' I whispered softly, ready to take another step forward, only to collide with a statue, hard and rocky, and a frown settled on my lips as I tried to massage my forehead.
" Damn it!" I cursed, loudly, my voice laced with frustration. I was about to marry Sofia. I couldn't do that with a bumped face, could I?
I wanted to be in my best, appearance and behaviour...
" Can't you watch where you are going?" I asked, turning to look at the statue-like person, and when our gazes locked, I looked away, uncomfortably.
" You look guilty." He noted, his voice wrapped in disappointment.
" I am not guilty, Max! Guilty is for the weak, I am not weak." I declared, my voice sharp and edgy, the irritation in my words obvious. You see, Max was my best friend, but there was something I hated about him. His soft heart, and especially when it came to Dahlia, he became totally powerless.
He was aware that I was intending to marry Sofia in the place of Dahlia, and the first time he learned, he had thrown a punch at my face, too consumed by fury to find his voice.
After seeing his initial reaction, I decided to keep the details of my next plans hidden from him, especially, the part where I dragged Dahlia and was to deliver her driver to her room.
But finding him standing outside the door, his face frosted with fury, it was obvious that he was aware. Finally, I could stop pretending. It was exhausting, after all.
Well, it didn't matter. Either way, I was still going to marry the woman of my dreams, and Dahlia's reputation was inevitably going to be ruined. That was the only way I could secure Sofia's position and the future of my unborn heir.
" It was enough that you betrayed her, Jason." Max stated, and his words had my jaws ticking from anger.
" It was enough that you chose Sofia, of all the people. And yeah, it is still fine that you broke Dahlia's heart, after knowing how much she loved you.."
" Did you have to do this? To be this cruel? To drug her in plans of ruining her innocence?" He asked, tremors of anger accompanying his voice, and for a moment, sparks flew everywhere when our heated gazes locked. He was acting like a saint! What right did he have to use that righteous tone while addressing me? Did he think he was any better than me?
" Shut it up, Max! Dahlia is just unfortunate. I proposed to her, allowed her to live in bliss as my girlfriend, and for years, she has actively lived in her fantasies."
" She got to date the man she loved, to enjoy the feeling of being with her true love while I had to endure. "
" Now, I finally found a person that I truly love. I want to finally live in that bliss, too, and I just want to eliminate all obstacles. "
"Is that wrong?" I asked, sounding genuinely confused. I mean, if I had told Dahlia that I had fallen in love with another, she would have thrown tantrums and clung to me. I was simply saving her the heartache. What was wrong with that? What she didn't know would never hurt her, obviously. I would make sure that she lived in darkness about what truly happened. She was even going to willingly give Sofia and I her blessings..
" I am simply saving her from the heartache. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. She will blame herself for betraying me, and to show her sincerity, she will willingly marry the person her father and I will arrange for her."
" You see it as cruelty. I see it as a strategy. And for your peace of mind, you can call it the price that she has to pay for loving me." I expressed, my brows furrowed with impatience.
" I see it as a coward! Too spineless to face the woman whom he failed and tell her the truth."
"You are a coward, Jason!" He spat, and before his words could sink, he threw a punch on my face.
I tasted copper, and when I spat, it was blood that painted those black and white marble floors.
He had hit me for the second time, over Dahlia
" You have always been in love with Dahlia, haven't you?" I asked, grabbing the collars of his shirt.