Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“I know,” Nico replied.
“My fault. I kept you away. Told you we needed to keep our distance from her.”
“You didn’t know, Liam,” Nico told him.
She felt like an intruder in their private conversation.
“Should have. Fucking should have. Look at her knuckles. Her arm. She can’t leave the property without a fucking panic attack, and she has to control her emotions by harming herself.”
She flinched.
“Liam,” Nico warned. “Stop.”
Liam turned so suddenly that she gasped and leaned into Nico.
“He’s only this upset because you’re hurt and he blames himself,” Nico explained to her.
That made no sense. Why would he blame himself?
Suddenly, Liam was kneeling in front of them again. He gently grabbed hold of her hand, running a finger lightly over her knuckles. He was silent for a long while, so long she didn’t think he was going to say anything again.
“Why did you hurt yourself today, baby?” he finally asked.
She couldn’t tell him. This was something she didn’t speak to anyone about. Well, except her therapist but they’d gotten rid of her. She’d started to pay more attention to Regent than Lottie.
“It was my fault that Ace got hurt.”
Nico made a noise, but Liam glanced at him, and he didn’t say anything.
“So, you blamed yourself?” Liam asked.
“Of course.”
“What if he’d done that while Regent was watching him? Would you expect Regent to punish himself?” Liam asked.
“I wasn’t punishing myself.”
Weren’t you?
“I didn’t really mean to hurt myself, though. I just got so angry, and I needed a way to relieve the pressure. So, I punched the wall.”
“So, you felt out of control?” Liam asked.
“I guess,” she whispered.
“I don’t want you doing this anymore,” Liam told her calmly.
It wasn’t like she wanted to do it. She hated that she had to do this.
“The bruises?” he asked.
“I just . . . I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I couldn’t go to my cousin’s wedding,” she blurted out. “I really wanted to, but I couldn’t bear the idea of leaving the grounds, let alone traveling to Texas. I let him down.”
“Lottie,” Nico said on a pained groan.
“Did he tell you that?” Liam asked.
“Of course not. West would never tell me that.”
“Did anyone make you feel like you’d let him down?” Liam queried.
“No, but I feel like that. A failure.”
“You’re not a failure, Lottie. You’re just dealing with shit the only way you know how. In a way that, I’m guessing, gives you a temporary reprieve, am I right?” Liam asked.
“Yes. It doesn’t last. It’s a short-term fix.”
“And you know what the long-term fix is,” Liam prodded.
Of course, she did. But sometimes it was hard to see that far ahead. All she could see was what was right in front of her.
“It’s not something you have to do on your own,” Nico told her.
“What we can’t do is let this continue on,” Liam agreed.
“I don’t understand why. Why do you care?” She felt like she’d said it so many times and they weren’t answering her. “Why are you reacting like this? I’m no one to you.”
Liam gave her an intense look. “I disagree.”
7
Liam knew this wasn’t the time to tell her this.
It was probably the worst time. When she was already upset and completely overwhelmed. Nico was staring at him wide-eyed, obviously thinking the same thing. But the words had burst out of him without real thought.
He had to tell her that she was theirs.
Guilt swirled in his gut. He’d live with this guilt for the rest of his life. The knowledge that her pain was so deep that she harmed herself to get it out. That she bled because of it.
His informant had either kept this information from him or her family had covered it up so well that he hadn’t known.
How could they do that?
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Fuck. He stared at Nico, begging for his help. Yep, he’d dug the hole. And normally, Liam was the problem solver. Only, he tended to solve problems with his fists.
Obviously, this wasn’t that sort of situation.
Nico sighed. “Lottie, do you remember the first time we met you?”
She frowned. “At that awful dinner Michael’s mother organized?”
“Yeah. It was terrible, right?” Nico said.
“She invited that other woman who flirted with Michael all night. It was obvious that she didn’t want Michael with me. She wanted that other woman to lure him away from me.”
Liam snorted. He’d moved to lean against the wall. He thought some distance might be a good idea. Give her some space to breathe. Also, if he got too close to her, he was worried he’d just throw her over his shoulder and storm away with her.
Still so fucking tempting.
“Stupid cow,” Nico said. “You had more smarts, beauty and breeding than that other girl.”
“Michael and his mother didn’t seem to think so,” she said. “But yeah, I totally do.”
Liam raised an eyebrow at that show of self-confidence. That was the Lottie he remembered from that night. She’d known who she was. A fucking princess.