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“How did you know she was here, son?”
“You—”
“But why am I surprised? You always know where she is. You just need your necro-bracelet.”
Necro-bracelet? I couldn’t hear clearly with the coat covering my ears; I was captivated basically. With one last movement, I tried to wriggle free from Raymond’s grip, but he was holding me so tightly I could barely move a few inches.
“Let me go!” I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him. “Raymond!”
I was finally free from his grip. The shocked expression on his face was the first thing I saw. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed.
“We need to talk, Raymond.”
His eyes widened. He glanced one last time at Mr. Loxton, then grabbed my wrist. As he dragged me away from the room, I thrashed against his hold.
“Let go of me, Raymond.”
“You let go of that name first, Mina.”
“I’ll call you whatever I want. Because you’re not my boyfriend anymore.”
He stopped in the middle of the hallway. I waited fearfully. His grip loosened, and I immediately pulled my arm free. Our eyes met, and I felt that danger again. He looked calm and emotionless as usual, but there was a terrible storm in his eyes.
“What?” he asked with a smile, but his voice didn’t sound amused at all. “What now, Mina? What did I do?”
“What did you do? Where should I start? Maybe we can start with why you kept my father captive for years and poisoned him.”
His gaze narrowed. “Don’t believe a word he says.”
“He’s my father!”
“Did he act like one to you?”
“That’s my problem, Raymond. You can’t interfere.”
“First stop mentioning that damn name, then we’ll talk about everything.”
“Why are you so obsessed with that? You hate it when I don’t call you Remi? Does your master-servant game get ruined?”
He stalked toward me, but I didn’t back down. I lifted my chin up, staring at him. Raymond was always taller than me, and at that moment the height difference between us just infuriated me more.
“You know why, Mina. Why are you being so ridiculous?”
“I’m being ridiculous now? I’m always being ridiculous to you, aren’t I, Raymond?”
A vein throbbed in his jaw. “That’s not…”
“You never ask my opinion because you don’t care what I say. In your eyes, I’m just a ridiculous girl, aren’t I?”
“You know that’s not true.”
“I don’t know anything anymore! How could you do this to my father? How could you go behind my back for years?” I paused; I hadn’t planned to say this, but I had nothing left to lose. “But why am I surprised? You always deceive me. Everything about us began with you deceiving me.”
“Mina, why…”
“Is there anything between us isn’t a lie? A single moment when you were honest with me?”
He took another step; our bodies were about to touch. He placed his hands on my shoulders, but I broke free, shaking them off. I averted my eyes, unable to bear the sight of him a moment longer, because his hands were trembling now. And if I looked, I would soften. I would reach out, folding my hands over his, doing anything to stop the shaking.
