21 - CRUEL

The cruel insult hung in the stale air of the small living room while I stared at my sister with wide, horrified eyes.

I watched her take another slow sip of my expensive dark roast coffee, and a hot wave of deep betrayal burned the back of my throat.

She was sitting comfortably on the faded beige couch I bought with my own hard-earned money, and she was wearing the clothes she stole directly from my bedroom closet.

When I looked past the couch, I saw the messy pile of dirty dishes David had left in the kitchen sink, proving that he was still the same lazy slob he had always been.

Chloe had propped her bare feet up on a stack of my favorite data science textbooks, and she was using my academic hard work as a literal footrest while she insulted my intelligence.

"Y-you have absolutely no right to be in my apartment after everything you did to me behind my back," I stuttered out while my hands curled into tight fists at my sides.

"Y-you do not get to come into my home and treat my belongings like garbage," I added while pointing a shaking finger at my ruined books.

Chloe just rolled her eyes at my sudden anger and kicked the top book off the pile so it hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Oh, please spare me the dramatic victim routine, Alexandra, because we both know you came crawling back here to beg for your old life," my sister sneered while brushing a piece of lint off the sleeve of my favorite gray sweater.

"These stupid math books are the reason you are so incredibly boring to be around, because you care more about numbers than you do about keeping a man happy," she mocked while stretching her long legs over the coffee table.

"You thought you could pack your cheap bags and survive out in the real corporate world, but you clearly failed and ran out of money in three days," she added with a harsh laugh that made my stomach twist into painful knots.

I opened my mouth to defend my new executive position at Volkov Industries, but she cut me off before I could even form a single coherent word.

"David told me you would come crying back the second you realized nobody else would ever want to date a heavy girl like you," Chloe continued while casually checking her perfect pink manicure.

My heart ached at the awful reminder of my mother's toxic teachings, but the warm, heavy weight of Maximilian's hand on my lower back kept me anchored to the floor.

Max stood quietly in the dark shadows of the dim hallway right behind me, so Chloe had not actually looked past my shoulder to see who had escorted me upstairs.

She assumed I was standing alone in the doorway because she was too busy enjoying the sound of her own vicious voice to pay attention to her actual surroundings.

"You slept with my f***ing boyfriend in my own bed, and now you are drinking my coffee like nothing ever happened," I pointed out while my voice shook with raw, unfiltered anger.

"It is not my fault that David finally realized he wanted a woman who actually cares about her figure and takes care of her body," Chloe fired back with a highly dismissive wave of her slender hand.

"You drove David straight into my arms because you were always too tired from your pathetic little intern job to give him the attention he deserved."

I felt a fresh sting of hot tears threaten my vision because she knew exactly which deep childhood insecurities to target, but I blinked them away quickly so she would not see me cry.

"I gave him three years of my life, and I paid for every single meal he ate while he studied for his finance exams," I shouted back while gripping the worn leather strap of my purse.

"You are just a selfish gold-digger who swooped in to steal my life the exact second David finally landed a decent corporate job," I accused her while glaring at her smug face.

Chloe did not look ashamed of her actions at all, and she actually smiled as if my angry words were a massive compliment to her strategic planning.

"I am just a woman who knows what she wants, and I wanted a man who works in the financial district so I can finally afford the lifestyle I deserve," she stated proudly while inspecting her diamond earrings.

"I work sixty hours a week to pay the rent for this awful apartment while David sits on his lazy ass and complains about his basic entry-level job," I argued back with a bitter shake of my head.

"Well, he doesn't have to worry about the rent anymore because he told me he is going to take over the lease once you officially move out your trash today," Chloe laughed while admiring her flawless reflection in the dark screen of her phone.

"Take my sweater off right f***ing now, Chloe, and get out of my house before I call the police," I demanded with a sudden burst of courage that surprised even me.

Chloe let out a loud gasp of mock shock and pressed her hand against her chest as if my angry cursing had deeply offended her delicate sensibilities.

"I am certainly not giving this ugly thing back to you, because David said it looks much better on my skinny frame anyway," she fired back with a malicious grin that stretched across her beautiful face.

"Speaking of David, he just ran down to the corner store to buy some cheap beer so we could celebrate having this whole place to ourselves," my sister bragged while gesturing toward the empty kitchen counter.

"He will be back any minute now, and he is going to be so annoyed when he sees your pathetic face ruining our fun afternoon."

A dark, unfamiliar sense of vindication washed over my lingering anxiety the exact second she mentioned his name.

Chloe had absolutely no idea that her arrogant new boyfriend was currently sobbing on the dirty concrete downstairs with a violently shattered wrist.

She actually thought David was going to walk confidently through the front door and yell at me until I ran away in terrified tears again.

I planted my cheap shoes firmly on the worn carpet and tilted my chin up to look directly into her mocking blue eyes.

"He is not going to laugh at anyone today, Chloe, and he is definitely not coming upstairs with any beer," I stated with a cold, steady edge in my voice that I had never used before.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at my sudden shift in tone, and she placed her phone down on the table to give me her full, undivided attention.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you little freak?" she demanded while dropping her playful, mocking attitude for a genuine scowl.

Before I could answer her rude question, the quiet rustle of expensive fabric filled the tense silence of the small room.

Maximilian finally decided he had heard enough of her awful insults, so he dropped his heavy hand from my waist to signal his move.

He took a long, deliberate step past my shoulder to cross the threshold and enter the main living space of the dingy apartment.

The massive, intimidating billionaire stepped directly under the bright fluorescent light of the ceiling fixture, and his towering presence instantly dwarfed the cheap furniture in the room.

The harsh overhead shadows highlighted the sharp, dangerous angles of his handsome face and the broad, muscular width of his shoulders beneath his tailored dark suit.

He did not say a single word to my sister, but the lethal, icy glare in his gray eyes instantly dropped the temperature of the entire apartment by ten degrees.

Chloe stopped glaring at me and finally lifted her head to look at the massive man who had just walked into her line of sight.

Her mocking smile vanished in a microsecond, and her mouth dropped open in pure, unadulterated shock as she took in his imposing, dominant figure.

She was so used to dealing with weak, pathetic men like David that she clearly did not know how to react to a man who radiated true, lethal authority.

Her wide blue eyes quickly scanned the pristine, flawless cut of his expensive dark suit, and she noticed the heavy luxury watch gleaming brightly on his thick wrist.

I watched the genuine shock on her face melt away in real time, and a sickening flash of raw, unfiltered greed replaced her initial surprise.

My sister always wanted the most expensive, luxurious things in life, and she suddenly realized there was a man standing in my living room who could buy her everything she ever desired.

She shifted her weight on the faded couch cushions and straightened her posture so she could push her chest forward to show off her figure.

Chloe reached her manicured hands up to the wide collar of my oversized gray sweater, and she intentionally pulled the thick knit fabric down her shoulder to expose a deep, revealing amount of cleavage.

She tossed her long blonde hair over her bare skin and ran her pink tongue slowly over her bottom lip in a blatant, shameless display of flirtation.

She ignored my existence in the room and focused all of her hungry, desperate attention on the billionaire who had just broken her boyfriend's arm in the street.

"Well, who is this?" she purred at Maximilian while batting her long eyelashes.