Chapter Twelve: Mira's Confrontation

Mira came to my office on a Thursday.

I didn't know she was coming. Felix didn't warn me. Sloane didn't stop her. She just walked in like she belonged there, wearing a cream-colored dress and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Elena," she said. "We need to talk."

I was at my desk. I had a folder open in front of me. I didn't close it.

"How did you get in here?"

"I told security I was your sister."

"They shouldn't have let you up."

"They did." She sat across from me without being invited. "I can be persuasive."

I looked at her. She looked the same. Perfect hair. Perfect makeup. Perfect posture. But something was different. Her hands were clasped too tightly in her lap. Her smile was too wide.

She was nervous.

"What do you want, Mira?"

"To talk. To clear the air."

"The air is clear. I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear from you. I want you to leave."

She laughed. It was a brittle sound. "You've gotten bold. Marriage suits you."

"Say what you came to say or leave."

She stopped laughing. She leaned forward.

"You think you've won," she said. "You think marrying Adrian Kane makes you untouchable. But you don't know him. You don't know what he is."

"I know enough."

"You know nothing. He's dangerous, Elena. He's been planning this for years. He's using you."

I set down my pen. I folded my hands on the desk.

"Is that what Julian told you?"

Mira's jaw tightened. "Julian loves me."

"Julian loves Julian. You're just useful."

Her face flushed. "You don't know anything."

"I know you're scared. I know you're here because something is falling apart. I know you're not here for me. You're here for yourself."

She stood. Her chair scraped against the floor. "You're making a mistake."

"I've made plenty. This isn't one."

She walked to the door. She stopped with her hand on the handle.

"He'll discard you when he's done," she said. "Just like Julian did."

I didn't respond. I just watched her.

She opened the door. Sloane was standing on the other side.

"Escort her out," I said.

Sloane nodded. Mira's face went pale. She walked past Sloane without another word.

The door closed.

I sat there for a moment. My hands were steady. My heart was beating normally. I felt nothing.

---

That afternoon, I found Sloane in the gym.

"How did she get in?" I asked.

Sloane didn't stop training. "She used your stepsister's name. Security didn't have her on the list."

"She's not my stepsister."

"I know. I've updated the list."

I sat on the bench. I watched her work. She moved like someone who'd spent years learning how to hurt people.

"She said something," I said. "About Adrian. She said he's using me."

Sloane paused. She looked at me. "And?"

"And I want to know if it's true."

Sloane walked to the bench. She picked up her water bottle. She drank.

"Mr. Kane doesn't use people," she said. "He works with them. If he was using you, you'd know."

"How?"

"Because he wouldn't bother to hide it. He doesn't lie."

I considered that. "That's not the same as telling the truth."

Sloane almost smiled. "No. It's not."

She went back to training. I sat there. I thought about Adrian. I thought about the way he looked at me. The way he waited. The way he didn't push.

He wasn't using me. I was almost sure.

But almost wasn't enough.

---

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay in bed. I stared at the ceiling. I thought about Mira. I thought about Julian. I thought about Adrian.

I got up. I walked to the living room. Adrian was there. He was standing by the window.

"You should be asleep," he said.

"So should you."

He didn't turn. "Mira came to see you today."

"Sloane told you."

"Sloane tells me everything."

I sat on the couch. "She said you're using me."

He turned. He looked at me. "And what do you think?"

"I think you're not."

"But you're not sure."

I didn't answer.

He walked to the couch. He sat beside me. Not too close. Not too far.

"I'm not using you," he said. "I was. In the beginning. You were a means to an end. But that changed."

"When?"

"I don't know. Somewhere between the coffee and the nightmares."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"That's not an answer," I said.

"It's the only one I have."

We sat there in silence. The city hummed outside. The clock ticked.

"I'm not using you either," I said.

"I know."

"You do?"

"You stayed. You didn't have to. The contract gave you an exit. You didn't take it."

I hadn't thought about it that way.

"I stayed because I wanted to," I said.

"I know."

We didn't say anything else. We didn't need to.

After a while, I leaned my head against his shoulder. He didn't move. He just let me.

We stayed there until the sun came up.