Semua Bab Craving the wrong brother : His obsession : Bab 41 - Bab 50

~ARTHUR POV~ The door opened slowly.She walked in, but she did not look at me. She was hugging her phone to her chest like a shield.Not the leather-bound notepad. The one I had gotten her for Christmas two years ago, with her initials embossed in gold. The one she carried everywhere.Her phone.She looked... wrecked. That was the only word. Her eyes were puffy, the skin underneath them bruised purple. She was pale...almost gray....like she hadn't seen sunlight in days. She looked like she had been living on coffee and fear.I leaned back in my chair, the guilt I had been suppressing dissolving instantly.She was a wreck because of me. Because she loved me. Because she could not handle the thought of losing me to someone like Holly.It was pathetic, really. But it was exactly what I needed to see to know I still had the upper hand."Close the door," I said.She turned and pushed it shut with a soft click. Then she just stood there, stopped by the entrance like a stranger waiting fo

~ARTHUR'S POV~I hated these things.I hated the champagne that tasted like fizzy vinegar and cost fifty dollars a glass. I hated the lighting—it was dark enough to hide the surgery scars on the donors' wives but bright enough to hurt your eyes with their diamonds. I hated the fake laughter, the air-kissing, and how everyone pretended to care about sick kids when they were really just there to show off.But mostly, I hated the way Holly's nails were digging into my arm like she thought I would bolt if she loosened her grip even slightly."Arthur, fix your face." Her smile was welded in place as she waved at someone across the ballroom. "You look like someone died. This is the biggest event of the quarter. My father is watching.""Your father is at the bar getting his third scotch." I took a sip of my champagne. It was warm and Disgusting. "He's not watching anything.""Just play the part," she hissed through her smile. "Senator Morrison is by the orchestra. We need to say hello. He's

YVONNE'S POV {FEW HOURS BEFORE THE GALA}I was halfway through a pint of ice cream I didn't want when someone knocked on my door.It was not a polite knock. Definitely not a "hey, it's me" knock.A knock that said 'open this door or I'm coming through it.' I set the ice cream down....some flavor I had grabbed without looking, turned out to be mint chip which I hated....and stared at the door like it might blow up.It had been two days since Liam called sleeping with me a "mistake." six days since I had walked home through the snow and decided I was done. I was done with Arthur. I was done with Liam. I was done with both Klein brothers treating me like I was something they could use and toss when convenient.I had meant it too.I had called in sick to work. Ignored Arthur's increasingly desperate texts. Sat in my apartment eating food I didn't taste and watching shows I didn't see and trying very hard not to think about the way Liam had looked at me before he had pulled away.Like I

~YVONNE POV~I woke up with my phone squeezed in my hand.The screen was black, a dead battery. I must have fallen asleep staring at it, waiting for something that never came.I plugged it in with shaking fingers and watched it come back to life. Three percent battery, and one notification.Liam: 'Lesson canceled today, something came up.'That was it, six words, not "Are you okay?" not "Sorry I left." not even "We will reschedule." just....canceled, like I was a dentist appointment he didn't feel like keeping.I stared at the message until my vision clouded. Then I opened our text thread and scrolled up, past his cold responses, past the address for yesterday's texts. All the way back to the beginning.Liam: 'Fourteen days. Give me fourteen days. Let me show you.' Fourteen days to teach me how to make Arthur choose me. To make him put me first. To give me the power I had never had in three years of being his secret.We were on day nine, five days left, and Liam had just... disappear

~YVONNE POV~The kiss wasn't gentle.It was messy and desperate and angry, like we were fighting with our mouths instead of words.His hands tangled in my hair. Mine grabbed his shirt. He backed me up against the wall, his body pinning mine.I bit his lip.He groaned and kissed me harder.We were trying to hurt each other and save each other at the same time and I didn't know where one ended and the other began."Bedroom," he muttered against my mouth."No.""Yvonne.....""Here. Now." He pulled back just enough to look at me. His eyes were dark and dangerous."You sure?" I answered by pulling him back down, we didn't make it to the bedroom. We barely made it down the hall.Clothes came off in pieces. My sweater. His shirt. My skirt. His belt.There was no slow build, no teasing, just a desperate, hopeless need. When he lifted me, my back hit the wall. When he pushed inside, I gasped his name.And then there was nothing but sensation. Him moving. Me clinging. Both of us trying to get c