Chapter 10%
“Don’t worry, Deweewee. I know how to deal with a lunatic like him. I’d never do anything to betray you.“}]
Dwight gave my hand a light squeeze, and I caught the gentleness in his eyes. At that moment, I knew he got me.”
Gunner saw it too–saw the way we looked at each other–and he couldn’t take it.
“Dwight!” he snapped.
The longer I stayed in Dwight’s arms, the more unhinged Gunner became. Everything he couldn’t control, he wanted to destroy. All the cruelty he’d shown me before–it was just a mask for obsession now.
I patted the back of Dwight’s hand, letting him know I’d be okay.
He didn’t want to let go. I felt it in the way his fingers lingered. But he understood–some things, I had to deal with myself. So he let me go.
And as I walked away, his silhouette growing smaller behind me, my heart twinged. ‘We’ve only just found each other again… Why does it already feel like goodbye?‘
Gunner turned my face to him, trying to reclaim a version of me that no longer existed.
“Sloane,” he said, “I’m here now. From now on, your eyes should only hold me. Got it?”
“Oh, sure,” I said dryly. “I put you in my eyes, and you what–fill yours with Brandi? Didn’t realize the great Carnegies third son had such a big head. Must be hard walking around with an ego that size. If I blink the wrong way, I might end up dead.“>
expected him to get angry. But he just laughed, low and amused. “Impossible. There’s no one else in my heart, Sloane. Only you.”
“Too bad for you, Gunner. That money you
gave me? Already in my account. Go chase Brandi down if you want it back.”
He led me into a villa. Once inside, his assistant dumped a mountain of documents in front of me–property deeds, share transfer agreements, titles, contracts, all with his signature already on them.
“Everything’s signed,” he said. “Just add your name, and they’re all yours.”
I stared at him, unsure what game he was playing. Something didn’t sit right, so I kept my guard up. I always do now.
And he saw it. The caution in my eyes, the wall I wouldn’t drop. His expression faltered–hurt flashing across his face.
“Sloane, I’m sorry. I didn’t know… I didn’t know the person who saved me that day was you. Brandi switched out your dress after–it was her I saw, not knowing she took your place. The truth is, I fell in love with you. I just got the person wrong.”
So that’s what changed his heart. That day.
I always wondered how he could fall for Brandi so completely. Now I knew–he never really did.
“Don’t bring it up again,” I said coldly. “That’s the one regret of my life. If I could do
it
over, I’d let you die.”
His breath caught. The calmness in my eyes scared him more than any shouting could.
I remembered it clearly. He’d had a severe allergic reaction that day. I happened to process. When I got back, my silky blue dress was gone.
nearby and helped him, soaked my clothes in the
Now I knew why he’d always praised how stunning Brandi looked in it. That was the trap.
“Don’t be mad,” he begged. “I’ve already ruined her. She won’t show her face to you again.”
“Oh?” I raised a brow.
Just that one word was enough to make him panic.
“You’ve probably said that to her a dozen times,” I said. “Like that day you tried to win her back by emptying out an entire mall–on my díme.“%
“I know I can’t change the past,” he said, desperate now. “But I’ll make it up to you. I swear I will, Just give me a chance.“>
I reached up and touched the spot where he’d once slapped me. There was still a faint scar there–not obvious, but I could feel it. “Gunner,” I said softly, “do you think it’s ugly?”
He looked at the scar on my face, his face turning pale. He wrapped my hand in his palm.
“But I don’t find it ugly. In fact, I like seeing it every day. Because I’m afraid that if I forget it, I might also forget what you did to me.”
I said it with a calm smile, almost playful. But every word looked like it made it harder for him to breathe.
11:18 AM IMM
