make sense—” Tanner moved forward, shaking his head.
“It doesn’t matter.” I raised my voice, wincing at the shrill note at the end. “You said this wasn’t a social visit. Why’d you come?”
“I…” He eyed me, confused. Then he blinked, and it was gone. His hands went into his pockets. “I wanted to tell you Brooke’s asked to come stay with you.”
“What?”
“Would you like her to come?”
Did I want to see Brooke? She’d been demolished by her brother as well. We could commiserate together, but she was Kai’s sister. She was a part of him. She even looked like him. Having Tanner here, even knowing he was in the same city as me was painful enough. Feeling Kai’s presence hanging over everything in my life, literally everything, was starting to wear thin. So did I want another appendage of him inside my home? Or more than whoever was reporting to him from the staff, because I knew someone was.
“I’d rather have Blade and Carol come, to be honest.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
I nodded. “Or if I could visit them?”
“Kai doesn’t want you to leave, you know that.”
Of course.
“I’m getting sick of your brother’s hold over my life.” Resentment was filling me up, and fast.
“I know,” he admitted, turning away. Grabbing the back of his neck, he let out a sigh. “You’ve lost weight.”
“I’ve been sick.”
“Do you want Jonah to come?”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “Your family is unbelievable.”
I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. I wanted to be free of Kai’s hold over me. I wanted to live my life in freedom, actual true freedom. I wanted to decide where I went, how I went, who I went with. But I knew my prison was here. I was to be used, after all. I had literally stepped into my father’s shoes, except it hadn’t been greed that put me there. It had been love.
“I know, and for what it’s worth, I am sorry. Whatever happened between you and Kai, I know he’s hurting too. If that helps at all—”
“It doesn’t,” I snapped.
How dare he? How dare Tanner? Kai wasn’t allowed to hurt. He’d seduced me. He’d done what he intended to do, then tossed me like a piece of trash.
“What can we do, Riley? How can I help you?” He motioned to me. “It’s obvious you’re hurting too.”
I snorted. “How can you help me? You can release me from this gilded prison your brother’s put me in. You can buy me out. Take the entire company. I don’t care. I want out! I don’t want anything to do with this place. I want to see my friends. I want my old life back.”
I wanted to hide.
I wanted to nurse my wounds alone, out of his spying eyes.
I wanted to survive him. That’s what I wanted.
Tanner’s mouth turned down. “You want out? For real?”
“Yes!”
He paused, studying me, then he nodded. “Okay. It’s been a month, but the other board members aren’t resisting me speaking for you. I’ll talk to Kai. We’ll buy out your share, give you a good price for everything.”
I was shocked.
My mouth thinned. “Are you serious? I can’t—I can’t take being jerked around, Tanner. Don’t jerk me around, not about this.”
“You really do want out?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Then we’ll buy you out.”
“Out of everything?” My father had other businesses he had invested in. I didn’t want to be connected to anything he had.
“Everything. We’ll take care of it. I’ll make sure. I’ll have Eduardo make a list of all your father’s holdings. Is there…is there anything else you’d like from me?”
“I already told you.”
“I can help with the business and investments, but I don’t think Kai will allow your old roommates to come down. We’d have to work it for them to request a transfer. They won’t come on their own. They can’t, but even if they did or we did…” He hesitated, and I knew why.
It would give me a stronger hold on my old self. I would be getting support from someone who wasn’t on Kai’s payroll.
My heart tore in half, having this small thread of hope taken away from me all over again. I turned, not wanting Tanner to see my tears. My back to him, I crossed my arms over my chest. My eyes closed, though I could feel the tears sliding down. I made a move to wipe them clean. I made sure my voice was clear of emotion. “Fine. That’s fine.”