The Fortunates (Unfortunate #2) - Skyla Madi Page 0,57

do?

I pull the promise ring he gave me off my finger and squeeze it in my hand. There’s a chance our marriage could come to an end tonight…

Oh, how quickly a simple day turns into a complex nightmare.

I force myself across the dark, square tiles, feeling much like I did the day I arrived here on my eighteenth birthday. Scared and uncertain. Just like that day, my heart thuds every time my feet connect with the ground. Boom. Boom. Boom. Dragging in a heavy breath, I stop in front of the large doors. The familiar smell of lacquer fills my nostrils and assaults my senses as I stand face to face with the head of a black lion carved flawlessly into the wood. Uncertainty swirls in pathetic waves through my body. There’s an inkling of a thought in the back of my head that I don’t want to acknowledge. It fabricates a story, a lie, that I can tell John and Oliver to spare Kade. I hate myself for it. How can I be so insensitive? So unreasonable? How can I go against everything I believe in to protect someone who doesn’t share the same values as me? Maybe he didn’t do it? But if he didn’t do it, why didn’t he tell me? Why is he hiding out in his house instead of joining me in mine? In our bed?

Exhaling, I tuck my engagement ring into the pink fold of fabric at my breast. The thought of giving it back to him socks me in the stomach…but what am I supposed to do?

I grab the thick metal handle and push on the door. With a loud clang, followed by an eerie creak, the door opens. I slip inside the warm manor and close the door behind me. Three moderators stroll by, eyeing me suspiciously as they cradle their guns in their hands. If one of them wants to shoot me, who would stop them? Maybe one of them should. It would save me a whole lot of trouble.

I keep my head down as I cross the foyer and climb the elegant staircase. The atmosphere in the house feels…off. Hair prickles along the back of my neck. Kaden and I are finally in a good place. Why does he have to ruin it? Why does he always have to ruin it?

Soon enough, I find myself lingering in front of his bedroom door. I don’t want to go in there, but there’s no way I’m going to hang out in the corridor and risk bumping into Vince.

Swallowing, I knock on the door and I wait.

Nothing.

Is he sleeping? Or is he not answering because he doesn’t want to see me? I grab the handle and it vibrates in its place as I press my trembling palm against it. I hold my breath and open the door. It’s dark inside. And silent. I step in and close the door.

“Kaden?” I whisper and my shaky voice disappears into the darkness. “Are you here?”

A leather seat creaks from the right and moisture drains from my mouth. Why is he sitting in the dark? Instinctively, I tighten my jaw as the soles of his shoes tap along the wooden floor. He closes the distance between us and I can’t see a thing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demand, rubbing my fingers over the palms of my hands. “John and Oliver are—unh!”

With a fast hand, he reaches around to the back and snatches a fistful of hair. The pain of it sears around my hairline and I hiss and suck air through my clenched teeth. “What are you doing?”

He steps closer until our bodies press together. Inhaling, he dips his head to the nape of my neck and drags the tip of his nose along my collarbone. He plants a gentle kiss at the base of my throat and trails his lips up my throat. I swallow hard—for the umpteenth time—and Kaden releases a tight, unfamiliar noise from deep in his chest as he slips his hand around my waist, to the small of my back. He tugs me closer, squashing our bodies together. It doesn’t feel good.

Nothing about this feels good. What right does he have to touch me like this? To treat me like I’m the one who is in the wrong?

“Take your hands off of me, Kaden,” I tell him, clenching my fists. “I’m mad at you.”

He chuckles under his breath and it’s lost in the dark as chills creep over my skin. “Oh,