Requiem of the Soul (The Society Trilogy #1) - Natasha Knight Page 0,83
wicked grin as she leans forward and lowers her voice to a whisper. "But you and I are exactly the same."
Had it been any other day, I would have agreed with her. We are the same. Or at least we were. But somewhere between the events of the last few days, it feels as though my thirst for revenge has taken a short leave of absence, leaving only confusion behind in its place. That's the only logical explanation that makes sense, given that I've been sitting here all day considering my wife's feelings. Trying to understand human emotion on a level I never have before. Feeling so off I can hardly sit still for more than a moment.
I want to destroy something, but for once, it isn’t her. I want to force her to be sweet to me again. What a grand delusion that is.
I must be going insane.
"She's getting to you." Mercedes mirrors my thoughts.
"No." My response is lifeless, and even I can't pretend the conviction in my voice doesn't sound contrived.
My sister narrows her eyes at me, a fire-breathing serpent from the depths of hell. If jealousy had a face, it would be hers right now. I know that's what makes her question my resolve. She has always been the baby in the family. The cherished princess who was adored by our mother and protected by her brothers at all costs. But things have been so different since the explosion. She lost half her family in one instant, and then her mother in the aftermath. We are both just ghosts, living in this house, haunted by the memories. She has been watching me slowly slip away ever since, trying with all her might to pull me back. That's what it boils down to. She fears she will lose me to Ivy like she has lost everyone else.
"I have seen it with my own eyes," she hisses. "You carrying her around the halls of the manor like a broken little doll in your arms. It's pathetic, Santiago. If you don't have the guts to go through with this, then tell me now. I will do what is necessary."
My chair crashes into the wall behind me as I rise up and lean over the desk, breathing my own fire into Mercedes's face so there can be no doubt to my authority.
"Don't ever question my abilities," I snarl. "You will do exactly as you are told, and nothing more. If you even so much as think about pulling another stunt, I will have you shipped off so fast your head will fucking spin. Is my intention clear enough for you now?"
She shoves back her chair, lip trembling as tears cling to the edges of her eyelids. It's unlike my sister to show such a display of emotion, and for a moment, I question if she is right.
"You think you have it all under control," she sneers. "Yet you don't even realize your sweet, perfect wife has been sneaking in her brother right under your nose."
This information takes me by surprise, and Mercedes shakes her head at me when she sees it.
"She is a traitor. And you'd be wise not to forget it. Not even for a second, Santi. She will ruin you if you let her."
With those words, she disappears, leaving me to my thoughts. Within moments, I find myself scouring the cameras, checking the videotapes of the entrance until I find the undeniable proof. Abel was here. He was in my fucking house. And Ivy is going to pay for it.
I'm halfway down the corridor to her bedroom when Antonia appears in the hall up ahead with a tray in her hands. She startles when she sees me stalking toward her, her lips drawing into a frown when she recognizes the stormy expression on my face.
"Santiago?" She pauses before me. "She is sleeping, sir."
"I don't care." I move to forge on, but Antonia steps into my path, peering up at me with an expression I don't recognize.
"Perhaps, tonight you should let her rest."
My eyes dart over her head, fists clenching at my sides. "No."
It is unlike Antonia to challenge me in this way, and I don't know what to make of her strange behavior, but when she casts her eyes downward, it appears that she feels remorseful for something herself.
"It's my fault, sir."
"What is?" I demand.
"Her brother," she says softly. "That's what this is about, right?"