The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 343

Seizing the moment Holden froze, Nova wrenched a hand free and gave him a sharp slap across the face. Stung, Holden reflexively grabbed her face, nearly hitting her back. But the sight of her reddened eyes shimmering with unshed tears stopped him. The impulse for revenge died once again.

“I’m disgusting? What about you? You’ve been stringing me along for this long. Don’t you think your actions are disgusting?” he snarled, his heart aching. He’d had countless flings, and every time a relationship ended, it was the woman begging him to stay. How had things with Nova, which had barely even begun, left him feeling like he’d been dumped and had his feelings toyed with?

Of course, he couldn't have real feelings for anyone. He shouldn’t.

“Me? Compared to you, I’m just giving you a taste of your own medicine!” Seeing Holden’s accusatory glare, Nova felt a chill run down her spine. As he watched her, utterly bewildered, she stared into his famously charming eyes and said, enunciating each word, “Do you remember Loretta?”

At the sound of that name, Holden’s grip slackened instantly. He looked at Nova in shock, as if seeing her for the first time. “You knew her?”

Nova scrambled to her feet, backing away from him. “Yes, I knew her,” she said, her voice laced with ice. “She was my best friend.”

A sudden realization dawned on Holden, and a bitter laugh escaped his lips. “So that’s it. You got close to me because of her?”

“Holden, you once told me that no one is innocent.” Nova remembered it clearly. Holden had spoken of Loretta’s death without a shred of guilt, as if discussing some irrelevant stranger whose life he had single-handedly destroyed.

“Loretta wasn’t innocent for letting her emotions trap her, but what about you? The one who preys on people’s feelings—are you so innocent?”

As Nova grew more agitated, Holden mumbled defensively, “There were no feelings between us.”

“Ha! That’s right. How could Mr. Covington have feelings? Feelings are for stupid, low-class people like us. It was her fault for believing in them, but why… why do you think you have the right to play with people’s emotions?” Nova was so worked up she was on the verge of tears, her words tumbling out faster and faster.

“Nova, I’m telling you, I didn’t play with her feelings. She and I were not—”

“Right, you weren’t anything. No relationship at all. You, Mr. Covington, were just offering a home to all the little girls! Holden, do you think it was some kind of blessing for her to even get close to you?” Nova cut him off, furious. She didn’t want to hear another one of his excuses.

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