Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 185

Chapter 185

KINGSLEY

Pat sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist as she looked at me with that soft, forgiving expression that made my chest ache. “Come on,” she said, her voice light, almost amused. “There is no need to apologize. I wanted to help. It was nothing.”

I shook my head, my eyes fixed on the bloodstain on the sheets, that small red mark that proved I had taken something precious from her under false pretenses. “No. It was not nothing”

She followed my gaze to the blood on the bed, and a flicker of something crossed her face. Embarrassment. Shyness. But then she smiled, a small, awkward smile that did not quite reach her eyes. “Come on. I think I had even kept it for too long. I mean, thirty and still a virgin? Better it went this way. At least I was able to help you. And I enjoyed it, which was a bonus if you ask me.”

“Pat.”

“But you need to be very wary from now on,” she said, her tone shifting, becoming serious. “There are lots of people out there who would try to take advantage of you, just like what happened today. You need to be more careful, Kingsley.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. She was giving me advice about people taking advantage of me, and I was the one who had just done that exact thing to her.

“Celeste will be leaving the lab very soon,” Pat said, swinging her legs off the bed. “And even though she is there right now, she cannot do much. So we should be heading back.”

“Okay,” I said. “Alright.”

She stood up and walked into the bathroom. I heard the shower start, the sound of water hitting tile, and I got dressed and sat there on the edge of the bed, staring at the bloodstain, feeling like the worst human being alive. When she came out, her hair was damp, her skin flushed from the hot water, and she looked fresher, lighter, like the weight of what had happened had been washed away. She pulled on her clothes, smoothing down her skirt, buttoning her blouse, and she turned to me with a smile that gutted me.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Ready,” I said.

She hung up before I could respond.

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I stood there tor a moment, my phone clutched in my land, my heart hammering against my ribs. Then I walked to my desk, opened my bag, and took out the flash drive where I had copied the video. It felt heavy in my hand, heavier than it should have, like it carried the weight of everything I had done.

I walked out of Helix and across the parking lot, my footsteps echoing in the evening air The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the asphalt, and I saw Seraphine leaning against a car at the far end of the lot, her arms crossed, her lips curved into a satisfied smirk.

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