Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 226

Chapter 226

“What is the meaning of that text?” I asked.

She laughed, a short, cutting sound. “You really are as plain as you look, aren’t you? Plain and foolish.”

“What did you mean by that text message, Seraphine?” Trepeated.

“Cheap, really,” she continued, circling me like I was prey she had already caught. “A whore, when you think about it. An easy woman who will spread her legs for anyone who shows her a little attention.”

“How do you know about me and Kingsley?” The words came out before I could stop them, a whisper that betrayed everything I was trying to hide.

She laughed again, louder this time, the sound echoing across the empty parking lot. “Because I sent him to you, you idiot. Kingsley works for me. He has always worked for me. I told him to sleep with you, to record it, and to bring the video to me. And he did. He did exactly what I asked, like the good little dog he is.”

The ground shifted beneath my feet. I felt it, a physical lurch, like the world had tilted on its axis and I was about to fall off. I shook my head, refusing to believe it, refusing to accept that the man who had held me so gently, who had kissed me like I was something precious, who had whispered my name against my skin, had been sent to destroy me.

“That is not true,” I said. “Kingsley would never do that. He is not like that.”

“He is exactly like that,” she said, her voice climbing. “You and Celeste comfortably showed my sex video to everyone. You humiliated me. You called me disgusting. You pointed your fingers and laughed at me like I was dirt beneath your feet. And now everyone is going to find out who the truly disgusting one is, once I post your little video with Kingsley for the whole internet to enjoy.”

“Please, Seraphine,” I said, my voice small and desperate. “Please do not release that video. For old times’ sake. For the years we spent together. Please.”

She tilted her head, studying me like I was a puzzle she was trying to solve. “If you want to beg, you should at least show some sincerity. Get on your knees, Pat. Beg me properly.”

I looked at the asphalt beneath my feet, rough and cold, and I thought about the video. I thought about everyone at Helix seeing it. I thought about Celeste. I thought about my mother. I thought about the way people would look at me afterward, the whispers, the stares, the disgust, the pity. And I sank to my knees. The gravel bit into my skin through my trousers, sharp and unforgiving, and I pressed my hands together like I was praying.

+15 Bonus