"Poor little Maisie who didn't get chosen by anyone. Poor little Maisie left behind to rot as a maid. Poor, little orphan. It's the perfect sob story, isn't it? The perfect excuse to try to steal my life because you just cannot stand to see me happy."
My eyes stung. My throat closed. My fingers curled and ripped into the tiles under me. "Lana," a choked whisper escaped me.
"You couldn't just let me have it. You couldn't just be the maid. You couldn't just lower your head and disappear. You have to take the spotlight, even when you have nothing, even when you are nothing."
She stopped and breathed. "You know, I used to feel guilty. About the way things turned out. About where you ended up. And then I realised Mom and Dad worked themselves to death for both of us. And one of us made something of it." She tilted her head. "I think if they could see us right now, they'd finally understand which one of us was worth the sacrifice. And which one of us should've died with them."
The ringing started in my ears.
I couldn't see clearly. The tears came whether I wanted them to or not, blurring the faces of twenty people who had just heard my dead parents used as a weapon to hurt me.
Pain swelled in my chest, my breathing turning ragged.
I snatched up the tray and fled from the hall.
Somehow, I made it to the corridor before my legs decided they were done holding me up. I staggered to the broom closet, silently shutting the door behind me and huddling into the corner. The darkness pressed in around me as a wretched sob tore from my throat.
I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my face against them, feeling the smear of sauce and whipped cream on my cheek. I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth and screamed silently into my palm.
I'm not sure how long I sat there. But by the time I heard the footsteps, my tears had long dried.
The door creaked and I didn't look up. I already knew his scent. I hated it. I hated that it felt comforting.
Cole Hayes crouched in front of me, green eyes glinting in the dark. His eyes moved over my face, my uniform, and he pulled out a handkerchief from the front of his navy blue jacket.
And proceeded to try to wipe the gunk from my face.
I smacked his hand away before it reached me. "In case you haven't noticed, the broom closet is where the wretched maids like me come when they wish to be left alone. Or let me guess." My eyes welled up again. "I can't have that, either."
He didn't go away. He stayed crouched in front of me with his arms resting on his knees, too close for the size of the closet. My wolf was responding. Like a complete idiot.
"It doesn't have to be this bad," he said.
I looked at him.
"I could make it easier. All of it. Not just the bond." He glanced behind me at the shelving, the mop, the cleaning fluid. "You'd have a better room. Better food. You'd want for nothing." When he tried to touch my face again and I flinched, he let his hand fall. "No one would speak to you the way she just did. Not in front of me."
The closet was very quiet.
"You're asking me to be your mistress," I croaked. "While you marry my sister."
He didn't flinch. "I'm asking you to let me take care of you."
"While you marry my sister."
"While I marry Lana. Yes."
My nostrils flared. "I would never do that to Lana. And even if I wanted to throw my twin under the boss, it wouldn't be for a bastard like you."
It was almost comical, how swiftly Cole Hayes got pissed when his advances were rejected.
He reached for my chin and jerked my face forward roughly towards his, I struggled but his nails only dug deeper into my skin. His breath was hot against my lips. "Whatever those Lycan freaks have promised you, they are not interested in you, Maisie. They are using you for their entertainment and once they grow bored, they will leave. And you will remain here. In this closet. In that uniform."
His nose pressed against my cheek as he sniffed me. "I am offering you something real." I shuddered when he pressed his lips to the corner of mine, trailing a hot line down my neck. "I can be gentle, Maisie."
My stomach tightened when he leaned in further, hand bracing against my waist. "You're a virgin, aren't you?"
I pushed him off, scuttling away from him. My eyes were wide as I took him in and my breaths short. Cole's green eyes were flared gold and he looked so… hungry.
My face crumpled with disgust and pain. "You want to know what the worst part is?" My vision blurred. "That you actually believe you are being generous. That you truly look at me and see nothing more than a warm body to fuck. You'll take care of me? Fuck you, Cole. I'll survive without you."
Clenching my fist hard, I started out the closet.
But I didn't make it far before he had me pressed against the door, his chest against my back. His drawl was cruel against the curve of my ear. "Keep playing difficult, Maisie. Fuck, I think I might like chasing you. And seeing the look on your face when you realize I'm all you've got." He caught a lock of my hair and twirled it around his finger. "Or the look you'll wear when I finally bend you to my will."
He pushed off and walked out of the closet. I stood there for a long time, nails curled in until I felt the blood running down my fingers.