Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

31

Huxley

The hot water did little to ease the tension in my muscles. It would have been more productive to hit the gym and unleash my frustrations on a punching bag. I halt when I see Savannah sitting on the bed, eyeing the gift I bought her. I say nothing as I pull my clothes out of my closet.

I want to ask her where she was and who she was with, despite knowing the answer. I want to see if she dares to lie to me. I want her to apologise for missing yet another dinner date. More than anything, I want her to love me more than she loves this fucking game.

She waves the sex toy at me with a laugh.

“Did I miss an anniversary? What have I done to deserve a dildo?”

Feeling no humour, I give her a blank stare.

“It’s your new husband.”

Her smile falters.

“I don’t get the joke.”

I yank my clothes on with more force than necessary.

“That’s all this marriage is to you, right? Sex. It’s all you need me here for. I mean nothing else to you.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. This marriage was nothing more than a card in this fucked game you have going on.”

She closes the distance and runs her thumb over my lips. She looks at me like there is nothing else in the world. The sadness in her eyes weighs heavily on my heart, causing my anger to waver in the face of her pain.

“Hux, you know how much I love you.”

I step back from her.

“No. You love my cock and this thing you have with Xavier. There is no room for anything else in your life. That’s fine, Savannah. I’ll stay married to you because that was the promise I made. As soon as Xavier is in prison, I’ll free you from this torment.”

“Torment?”

“Is that not what it is?”

Unable to tolerate her answer, I try to leave the room, but she skims past me and blocks the doorway.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Where were you?”

“I went to the jewellers.”

“And then?”

“I was with Mia and Scottie going over her written statement to the police.”

“And then?”

“I was with Brynn.”

“Whatever you say.”

“I know I missed dinner but—”

“What were you doing with Brynn inside that house for over an hour?”

Instead of answering my question, she asks one of her own.

“How do you know how long I was there?”

Lowering my face to hers, I lock eyes with her.

“Try that lie again, Savannah. I dare you.”

But Savannah is angry too.

“You tracked my phone?”

I don’t care that she knows about that. I’m glad I did because I never would have known she was fucking him.

“You expect me to believe you and Brynn were chatting inside his house and he allowed it?”

“She offered to let me see Elise. We were in my car.”

I can feel my anger trembling inside me. My eyes narrow and my joints tighten the longer I look at her. My voice comes as cold as I feel.

“We both know what you were doing in that house. Or better yet, who you were doing.”

Betrayal shines in her eyes, yet her voice comes out as strong as mine.

“I’m giving you one chance to take that back. I did not cheat on you.”

“Why not? It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Her tears make my chest tighten, and I hate myself for throwing that in her face. But one reminder of that recording has the guilt fading as quick as it came.

“That was different. We weren’t…”

“And what about the night of the charity gala?”

My throat tightens as my brain conjures up a visual aid to the recording.

“When he was touching you, and kissing your neck, what was that? I listened to the recording, Savannah. You let him touch you. You played right into his fantasy.”

“That was part of the game! You knew what the plan was.”

“The plan was for you to pretend to be drunk! Not pretend to be his fucking mistress!”

I step away from her.

“Or maybe you weren’t pretending at all.”

She’s looking at me as if she can’t recognise me. Hurt riddles her body, but it cannot compare to the betrayal I feel.

“You have to believe me.”

“Why did you quit as his PA? Why did you bring Scottie forward without telling me?”

“Because he’s planning something and we couldn’t risk—”

“We?”

I scoff.

“You made that decision without talking to me first. And I want to know why. What, Savannah? Did he no longer want you and this is you lashing out? Are you trying to hurt him because he broke your heart again?”

“Yes! I want to hurt him! I want him dead!”

She looks up and lets out a long cry.

“How could you think I would…”

She looks at me again.

“You know exactly what it was between me and him.”

I shake my head.

“No, I don’t.”

She’s clinging to my t-shirt.

“I wanted you, Hux. I asked you for more.”

“And then you fucked him an hour later!”

“That’s not what happened! It wasn’t as simple as that.”

“How would I know?”

Something in her changes. She stops pleading with me. She puts distance between us as she shakes her head.

“I wanted to tell you the whole truth. It was you who said it was all in the past. I guess you lied.”

I crack my fingers.

“Okay, then tell me the truth.”

She wasn’t expecting that, so she scrambles to find her voice.

“What do you want to know?”

“How good was it?”

“Hux…”

“Go on,”

I push.

“Tell me, how good was it? Did you enjoy it? I mean, you must have because you kept going back to the man despite him being married. Where did you fuck him? Did the mistress get a bed or was she fucked like a dirty secret in the car? Who instigated it? How many times did he come inside you? Did you fuck him raw? Did you swallow it and then kiss me? How many times did you fuck the two of us on the same day? How many times have you thought about him when I was buried inside you? How many times do you still wish it was him?”

“I never wish it was him. You have to believe me, Hux. It’s only you. I love you.”

Her voice cracks on those last three words and it crumbles my resolve.

“But it’s not. You’re obsessed. It’s all you can think about. It’s all you can talk to me about. It’s consumed you.”

Unwilling to engage in this conversation, I stalk out of the bedroom.

Savannah runs after me.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be sleeping in the other bedroom from now on.”

“Hux!”

She blocks the doorway to the second bedroom.

“You, of all people, should understand! He took you from me. He took everything from me. He left me as his prisoner!”

I can’t stop the first tear. I gaze at Savannah, mourning the woman she used to be. Xavier has stolen all the parts of her I love; the woman I want a future with. This person standing before me is just a faint echo of who he is.

“You can’t even see what’s right in front of you. You’re still his prisoner. He’s still got a hold on you. But this time it’s worse because you know what he is, yet you still chase after him.”

“Please don’t do this. Please don’t leave me. You promised to help me slay the dragon,” she begs.

“And you promised me a marriage. I told you that this marriage is real to me. But it’s clear it was just a move to protect the queen. You’re lying to me. You’re keeping secrets from me. You can’t even make it home for dinner. I wasn’t asking for much, Savannah. I wanted you to love me just half as much as I love you.”

“I do,”

she cries “I love you.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re so wrapped up in his lies that you’ve weaved a web of your own.”

“Nothing about us was a game,”

she says as I push past her into the bedroom.

“You said it yourself. This is your game. This is your table. But I’m folding, Savannah. The queen can reign on her own.”