Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

46

Savannah

Since returning home, Huxley has been distant. Not angrily, but sadly. He hugged each of them tight and hesitated before driving away. He said fewer words than normal, and I knew there was nothing I could say to make it better.

Despite both of us being unemployed, we barely see each other. Huxley has been busy putting together the plan to get Mia and Jordan’s death noticed.

I haven’t heard from Brynn since returning from Huxley’s childhood home. I’m worried that she’s double-crossed me and offered real aid to Xavier now that I practically handed her over to Rowan. Is she telling him every detail of our plan?

My nightmares were reducing, but over the last few nights, Henry has haunted me. I see him begging me to save him, but it always ends the same way with me pulling the trigger. I wake up, struggling to breathe until Huxley coaxes me back to sleep.

But Huxley isn’t here to stop my tears as I read the headline for the online paper.

EXCLUSIVE:

Dead man Henry Pruitt accuses CEO Xavier Rivers

of MURDER from beyond the grave.

The video of Henry we spliced blurs as tears brim in my eyes. My legs jitter as I try to hold myself together. His brown eyes hold so much emotion as he talks about Elizabeth. I watched this video at least twenty times to make sure it was perfect before we sent it off. But I never held back sobs as I am right now.

Unable to take it anymore, I lock the screen and throw the phone into the space next to me. I lean my head against the headboard and let out a cry. My chest tightens the louder I cry no matter how hard I press against it.

Many have lost for my chance to win against him. Guilt tightens its grip around my throat, suffocating me, as we bid farewell to Huxley’s family. Isabella’s concerned eyes bore into me, silently questioning the truth. How was I supposed to tell her she would never see her son alive again? Huxley’s love for his family surpasses what words can express. And he’s sacrificed it for me. The chance for Henry’s children to mend their relationship with him was stolen from them.

“What have I done?”

I ask to the empty house.

“I can’t do this. How do I make it stop?”

Climbing off the bed, I walk to the closet and open the door. Pushing all the clothes aside, I stare at the board. It wasn’t long ago I stood in this spot with confidence that I was going to win this game without compromising my integrity.

Stepping up to it, I stare at Henry’s picture before unpinning it. I look at Mia and Jordan’s picture before doing the same.

“I’m sorry,”

I whisper.

“I am so sorry.”

I press the pictures against my heart and grieve for the lives I took. It doesn’t matter who pulled the trigger; I did this when I started this game.

“Elliot, how do I stop this addiction? I can’t step away from the table.”

I struggle to breathe as I stand there and cry at his image.

“Why didn’t I believe you?”

I remove his picture from the board too.

Placing those down, I stand eye-to-eye with the one person who would know exactly what to do. In this image, her dark eyes look light and full of life. I smile, knowing it’s because it was the day we got a positive pregnancy test. I was the one that snapped the picture of her. And then I slept with her husband.

“Emery. Help me,”

I beg.

“What do I do? You were the only one who ever outsmarted him.”

My fingers brush over her smile.

“Tell me what to do. Please. I can’t just walk away.” I shake my head.

“Not without Elise. And for as long as he is alive, he will continue to do the same. He will never let me be free.”

Taking her picture with me, I back away until I collapse onto the armchair. I pull my knees to my chest and give myself an undeserving moment to just breathe. When I open my eyes, my broken mind conjures up an image of Emery.

She’s dressed immaculately. Her beige dress is fitted perfectly against her form while remaining modest. Every strand of her hair is elegantly curled and framing her face. Her makeup is barely there, yet extenuates her features well. Her wedding ring that blinded me when we first met sits comfortably on her manicured finger.

“Oh, Savannah.”

She shakes her head at me.

“You look unwell. Perhaps a drink of something strong will sort you out. I did love my red wine.”

“Help me,”

I cry.

“I don’t know how to win without losing myself.”

Her doe eyes narrow at me.

“Get a grip on yourself. You cannot afford to be weak in the final hour.”

“That night – the one where you found out about the affair – you beat him. You outsmarted him. How do I do that?”

“Men like my husband always win. Why is that?”

She watches me as I struggle to come up with an answer.

“Come on, Savannah!”

she snaps.

“You know the answer. You’ve already said it once.”

But I can’t think straight. The weight of the past two years has taken away my ability to breathe.

“I’m sorry. If I knew what he was capable of … if I knew he would kill you, I never would have welcomed the affair.”

She takes sympathy on my weakness.

“You cannot stop yourself from falling for men like Xavier. Why is that, Savannah? How did he win your heart?”

I shake my head.

“I don’t know.”

Her hands curl into fists.

“Yes, you do! Snap the hell out of it. I trusted you to look after my daughter. What do you need to do?”

My cries stop long enough for me to shoot daggers at her.

“Tell me! How do I protect her? I’ve tried, Emery! But…”

My head falls back as I cry.

Emery's smile is knowing.

“But what?”

“He’s always one step ahead. He’s always got the perfect plan in place.”

She wears a proud expression.

“And how can you use that against him?”

“Throw him off his game.”

“How?”

“I don’t know! I’ve tried! I killed a man, and he still left that station as a free man!”

She slowly stands up and walks until she is staring down at me.

“Think, Savannah! You asked how I beat him that night? What did I do? I forced his hand, and he made a mistake. What did I take from him?”

I replay the events of that night. I skip through meeting Huxley’s family, his initial rejection, Xavier giving me the necklace, Emery asking me about the affair, the panic and finally following her up to her secret room.

“You got his attention by turning the cameras off.”

She nods.

“Good. What else?”

On instinct, goosebumps rise on my skin. It’s like I’m watching a movie reel and I can see how scared I was at her calm nature. She spoke to Xavier with little emotion until she threatened me.

The word slips out. “Time.”

I stand up.

“You made him come to you.”

“I didn’t give time to cover his lies. I made him panic. Do you understand now?”

My eyes dart to the safe hidden in the closet. Walking over, I unlock the safe and eye the envelope Brynn handed me that night on the cliff. I clutch it close and take a deep breath.

Emery stands tall and proud in the doorway.

“There is no more time to sit and wallow. Not everyone who takes a seat at the table is lucky enough to walk away from it. There are winners and there are losers. That is the game of life.”

I stare at her with teary eyes.

“You would have loved Elise. She’s so perfect.”

“Thank you,”

she whispers. She dabs her tears away.

“You’re almost at the end. It’s time to show the world your hand and let him call your bluff.”

I decline Brynn’s call and take a few deep breaths before stepping out of the lift and into the lobby. I wasn’t expecting such a big turnout, but I guess the tabloids are desperate for any information about the ghost Xavier made of himself. I keep my head held high and pretend the flashes from the cameras don’t blind me.

The loud chatter falls to silence when I stand before them. They all shove their microphones closer, eagerly expecting my awaited statement.

I can’t look at all the cameras, so I focus on the one in the front.

“My name is Savannah Ray-Hayes. I have had many roles in Xavier River’s life. I started as his barista at the coffee shop near his company building. He then hired me to be the surrogate for him and his wife. During that, I became an employee in his company as a PA to my now-husband. I was also a tenant in his home before, during and after pregnancy. I was his mistress. After his wife passed, I was his girlfriend. I was the acting and legal mother to his child. I was then a victim of his controlling and narcissistic behaviour. I was then his prisoner for fifteen months when he wrongfully had me sectioned. Upon my release, I was then reemployed as his PA at XR Securities. Xavier has made me a party of a legal custody battle over our child. And now Xavier has made me his next target.”

I take a deep breath and stare out into the crowd. In the far distance, I see all those I’ve been fighting for, with Emery standing front and centre. She smiles at me with a nod of encouragement.

“Xavier has proven time and time again that he is larger than the law. There are too many people who have simply vanished around him and the police have not questioned him, let alone held him responsible. So, I stand before you all today with a simple request. Help me. Save me from this man. He is dangerous. He is a monster. He is a murderer and is planning to kill me.”