I shrugged, splaying my hands and wincing as the diamond caught the final spiels of light from the sunset. The faceted stone burned orange and gold. “I gambled on the fact that he felt something for me…and I’m pretty sure I lost, so we might as well say goodbye because I doubt he’ll let me stay much—”
Jealousy snatched the diamond from my palm, cradling it close and shutting me up. Her eyes narrowed as she tumbled the priceless rock from hand to hand.
I felt no ownership over it, so I didn’t care if she claimed it. It would mean something to me if I knew who’d given it to me, but currently, it made me feel like a bought and paid for whore.
“I’m impressed you spiked him with elixir.” She kept her gaze on the diamond, juggling it, letting the final sun-sliver catch and sparkle. “I’m impressed you survived him using you while out of his mind. I’m also impressed that you fought for your future, rather than letting him dictate it.”
Fisting the diamond, she caught my stare with hers. “But I’m disappointed that you think he’ll sell you. He’s never sold a goddess. Not once. And I know he’s had two offers on me alone.”
“He has?”
She nodded. “A man named Boris and another who I can’t remember. They cornered me, professed their love for me. The usual drama after they fall for us in Euphoria.”
“That’s what happened to me. Roy Slater approached me and asked to buy me. He wanted to…marry me.” I swallowed hard. “Sully agreed.”
“He might have agreed, but he’d never have gone through with it.”
“He looked pretty set when he told Cal to draw up the contract.”
Jealousy leaned closer, her hazel gaze diving deep into mine, once again shoving aside my worries, my sins, and fishing for my truth until she grabbed it with both hands and yanked it to the surface. “I give you my word, there is no way in hell he would’ve put you on that helicopter with another man.”
Goosebumps scattered down my arms, completely ignoring the muggy humidity and pretending I sat in snow instead. “How can you be so sure?”
She grinned, revealing perfect teeth. “Because you’re his.”
“We all are. He bought each and every one of us.”
“Don’t be obtuse, Jinx. You know exactly what I mean when I say you’re his. You’re the one. You’re his forever.”
A sick chuckle spilled from my mouth. “Look, I appreciate the pep talk and your attempt to make me feel better, but you don’t know what you’re—”
“Who do you think gave you this diamond?” She held it up, spinning it in her fingers. “If you slept with Sully as much as I think you did yesterday, your answer should be fairly clear by now.”
I went deathly still. “Wait…the night Sully came to lock me in the cage. After I’d run away. You said I needed to know something about—”
“The diamond. Yes.” She nodded brusquely. “Yes, I did. But…I’m guessing you already know what I was going to say.”
I shivered. “You expect me to believe Sully was the one who gave me that?”
“Wasn’t he?”
“I mean…physically, yes. You were there. He shooed away all the other goddesses and then gave me the box.”
She lowered her voice, cocooning us in our secrets. “What did he whisper to you? I scampered the moment he looked at you as if he’d throw you on the table and eat you for breakfast.”
“He…” I licked my lips, wishing I didn’t remember in exquisite detail but unable to deny it. His voice vibrated in my skull. “… another man told me that you’re the best he’s ever had. That he’ll never forget fucking you. That he gave you a piece of his heart. I got…jealous.”
“He said it was from a man who fell in love with me.”
If it was him…why was he jealous? Jealous because he hid behind a ruse?
“That man…being him,” Jealousy murmured.
My heart literally hiccupped. Anger hung on the coat-tails of my agony and I scooted away a little, needing space, needing her to stop this nasty game. “I asked him point-blank if he felt anything for me, and he…”
“You, Eleanor Grace, are something. You have the power to be everything. And that is why you’ll forever remain nothing.”
“He denied feeling what I did.”
Jealousy huffed impatiently. “That’s not what I think he said at all.” She tossed me the diamond. I didn’t catch it in time, and it plopped onto the sand, sinking until the shiny jewel became just another pebble on the beach.
“Why is this so important to you, huh?” I asked. “Are you trying to deliberately hurt me? Don’t you think I’ve overanalysed everything he’s said to me? Trying to read between the lines, to see a message he might be giving me.”
“Oh, I know you’ll be doing that. And I know you see the message he’s been giving, but you’re too weak to admit it.”