Page 89 of Oblivion
No, no, no.
I started shaking my head, stepping backward and hitting the man behind me.
“Sorry,” I murmured, apologizing to him, but I was in a trance.
Atlas finally reached me, his frantic eyes looking over me.
“I’m sorry, Phee,” he murmured. “I have no idea what he’s doing. This wasn't part of the plan.”
“I’m pretty sure most of you know her name. A psychopath, a murderer, a liar and a thief. My favorite one is that she’s a runner, loves getting away from tricky situations.” Every word rolled off his tongue so easily, piercing through the invisible armor I wore, shattering under the heavy onslaught. “Some of you call her Baba Yaga.” Storm laughed with the crowd. “She’s an ice princess, a perfect assassin, and she’s our golden ticket to bring these motherfuckers to their knees.”
The crowd roared while my knees shook, my hands clutching to Atlas as if he could save me from this pain flooding through my veins.
He sold me.
Storm sold me.
He only wanted to use me.
“She escaped me once, but she’s here now. She’s a perfect pawn, so eager. So hungry for acceptance and love.”
“No,” I whispered when somebody else came from my left. I turned my head to see Indigo’s pain-stricken face staring down at me.
“Did you know?” I asked him, going over everything he told me earlier. “Did you fucking know, Indigo?”
“No,” he shook his head, looking straight into my eyes. “I swear to you, I had no idea he would do this. He wasn’t supposed to do this, dammit.”
“We need to get her out of here,” Atlas said, looking at Indigo. “He’s going to give her to them. He’s going to—”
“And there she is,” Storm cut through Atlas’s words, looking at us. “A true killer.”
People turned around, their eyes landing right on me, witnessing the humiliation and pain rolling off me.
“Isn’t she beautiful,” Storm chuckled, mocking me. Erasing every perfect moment we ever had. “But her beauty can be deceiving people,” he continued. “Trust me. I’d know.”
All of them laughed, whispering, talking about me, their eyes dragging over my body.
“Bring her up here,” he commanded, his eyes plastered to Atlas and Indigo, but neither one of them moved. “Indigo,” Storm barked when we kept standing in the same spot, my every hope disappearing into thin air. “Atlas!”
He took my heart and broke it—again. I could hear the pieces falling down, shattering with a splintering sound. My house of cards fell apart, leaving numbness behind.
I looked up at him one last time, putting all my emotions in that one look, my eyes blazing with pain, anger, shame, and hatred. So much fucking hatred.
Nova stood on the side of the stage, snickering into her hand, her proud eyes flickering toward Storm.
But I wouldn’t go down without a fight, and if any of them thought that they could use me for their own gain, they had another think coming. I wouldn’t go down easily. I wouldn’t give them what they wanted.
Smile spread over my face as I stared up at Storm. The time stood still, everybody waiting for me to fall apart, to shatter in front of them. He built me up all those months only to destroy me in one single day, only to show me that everything he ever felt was just an illusion I fell for.
I straightened up, letting go of Atlas, rolling my shoulders backward.
My heart was shattered, but my mind… My mind wanted revenge. My body hummed from the pent-up energy, and Storm had no idea what he just did. He made an enemy where there wasn’t one, but he would find out what happened to people that dared to cross me.
He would find out what happened to men who tried to control me.
He took a step back on the stage, shock replacing the smug smile he carried, and for a second, the sorrow so similar to mine appeared on his features, before he replaced it with the cruel mask he currently wore.
“Ophelia,” Indigo murmured as I took a step forward. I turned around, looking at him with completely new eyes.
