Chapter 70 - 72
"It wouldn’t have happened if I’d known. And known about what?"
"Botan," he spits the name like venom. "Botan’s men did this to me. Tell me, Avara—" his voice cracks, heavy with accusation, "—is that the kind of man you want in your life? Because I thought Haru Black and everything tied to him is the shadow over your life. But Botan?" He lets out a bitter, hollow laugh. "Haru might be one of the most powerful men in the world, but even his power comes from Botan. Botan—because he’s the most feared." His gaze locked onto mine with searing intensity. "I want to hear it from you. Is there something between you and Botan Kiyosaki?"
His words are a dagger, carving into places I didn’t think could hurt anymore. My breath catches, my chest tightening as shame, guilt, and something far more complicated rise like a storm within me.
"Nothing was supposed to happen between us," I whisper finally, the words fractured and guarded, a fragile truth I can barely admit to myself sometimes.
"But it did," Simon presses, his voice raw and unrelenting.
I yield an unsteady nod.
I flinch at the harsh curse he throws even though it’s not aimed at me.
"You can’t trust him—hell, you can’t even be with him. Avara—he’s a criminal, aside from breaking every law in our constitution and violating every human right. He’s a killer too—he’s massacred hundreds. And you’re okay with that?"
"Of course not," I snap from a sudden surge of anger. "It’s complicated, you won’t understand because you haven’t seen what I have seen. He’s—"
"Different?" he spits out again. "Has a soft spot only for you or some shit? Come on, not even you could be that naive. I don’t care if he’s secretly a hopeless romantic—he’s a killer."
I flinch at the stab of words.
"A killer, " he repeats.