SHE (Book #1)

19

***Tempest POV***

I watch as a group of men unloads the truck. I stand in the corner of the sidewalk as the sign that says: ReadMoore replaces the old, rusted sign that came before it. It's all coming together.

Ever since I found out Malachi and his father were struggling to solve the problem with relocating the drugs in time for the next delivery, I took matters into my own hands. I bought the bookstore. Yes, a bookstore, the same bookstore that I was nearly attacked at. It's perfect, and no one will suspect a thing here on the other side of town. There is a little office upstairs, the downstairs is a cozy little place with bookshelves upon bookshelves, and the storage place is huge.

This is a perfect relocation area, especially since it draws away from the city life and people barely wander in. It's perfectly splendid. 

I told Malachi about it. 
The good news I was originally planning on telling him that night before I found him wasted and out of his mind. I told him about it, and he seemed pleased. Only for a second. I solved his problem, the problem my grandfather entrusted him with, and I proved myself a better man than he.

That wasn't all I told him was it.
I said something about reciprocating feelings, knowing good and well I feel absolutely nothing. I haven't felt anything since my mother died, and I don't intend on feeling anything ever again.
But I wanted to play this cat and mouse game. I have nothing to lose after all. Sooner or later, he will understand I am not the girl he thinks I am. 
He seems out of touch with reality. He seems to think everyone falls at his feet, at his mercy and charm. But I see how he unintentionally reacts to me, the stammering in words, the innocent touches, the staring, the blushing, all of it. I have never been so confused in my life, but I know he is confused too.

In the beginning, he had too much confidence. He was certain, he was sure, he was paving a way to make me feel.
Now, he is reacting. He is feeling. His drunk thoughts revealed his sober mind. These consequences he speaks of. He is doomed.

He was delighted to hear me admit my feelings to him. So delighted, but I saw. I saw the guilt slip out for a second. I have read people my whole life, their faces, their habits and tells, their emotions. His guilt is heavy in the eyes, and it will eat him alive. 

As for me. 
Well... I have nothing to be ashamed of. I can only gain from here on. 

But we doomed, aren't we?
If he is lying, I gain an enemy. a threat.
If he isn't, I gain a... lover? a partner?
But so what? Love never saved anyone. I have a duty to take hold of, as a woman. I can't have a future with this man. I cannot make him a priority. I cannot be forced to choose between him and my title as an heiress.

Grandpa's words.
Marriage means taking the last name of your husband.
I will become a Stone. 
I will have to share my kingdom, my fortune, my title.

Love. Marriage. Courtship.
It's all bullshit to me. All the finest men in the world can line up in front of me but I will not falter. They all expect me to. They see me as a naive, young lady. The truth, I cannot be loved. A killer cannot be loved without hiding the fact that they are a killer. Because only then do they seem humane and stable.
I choose myself.
I am selfish beyond anything. 

I sign off the remainder of the papers and head back home.
Liv's party is tomorrow.
Malachi had asked me to be his date.
I said yes.

It's rehearsed. It's a comedic performance. A tragedy. A tale as old as time, you can say. The trope of enemies to lovers. I have never thought to be living a fantasy. In reality, outside words on pages, enemies do not fall in love with each other. Instead, they destroy each other. They take and never give.