Chapter 150

I tutted my tongue, tilting my head at María José.
“Oh, mi flor, why would I lie? What do I gain from this?” I spread my arms out dramatically. “I’m just here, being a good friend, opening your eyes.”
She shook her head, her hair falling messily over her face. “No. Axel wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t
“Wouldn’t what? Wouldn’t pine for someone else? Wouldn’t settle for you because he couldn’t have Rosa? Wouldn’t dump you now that he knew he could have Rosa?” I cut her off, staring daggers at her.
I wasn’t sure if her breath hitched from my tone, glare, or words:
I let my gaze slide over her, taking in the way she shrank back slightly, her body trying to protect itself from the truth I was feeding her.
But then, something suddenly caught my eye.
The scarf.
The way her fingers twitched against it, gripping the fabric too tightly. It was like every time she felt scared, she clung to it for support.
I had no idea how long she intended on hiding what was beneath it or how long it’d take before someone discovered it, but she needed to know that in this relationship, both of us aren’t allowed to keep secrets from the other.
Hence, I reached for it.
She gasped, jerking back, but I was faster. With a swift yank, the scarf came loose, fluttering to the ground like a dying butterfly.
And there it was.
A mark.
A bite.
My entire world narrowed in on that single, damning bruise imprinted on her delicate skin. Motherfucking Axel.
María José panicked. She scrambled to cover it with her hands, but I was already reaching for them, grabbing her wrists and pinning them up against the rough wooden wall behind her.
She let out a soft whimper, her body pressing back against the wall as if she could disappear into it.
Dios, she was trembling.
“What is this, mi flor?” I murmured, my breath brushing against her cheek. “Is this why you think Axel loves you? Because he bit you?”
She was frantic now. “It’s not his!” she burst out in a desperate tone.
What was that? A lie?
I raised a brow. “Oh?”
She shook her head violently. “It’s not Axel’s mark!”
I hummed, letting my fingers trail over the column of her throat, just shy of the bruise. “Then whose is it?”
She swallowed hard, her eyes darting away.
“I… I got cut by a blade,” she blurted out.
Wow. A full-blown lie. From María José?
Oh, what has Axel done to you?
I could cry right now. Hell, a vortex of anger swirled through me. I wanted to rip every wall in her room down, break all the furniture, and protect her from the debris.
I wanted to kill. My fingers ached to kill someone.
However, I couldn’t think about that here. Not now.
Instead, I laughed.
“The innocent María José,” I drawled, tightening my grip. “is now a liar?” I clicked my tongue. “Qué lástima.”
Her face burned.
“Axel has ruined you. Look at you. Lying. Hiding things.” I turned her cheeks left and right as if the lies were hidden somewhere in them.
She let out a soft, shaky breath.
“He’s changing you,” I continued, my voice laced with something dangerously close to obsession. “Tainting you.”
She flinched again and her lips began to part, but I didn’t give her a chance to speak.
“You used to be so pure,” I murmured, tracing my fingers over her knuckles. “So delicate. And now?” I blew the air on her face and let my lips barely graze the shell of her ear. “Now, you’re dirty.”
She whimpered.
I smiled.
“But don’t worry, mi flor, I’ll fix you.”
Her breathing was erratic now, her body tense beneath my hold.
“It’s my job,” I said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Because I love you.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, her wide, glossy eyes locking onto mine.
Ah.
There it was.
The hesitation.
The fear.
The doubt. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ
And Dios, it was beautiful.
I let my grip on her wrists loosen slightly, just enough to let her breathe, just enough to make her think, foolishly—that she had regained a bit of control.
Then I pulled her close again, brushing my lips against the shell of her ear.
“Watch,” I whispered. “Watch and see how Axel, despite biting you, despite ruining your future… will discard you like an old, worn-out doll and marry your elder sister instead.”
María José’s defiance crumbled finally. Her face fell and I saw the sad pout on her lips.
I smiled. Ah, there it was.
The first crack.
“Oh, mi flor,” I sighed dramatically, stepping back just enough to look into her eyes, those big, foolish, hopeful eyes. “Your sister is better. She has a future ahead of her, a bright one. She isn’t some sad little Omega who had to scrape by, working in a butcher shop because she let some fool rob her blind.”
María José’s lips parted as if she wanted to protest, but I pressed a finger against them.
“Shhh,” I cooed. “You don’t have to believe me. You only have to watch.”
She shook her head violently. “You’re wrong. Axel wouldn’t do that. He’s not like that. He’s cared for me more than anyone ever had my whole life. Axel… he—he has proved himself worthy of my love.”
And WHAT ABOUT ME?!
What else do I need to do before she could deem me worthy? Oh, was it because I let my emotions take charge of me and killed Ernesto when I ought to be busy killing Luis Miguel and his friends?
Was that what she wanted? Fine. Tomorrow, my ultimate plans would begin. I’d get so damn busy trying to make her mine and prove myself to her.
But there was no winning this if I didn’t plant enough doubt about her silly infatuation for Axel in her mind.
Thus, I laughed. Loudly. Mockingly. I even threw my head back for effect.
“Oh, you poor thing,” I crooned, gripping her chin between my fingers and tilting her face up to mine. “He’s already doing it. He’s already preparing himself to leave you behind. And when he does I stroked my thumb over her lower lip, feeling her shudder beneath my touch. “You’ll come running to me.”
She made a strangled noise in her throat, trying to turn her face away, but I wouldn’t let her.
“And do you know what, mi flor?” I murmured, my smile widening. “You’re going to love me even more than I love you.”
The words sent a visible shudder down her spine.
I savored it.
I let it simmer between us, let it sink deep into her thoughts. She would deny it now and, of course, fight against it with everything she had. But later, when she lay alone in the dark, wondering where Axel was, wondering why he wasn’t by her side… my words would come crawling back to her, wrapping around her mind like vines.
I would wait.
I would always wait.