for hours!” My temper with him is rising. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on, Jeremy? Why don’t you tell me what you mean, instead of having me guess it, for once?”
“What I mean,” Jeremy murmurs. A brief smile flutters across his lips. “Are you certain you want to know, Lilly?”
“Seeing as it concerns me, yes,” I start. “Yes, in fact, I do!”
“Very well.” Jeremy takes his hand off mine and leans back. “What I mean is this: I did not need Tracy to tell me what she saw to know what happened to you.”
“The cameras!” I gasp. “You liar! You kept them on! You never relinquished control.”
Jeremy shakes his head. “No. I do not lie to you. You are the one in control of the house.”
“Then what…” I stop. A horrible realization starts to sink in. “No,” I say, the word hardly a whisper.
Jeremy leans forward, eyes alight, eager now. “No, what?” he asks.
“No, you wouldn’t have,” I say. I feel light-headed again, and it has nothing to do with the supposed brain damage.
It has everything to do with connecting the dots, with seeing how much wisdom lay hidden behind Tracy’s words, with realizing the things Jeremy wouldn’t even blink at doing, if his past behavior is any gauge.
“So you know,” he smiles. “Good for you.”
“I don’t know anything!” I scream. I’m panting, bordering frantic.
Suddenly, the fact that I ended up in the sunroom last night seems all too convenient.
“But you do, “Jeremy reveals a vicious grin. A look of absolute triumph is plastered on his face. “Tell me. Tell me what I did.”
“You…you drugged me,” I gasp.
And Jeremy’s smile only deepens. “It was but a test,” he says.
Chapter Eight
“A test!” I surge from the table, blood boiling. I look for something to throw at him, and to hell with all propriety. Finding nothing, I settle for merely knocking my chair onto the floor. “A test! How could you, Jeremy? Oh, but I know all too well. You’re the man who does . Aren’t you? You and that fucking malicious mind of yours. You made me believe you love me? How? Why?”
“Calm now, Lilly.” Jeremy’s got what he wanted, and now he is the very image of cool, collected placidity. “You’re making a scene.”
“And how did you think I was going to react?” I screech at him. I’m so angry I could claw his eyes out. He doesn’t even suspect the physical danger he’s in at this point. Nobody does. If I had a steak knife, I wouldn’t hesitate to rush at him.
“I was hoping you’d be more understanding,” he says. His voice is full of mocking warmth. “But I didn’t bet on it.”
“No shit you didn’t! You drugged me. Again. Again and again and again you do it! This is a game to you. Isn’t it? Despite your feelings, despite all you confess, your promises will never amount to anything more!”
“Life is a game,” he tells me. “There are winners and there are losers. Then there are the poor souls caught in between.”
“And where am I, huh, Jeremy? Where am I in your twisted assessment of things? Where do I stand?”
“Precipitously close to the edge,” Jeremy murmurs. “Unfortunately, you only have yourself to blame.”
“You’re wrong!” I stab a finger at him. “I have you to blame, Jeremy, for everything and anything that’s happened to me since you stole me from my life!”
“I gave you one better!” He swells to his feet. Even with the table between us, he looms over me like an iron titan. “I gave you one better, Lilly, against all my will, against all my judgment and all my plans. I gave you one better because of the effect you’ve had on me. I gave you one better. And what do I get in return? Lies! Deceit! Unfaithfulness!”
“Unfaithfulness?” I sputter. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“About all the things you hide still, Lilly. All the secret passions you endure. Everything you keep inside yourself, no matter how much I’ve shared
“What I mean,” Jeremy murmurs. A brief smile flutters across his lips. “Are you certain you want to know, Lilly?”
“Seeing as it concerns me, yes,” I start. “Yes, in fact, I do!”
“Very well.” Jeremy takes his hand off mine and leans back. “What I mean is this: I did not need Tracy to tell me what she saw to know what happened to you.”
“The cameras!” I gasp. “You liar! You kept them on! You never relinquished control.”
Jeremy shakes his head. “No. I do not lie to you. You are the one in control of the house.”
“Then what…” I stop. A horrible realization starts to sink in. “No,” I say, the word hardly a whisper.
Jeremy leans forward, eyes alight, eager now. “No, what?” he asks.
“No, you wouldn’t have,” I say. I feel light-headed again, and it has nothing to do with the supposed brain damage.
It has everything to do with connecting the dots, with seeing how much wisdom lay hidden behind Tracy’s words, with realizing the things Jeremy wouldn’t even blink at doing, if his past behavior is any gauge.
“So you know,” he smiles. “Good for you.”
“I don’t know anything!” I scream. I’m panting, bordering frantic.
Suddenly, the fact that I ended up in the sunroom last night seems all too convenient.
“But you do, “Jeremy reveals a vicious grin. A look of absolute triumph is plastered on his face. “Tell me. Tell me what I did.”
“You…you drugged me,” I gasp.
And Jeremy’s smile only deepens. “It was but a test,” he says.
Chapter Eight
“A test!” I surge from the table, blood boiling. I look for something to throw at him, and to hell with all propriety. Finding nothing, I settle for merely knocking my chair onto the floor. “A test! How could you, Jeremy? Oh, but I know all too well. You’re the man who does . Aren’t you? You and that fucking malicious mind of yours. You made me believe you love me? How? Why?”
“Calm now, Lilly.” Jeremy’s got what he wanted, and now he is the very image of cool, collected placidity. “You’re making a scene.”
“And how did you think I was going to react?” I screech at him. I’m so angry I could claw his eyes out. He doesn’t even suspect the physical danger he’s in at this point. Nobody does. If I had a steak knife, I wouldn’t hesitate to rush at him.
“I was hoping you’d be more understanding,” he says. His voice is full of mocking warmth. “But I didn’t bet on it.”
“No shit you didn’t! You drugged me. Again. Again and again and again you do it! This is a game to you. Isn’t it? Despite your feelings, despite all you confess, your promises will never amount to anything more!”
“Life is a game,” he tells me. “There are winners and there are losers. Then there are the poor souls caught in between.”
“And where am I, huh, Jeremy? Where am I in your twisted assessment of things? Where do I stand?”
“Precipitously close to the edge,” Jeremy murmurs. “Unfortunately, you only have yourself to blame.”
“You’re wrong!” I stab a finger at him. “I have you to blame, Jeremy, for everything and anything that’s happened to me since you stole me from my life!”
“I gave you one better!” He swells to his feet. Even with the table between us, he looms over me like an iron titan. “I gave you one better, Lilly, against all my will, against all my judgment and all my plans. I gave you one better because of the effect you’ve had on me. I gave you one better. And what do I get in return? Lies! Deceit! Unfaithfulness!”
“Unfaithfulness?” I sputter. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“About all the things you hide still, Lilly. All the secret passions you endure. Everything you keep inside yourself, no matter how much I’ve shared
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