Page 123 of My Dark Divine
“Please, just answer my question,” he pleads, his voice tight with urgency. “I need to make sure no one else is around to hear this.”
“I’m alone. What’s this about?”
“Can we meet? I need to talk to you.”
The silence stretches, a taut thread between us. “Meet?” I echo skeptically. “For what? You’re calling me?—”
“Yes, I know how I sound,” he interrupts, his words tumbling out as if he’s in a hurry. “I know I didn’t give you the time or attention you deserved, and now I’m asking for something I shouldn’t. But it’s a matter of life and death, Venetia. I need to explain why I acted the way I did. I can explaineverything.”
His emphasis on the last word almost makes me laugh. Explain why he treated me like garbage, constantly putting me down? “I don’t think I’m interested. I have a wedding tomorrow. Do you really think I can just go out with you?—”
“This isn’t a date or anything,” he cuts in, intensity seeping from his words. It’s the first time I’ve heard him be so insistent. “I need us to meet at the junkyard. I know you value privacy, and no one can know about this. Not even West.”
Whatever he wants to share, it’s got to be bigger than just another lame apology. He wouldn’t suggest a hidden spot like a junkyard unless it was serious. “Well… Okay?”
The sound of his exhale is a whisper of release. The slam of his car door echoes through the receiver, carrying a sense of finality that lingers in the air. “Good,” he breathes. “I’ll send you the address. See you in twenty.” The line goes dead, leaving me suspended in silence that hums with unspoken expectations.
Staring at my phone, I try to process what just happened. Part of me wants to call West, but the stronger, more practicalside insists I go alone. West never liked Eli, and with his… volatile temper, this could end badly—with Eli’s mouth shut in the most brutal way, just for daring to talk to me.
Yeah, best to handle this one solo.
Exactly twenty minutes later,as planned, I pull into the junkyard—a place worlds away from the luxury houses, upscale parties, and everything else that usually surrounds me. Instead of chandeliers and marble floors, I’m greeted by piles of rusted junk, broken vehicles, and stray needles scattered across the ground. The sun’s evening glow filters through, cutting through cracks between stacks of trash and discarded furniture. At least there’s no overpowering stench; one small mercy is that I won’t have to burn my clothes after this.
I venture further in, glancing around for Eli. I had to park just outside the narrow entry path, which is only wide enough for foot traffic. A crow squawks nearby, startling me, and I look down, noticing fresh mounds of dirt here and there. It makes me wonder if there are bodies buried here, if I’m walking across someone’s grave.
And, of course, I came here unarmed. Great idea, dumbass. What if Eli intends to kill me?
“Venetia!”
I snap my head up to see Eli, not far off, smiling widely. He looks like he always does—casual clothes, hair meticulously styled, black roots contrasting sharply with his blonde strands.
“I have a meeting soon,” I lie, striding quickly to close the distance between us. “Be quick.” The entire setup here—theisolated junkyard, his strange urgency—is starting to get under my skin, especially since West has no idea where I am.
His smile fades, and I nearly laugh. Did he really think I’d still hang on his every word, desperate for his attention like I was before? “O-okay,” he stammers, nodding awkwardly. “Guess I’ll just... get straight to the point.”
He slips his hand into the pocket of his denim jacket and pulls out a small item. As he lifts it, the flash drive glints in the light, its importance almost deliberately underscored by the glow.
What’s up with everyone trying to intimidate me with flash drives these days?
I arch an eyebrow. “What’s this?”
Eli’s smile creeps back as he looks at the drive, his eyes glinting with a strange, obsessive satisfaction. “The entire world of Reyes Real Estate,” he says, his voice laced with fervent intensity. “The one and only weapon to destroy them.”
I blink, trying to process what he’s saying. “What? What the fuck does that mean?”
He ignores my question, his eyes fixed on me with newfound zeal. “I kept wondering just how difficult it’s been for you, Venetia,” he begins, veering completely off track. “At first, I was furious. But then, after all this time, it hit me—youwere the victim here.”
Victim. The word lodges in my throat, a bitter pill I can’t swallow. My face contorts in a grimace of revulsion. “What?—”
“Your father manipulated you into marrying West,” he continues, cutting me off, his gaze growing softer in a way that only irritates me more. “And I was angry, so angry at myself for being unable to protect you. You’re the woman worth fighting for, Venetia. And fuck, I only realized that after you walked away.”
Eli steps closer, practically waving the flash drive in my face as if he expects me to snatch it with wild abandon. “I nearly got myself killed gathering what’s on this drive: blackmail, fraud, dozens of silenced allegations, paid witnesses—” His list continues, each word dripping with fervor. “I knew Lucas’s company was bad, but this… this is evil. He’s got the whole city under his thumb. We can’t let him win.”
My mind races, desperately trying to find a rational explanation, but all I can feel is a rising tide of disbelief. I take a step back, needing space to process this… whatever the fuck this is. “You’re saying you’ve dug up dirt on the company my dad works for? And you’re bringing this to me the day before I’m supposed to marry the leader’s son? Are you insane?”
He raises his hands in a mock plea. “You can’t rush a process like this! I told you, I nearly got killed for it. Lucas crushes his competition and anyone who tries to dig up the truth. But ifwerelease this, there’ll be nowhere for him to hide.”
Shock and suspicion clash within me, a chaotic dance of emotions reflected in the tilt of my head and the skeptical gleam in my eyes. “We? Who’s ‘we,’ Eli?”
