Page 75 of Rapunzel Unchained
“No,” Adam breathed out. “I suppose it won’t.”
“You lied to me,” I stated matter-of-factly.
“I did.”
“You pretended you didn’t know who I was.” The rage I’d felt when I previously thought about his transgressions wasn’t there this time.
“I know, and I’m sor—”
“I’m not done,” I interjected, locking my gaze with his. “Not only did you withhold information about who I was, but you didn’t give me the choice to fall in love with you the right way. With me knowing exactly who you were.”
Adam licked his lips, waiting for me to let him speak.
“I hate Snow,” I admitted, tracing my finger along the edge of my cup. “I hated her father and everything he represented. Even more so, I despised the mages who tortured and killed my mother simply for loving one of them. You knew all this and still you hid it from me.”
I paused for a moment and then breathed out, “Why?”
“Because I wanted—”
“Don’t tell me it was to protect me. You didn’t know me. I was an evil queen in a madwoman’s diary. You had no reason to want to protect me.”
Adam didn’t speak for a moment and then his voice came out low and pained. “I... I was ashamed.”
“Ashamed?”
“When I read the diaries, I thought they were just ramblings of a madwoman. Someone who was paranoid up until the day she died. It wasn’t until I decided to cross reference the diaries that I realized they might not have been so crazy.”
Adam placed his cup down and stepped around the island, stopping near my hands. “This woman my ancestor spoke of was fierce, vindictive, and as cruel as she was beautiful. She blamed all her problems on Snow, even after she was locked away. And yet there was no history of this ruler. No mention of an evil queen who killed her king and was locked away in a tower.”
I snorted. “Snow saw to that.”
“I know.” Adam’s fingertips touched mine. “While she left the diaries, she left us woefully unprepared for the magnificent and terrifying creature inside that tower.”
I wasn’t sure if I was offended or pleased by his description of me.
“I thought I was going into that tower to slay a monster.” Adam paused, clasping my hand. “Then I saw you...” His thumb stroked mine in a slow and hypnotizing motion. “God, you were so beautiful. I couldn’t reconcile the monster Snow had described with this woman before me.”
“To be fair, I wasn’t in my right mind then.” I breathed out a breath, closing my eyes. “I sometimes wonder if that’s how I would have been, had I not been forced to watch my mother die.”
Adam pinched my chin, turning my face to him. “You needed to experience her death to be the strong and fierce woman you are today. I wouldn’t wish that hurt on anyone, but I also wouldn’t want you any other way than the way you are right now.”
I placed my hand on his and pushed it away from my face. “And yet you fought me at every turn. You tied yourself to Rebecca.” He opened his mouth to protest. “Even if it was fake, it still hurt me. Then you locked me up... again! You say you love me, Adam. But maybe it's the version of me that you think I am that you love. Not me. Not the Evil Queen.”
Adam grabbed my face between his hands and pulled my face close. “You are NOT evil.”
His mouth slammed against mine, pulling a small whimper from me. As soon as it happened, he pulled away.
“You killed Master Tuck.” He kissed me again.
“You caused me all kinds of headaches.” His hands were in my hair this time when he kissed me.
“Then when you disappeared, I almost died from worry.”
When he kissed me this time, I kissed him back, grabbing onto his shoulders with as much fierceness as he held me. I tried to deepen the kiss, but he pulled away with a smirk.
“Do you know how much paperwork you’ve made for me? How many hours I spent with Gage destroying any evidence that you were responsible for the party, the tower, and then Healer Beatriz? I’ve spent more time cleaning up after you than doing my job.”
His thigh shoved between my legs as he dragged me off the chair and into him. “Then I had to watch as my friends turned from me one by one, falling for you just like I have. The jealousy I felt knowing that you let them touch you, kiss you, and yet I had to keep myself apart.”
