Princess

Chapter 44: Brothers

We spoke simultaneously.

"Dean."

Ariadne

"You?"

My heart pounded at a million miles per hour.

"I love the element of surprise." Dean shrugged nonchalantly.

I couldn't silence my mind long enough to think.

Dean Jacobs.

My best friend's boyfriend.

My boyfriend's lawyer.

Memories of him holding my Robyn's slim waist as they dance, laughing at the dinner table, and her telling me stories about their dates and adventures flooded in all at once.

She thought he was distant and absent.

But instead, he was betraying her trust. Her family. Everything.

"Why?" I breathed.

"Why not?"

"Dean, they trusted you. I trusted you."

"Trust is overrated. Haven't we established that already?" He lit a cigar calmly, pulled a chair in front of me, and sat on it, resting his ankle on his knee.

"How could you do this to them? To Robyn?"

My heart ached for my best friend–the girl too good for this world. I didn't know how she was ever going to recover from this.

He bristled and then recomposed himself. "Robyn was just a pawn. I needed a way into the family."

"So, you used her?" My blood boiled. If not for anything else, I was going to kill him for hurting her.

"Please. She was so desperate for a distraction to get over your brother that I hardly had to try," he scoffed. He seemed resentful. Almost insulted that Robyn used him.

"She was always too good for you anyway," I clipped. "Plus, are you really telling me you felt nothing for her?"

Matteo's words from the ballroom came back to me: about Robyn being able to make men with a purpose forget what they really wanted. Robyn could make a rock fall in love with her. By the way Dean's jaw twitched, I knew I was right, so I continued pushing all the right buttons.

"Does it make you feel good about yourself, Dean? That you took advantage of the sweetest girl in the world just to fuck with her brother? Do you feel like a man? Do you think it makes you powerful?"

His eyes narrowed, burning with flames of anger. Still, I didn't back down.

I was a Ryder. We didn't do that.

"She's just a girl," he drawled.

"A girl? You should have seen the way she reacted to Matteo earlier today. She's not afraid of him. I'm almost afraid for you when she finally gets her hands on you."

"She wouldn't hurt a soul."

"I wouldn't be so sure," I said and even mustered a smile. "You fucked with Robyn Hale. You really think Damon is going to let you out of this easy? He loves his sister more than life itself. For that matter, do you think Christian is going to let you live?"

"Your pretty boy brother doesn't scare me."

I laughed. Actually laughed.

"Oh, that's a big mistake. My brother will destroy you. Not just because you touched me but for Robyn too. He's broken people's limbs for just talking about her the wrong way," I said as calmly as possible.