Chapter 110
~~DELILAH~~
I’ve been putting this on hold for a while. It’s
now or never.
The fertility pills have made me bloated, alittle weepy, and just i irritable enough to snap at a waiter for putting too many ice cubes in my soda. Still, I took them. Because timing is everything, and my cale fellst
me this is the window. Peak ovulation. Prime conception. One shot to make good on this
increasingly psychotic plan.
I’m standing at Finn’s door, trying not to panic. My heart is knocking a weird rhythm behind my ribs. Not because I’m scared of him. Not because I’m new to seducing Finn–God knows that’s never been hard–but because this time, I’m not just looking to scratch an itch. This time, there’s a bigger purpose. A bigger risk. One that could show up as two pink lines in a few weeks and alter both our lives forever.
And, okay, maybe I’m also panicking because I’ve been doing Pila
s religiously, and the thought of ruining my figure makes me want to cry.
I raise my hand to knock again, but the door swings open before it lands.
Finn stands in the doorway, looking unexpectedly… normal. There’s color in his face. A steadiness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. The cast is still on his arm (proof of the madness I helped him orchestrate), but he’s casually biting into a green apple and smiling.
“Delilah,” he says, visibly surprised. His gaze drops to my dress, that high–slit crimson thing that borders on indecent, and his lips twitch. There’s hunger in his stare, as usual, that intense kind of interest that never fades no matter how bad things get between us.
“Finn,”1 reply. “Can I come in?”
“Umm.” He glances over his shoulder. “I kind of have
୧.
guest.”
“A guest?”
“Met her at my AA meeting. She’s cool.”
“AA?” My eyebrows go up. “Since when did you become an alcoholic?”
“Oh, I’m not,” he says, stepping back slightly but not letting me through. “I tried therapy. It sucked. All those questions. And the judgment? Yuck. But these people just sit in a circle and say the darkest shit. Like, I hate my best friend. I’m in love with my ex’s sister. I want to stab my boss. And you know what they say? ‘People suck.‘ They get.me.”
I blink. “That’s… comfortingly deranged.”
“At first, I went to Sex Addicts Anonymous. That got weird. Then Narcotics. But the alcoholics are where it’s at. Real ones.”
From inside, a singsong voice floats out. “Finnnnnn? Who’s at the door?”
”
“I’m coming, my love!” he yells back.
I almost choke. “Your love?“!
He doesn’t get a chance to answer because I’m already pushing past him. His place still smells like stale candles and mint gum. I head straight for the bedroom.
And there she is.
Naked. On his bed. Not even flinching. She’s blonde, obviously, but the wig she’s wearing is jet–black with sharp bangs. It’s slightly crooked. She has
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transparent glasses perched low on her nose, like a librarian doing cosplay.
What the hell am I even looking at?
“Who are you?” she says flatly, not bothering to reach for
“I should ask you that.”
a sheet.
Finn shuffles in behind me, looking a little sheepish and way too relaxed for someone caught in this particular setup.
“I see you’ve met Sloane,” he says.
“Sloane?”
“Well,” he shrugs, “her real name is Benita. But we do a little roleplay. I’m her dead lover. She’s Sloane.”
My vision sways for a second. I have to reach for the wall, bracing myself with one hand before my knees give out. What the actual hell is happening? Oh my god. He’s lost it. He’s officially insane.
He’s got a naked girl in a wig and fake glasses pretending to be Sloane–and he’s calling her ‘my love‘ like we’re in a badly written soap opera?
I press my palm to the wall, breathing slow, trying not
to
hyperventilate.
This is bad. Really bad.
I can’t let this continue. If Knox finds out Finn has found a solution to his sadness, I’ll lose everything. One million is a
And as much as I hate to admit it, there’s a part of me that’s angry he’s happy without me.
“You okay?” Finn asks. “Want me to get you water?”
Benita’s twirling the end of her wig around one finger. “She could join us on the bed.”
I right myself and straighten my spine.
“Benita, is it?” I say. “You need to get up, pack your shit, and leave.”
“You can’t tell me what to do. It’s not your house.”
“Ask Finn who broke his arm, and then let’s go over this again.”
lot
of money.
Benita grins. “I know everything about Finn. You broke his arm with a hammer. The story was so hot in AA.” She lets out a loud laugh, and only a tiny thread is holding me back from knocking her teeth out.
Hook at Finn with narrowed eyes.
He clears his throat. “Alright, Benita. Get up. I’ll call you later.”
“You’re seriously kicking me out for Jezebel?”
“Her name is Delilah.”
“Same thing.”
Finn grabs her legs and pulls her to the edge of the bed. She lets out a high–pitched noise that sounds like a dying balloon, then angrily gets to her feet. She throws on a wrinkled sundress without underwear, grabs her purse, and plucks off her wig and glasses. They clatter onto the desk.
“Sheesh,” she mutters as she stomps to the door. “I see why Sloane left you,
Finn.”
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I feel the impact of the front door slamming shut from here.
Finn flops backward on the bed, exhaling dramatically,
“You just sent my fun away,” he says. “Why are you here?”
“I came because I missed you.”
“You refused to return my calls. Ignored my
“You asked me to break your arm becau xts.”
“And now?”
“I’m not mad anymore.”
you’re in love with that nerd. I was mad at you.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he says, folding his arms behind his head. “I’ve moved on. Doing great, actually.”
“By asking girls to wear wigs?”
“God forbid a man has a kink.”
“That’s not a kink. That’s an obsession.”
“This is the only thing keeping me from kidnapping her. So yeah. I roleplay. My brother’s got her for now. I’ll wait my turn. She’ll come back.”
I step toward the bed. “What if she’s in love with him? What if they get married? Have kids?”
“She’s not going to stay with Knox. My brother’s terrible at love. She’ll get tired.”
“You don’t even sound like yourself. What happened to you?”
“I used to think he hated me.”
“Who?”
“Knox. But then I cut myself, and he patched me up. He doesn’t hate me. So I’m okay with him having her for now. We share everything, remember? Sloane will circle back to me.”
I just stare at him. This man is not the Finn I knew. But I didn’t come here to psychoanalyze him. I came to do what I was paid to do.
I reach for my hair tie, fingers trembling only a little as I twist my ponytail into a bun. Then I grab the wig from the desk. It’s sweaty and reeks of Benita’s perfume, but I slide it on anyway. It’s too big, slipping forward until I have to adjust it twice. I grab the glasses and settle them on my nose.
As I turn back to Finn, I see him push himself upright on the bed, bracing with his good arm.
“What are you doing?” he says, eyes narrowing.
“You want Sloane, right?” I whisper. “I’ll be Sloane.”
I reach for the straps of my gown, slowly sliding them off my shoulders, but then we both freeze.
The sound of a key in the front door is what caught our attention. The lock clicks.
“Finn?” a voice calls. “Are you home?”
My blood runs cold. I know that voice. It’s unmistakable..
Victoria.
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I’m still standing there in the wig and glasses, dress slipping off my arms, when she storms into the bedroom.
Her eyes land on me, and they narrow with instantaneous contempt.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Victoria,” I say with a tight smile. “A pleasure.”
“I don’t want you here. Get out. Now.”
“Mom-” Finn tries, but she lifts a hand.
“Not a word. Your sister’s here to see you, and I’d really prefer not to have this woman present for an important family reunion.”
“Sister?” Finn echoes, frowning.
“Lydia,” Victoria says. “She’s here. In the living room. I think it’s time you met your son, Finn.”
