Chapter 27

Poppy

I break down and cry. I laugh and smile. I stop thinking when we make love.I'm a cluster of emotions, and if I wake up, get dressed, and manage to keep down my breakfast, I consider it a success.

It ' s been two weeks since Oliver Sinclair stepped down. Fourteen days of interviewers mourning his decision. Two weeks of seeing the country look up to Oliver and Andrew as if they are heroes while I'm down here in my own personal hell, looking up at villains wearing masks.

Harper has been eerily silent, rarely calling me, and when she does, her sexual jokes are half-hearted. Her mind is elsewhere, and it's bugging me that she's not telling me what's going on.

Julian has tried to convince me to take time off work, assuring me he can cover for me or find a replacement. I keep denying him because if I don ' t get dressed and have a purpose that isn ' t thinking about my future and my own fears, then I literally will combust.

The phone on my desk rings, startling me. I grasp it. " Hello, Mr. Sterling's office, this is Poppy," I say, my rehearsed line. Only HR usually calls here, that or planned calls for meetings that I patch through to Julian ' s phone.

Julian is with Theo on the engineering level, going over an issue about needing more time to test the drone update.

" Hi Poppy, this is Edwin from Security," he grumbles, a hint of annoyance threading his voice. " Got an Andrew here to see you. Claims it's all planned, but he ' s not on your list. And he ' s about as clear as mud on why. Even if he were on the list, without a proper background check, I can ' t let him up to the boss's office."

My heart shudders. " Who?" I ask, sounding like a frog is sitting in my throat.

Edwin sighs. My legs shake. " Andrew. Apparently, he ' s Madonna because he won ' t give me a last name."

I shake my head; it can ' t be. Andrew wouldn ' t dare come here.

" Where is he?"

" He ' s waiting inside the lobby. Want me to turn him away?"

My heart feels like a caged lion, ready to pounce, but only to realize when it lunges that its legs have given way.

What do I do?

I fumble for my phone in my bag. I need to call Julian. My fingers start to touch the screen, but I hesitate. I start to see shades of red; my ears feel like the spout of a tea kettle at full boil.

Anger that has been buried deep is now digging to the surface.

How. Fucking. Dare. He!

" I ' ll be right down," I growl as I hang up.

I ' m not the scared little girl Andrew could strike fear into. I want to show him that. How dare he come here to Julian's work and try to confront me!

With balled fists, I enter the elevator and shove the button for the lobby. Unfortunately, by the time the doors open with a pleasant ping, I have lost half of my bravado. Being your own hero is hard. I feel like I ' m unraveling faster than a ball of yarn rolling down spiraling stairs.

Maybe I need a pair of Spanx to hold it all in?

I spot Edwin standing with his arms crossed at the entrance. A smug-looking man is standing next to him, but at first, I'm not sure it's Andrew. The height, hair, and confident body language are Andrew ' s, but his face... it ' s covered in bruises, making him look more like he's from Fight Club than the once-potential next president's son.

I close the distance, each step tugging Andrew's lips up like a marionette doll. Edwin grunts, "You can't go beyond the lobby. I'll give you five minutes. All visitors need to be signed in for the future, Poppy."

"I ' m sorry," I whisper to Edwin. Wasting no time, my eyes finally meet my demons. He ' s less shiny looking, and it's clear he's had the shit beaten out of him.

I wish it were from my hands.

Andrew's left eye is swollen and painted black and purple, which makes the blue of his irises look more saturated. No wonder Edwin didn ' t recognize him as the shiny, perfect man usually shown on TV. The man who is supposed to be mourning his fiancée's death.

I wonder if his father did this to him. Probably.

Andrew clears his throat. "Edwin, do me a favor."

Edwin stops, and I hold my breath. "Call Julian for me and tell him to meet us also?" Andrew says dismissively.

Edwin's brow raises. "Mr. Sterling?"

"Yeah, him," Andrew sneers.

"That ' s her job," Edwin points, clearly fed up.

I look at Edwin, rising on my heels; I half want to jump into his arms and ask him to help me run. "Can you call Julian, please?" I say, and it's clear I'm scared. Edwin looks Andrew up and down, hesitating if he should leave. He nods and hurries off.

Why did I confront Andrew alone?I ' m too short to wear a superhero's cape.

"What are you doing here?" I question, my voice sounding like a rabbit running from the jaws of a wolf. I look around the lobby, which isn ' t busy; there are just a few workers coming in and out and the receptionist at her desk.

Andrew snickers. "Remember that day when Peter ' s body was cold and just beginning to rot? Remember what I told you?"

It feels like he just stabbed me.

Andrew steps closer, allowing me to see all the interacting shades of navy blues and purples on his swollen eye. "I told you don ' t do anything stupid," he growls. Then he softens his voice just the way he used to after he'd hit me. "Baby, you did something so incredibly stupid. You attacked my father."

"I—I don ' t know." My heart feels like it ' s hyperventilating. His blue eyes are like the paddles of a defibrillator, and he ' s about to shock me continuously.

Andrew reaches out, catching my hair as he spins it around his finger. I flinch, then freeze. "Don ' t, baby. It's ok; I'm going to fix it. I know what Julian is doing. He ' s trapping you."

"You ' re insane," I whisper. I try to step back, but I stumble on my heels, tripping and ending up closer to Andrew.

"Any wrongs I have done are your doing," Andrew bites. He tugs on my hair, burning my roots, before he sets it free. The flicker of pain in my eyes makes him come alive. "You drove me to do this when you got everyone involved. You should have kept your mouth shut. Everything was going according to my plan. We were so close to fixing the mess you created when you left me last time. You finally calmed down and were going to be mine again."

He makes a deranged man sound sane.

"You always fuck things up, Poppy, but it ' s ok because, like usual, I ' m going to make it better. I ' ll fix it." He sighs as he runs his tongue over a small scab on his lip. I hadn ' t noticed that it was swollen as well.

Andrew continues, "You think Julian ' s saving you?" He grunts. " You don ' t even know who he is."

"I know he ' s never hurt me. Never hit me. Never violated me," I retort.

Andrew rolls his eyes.

My hand is flying through the air before I realize it, but right before it makes contact with Andrew's cheek, he catches my wrist in a painful vice grip. "Look at you," he snorts, his fingers gripping me so hard I think my bone might crack, but I refuse to let him relish in my pain. "The next time your hands touch me, baby, it will be in pleasure."

I yank my hand away; it takes two pulls, and Andrew gives in for my hand to be free. I cradle it to my chest.

"Julian ' s lied to you," Andrew claims as his eyes look around the lobby. Yet again, he got away with hurting me. No one else saw.

"You thought I was bad. Did you stop and ask who Theo Sterling was?"

What does Theo have to do with this?

Like the perfect predator, Andrew uses my confusion to strike. "Let me ask you this, Poppy: how is it that you got an apartment in Julian's building and a job at his office?"

How does he know all of this?

The cameras. He was watching and listening all along.

I step back, ready to leave this futile conversation. I got nowhere. Andrew only saw my fear and fed off it.

He tips his head back and laughs. "Julian ' s been lying to you," he says again, like he's a goddamn printing press trying to force me to read his story.

"No," I snap. "You ' re the liar," I shout.

But deep down, his words take root.

I hate it. I want to pluck them out, but I feel their roots reaching and trying to grasp something.

It was just a random act of fate that landed me living and working for Julian.

Right?

Yes.

"Poppy!" Julian shouts in both anger and worry, and everyone in the lobby looks at him.

Andrew ' s eyes turn pure evil; then they pivot to me. "I ' m going to save you from him. You ' re going to beg me to. But in the meantime, I ' m going to make you suffer," he reaches out and cups my jaw painfully, "I have to. You crossed me, and I have to teach you a lesson. I ' m sorry, baby. I ' m going to break you and everyone you love. But don ' t worry, I ' ll build you into something better. My perfect girl."

A shadow covers us, and all I see is Julian ' s wide shoulders and then his back as he flies between Andrew and me. Julian ' s massive fist lands right into Andrew ' s jaw, and there ' s a sickening crack.

I hope he broke it.

"You come near her again, and I ' ll kill you!" Julian roars so loud I ' m sure the entire building hears.

Hands grasp me, and I scream, only to find Theo, Julian ' s brother, dragging me away.

Why am I allowing Andrew ' s words to make me question people who have never hurt me?

Theo ' s eyes look so much like Julian's—sharp and a light grey shade—but Theo ' s have streaks of blue in them, making him look colder and more calculated.

I shake my head. Stop. Don ' t listen to Andrew.

Theo positions me behind his back, and then he looks at Andrew and grins. That smirk tells me that everything I wanted to doubt might have a sliver of truth.

Andrew was correct. I don ' t know who Theo is; the man I ' m seeing now isn ' t the same man I first met. He ' s more devilish. The question is, how much so?

Andrew spits blood onto the polished marble floor, then looks at Theo. "I know who you are."

So his jaw didn ' t break. What a shame.

"Good," Theo replies. "Run and fight. I dare you, boy. It makes it more fun for us."

Andrew's smile wavers, his voice laced with venom. "You're not gods," he hisses, a mocking sneer twisting his lips. Julian edges closer, ready to attack again. But in a swift, protective gesture, Theo extends an arm, guiding Julian behind him, aligning them shoulder to shoulder, a united front against the impending storm.

"So he can be put on a leash," Andrew mutters as he snorts a grin at Julian.

Theo replies dryly, ignoring that jab, "No, we aren ' t gods. Gods grant redemption. My people don ' t."

Andrew glares and licks the blood from his split lip as if he likes the taste. "I tried to call you, Poppy, but it ' s funny. All my calls keep getting blocked. Did you know that, Poppy? Maybe you should ask Julian about that too," he says, then he reaches out and pats Theo ' s shoulder but looks at Julian. "You ' re going to have a long conversation. I wish I could hear it, but I know Poppy will tell me the details when she comes back to me."

Julian lunges, but I reach out and grab his hand. His eyes look down his arm to my fingers grasping his, then to my eyes. He must see my worry and fear because he steps back to me.

"You know, I got to thinking what would hurt more, Julian, taking Poppy from you or having her willingly come back to me," Andrew grins. "I think the latter."

"I ' ll never go back to you," I shout from between Theo and Julian's shoulders.

"Walk out the door while you still can," Theo begins, "Because soon you won ' t be able to."

"You will come back to me," Andrew declares, locking eyes once more before he turns and leaves, all the while laughing.

I release a breath, thinking it's over, but right before he pushes the lobby door open, he turns again. Andrew always had to have the last punch.

"Tell me, Poppy, how is your brother these days? Henry, isn ' t it? I ' ll have to find him and catch up."