King of Envy

If you were my fiancée, I wouldn’t look at another woman. Entertainment or not.

Dante opened his mouth, but Kai cut him off. “Don’t listen to Russo. He doesn’t know how to let go of a grudge,” he said. “My advice is to listen, be patient, and never, ever rearrange your wife’s books without permission.” Kai frowned. “You would think alphabetical order by title makes sense, but apparently, it’s not ‘aesthetically pleasing.

It was stupid, but I collected his words the way I collected perfumes and shoes. They glinted like precious stones in the sand, proof that he trusted me enough to communicate with me openly when he didn’t have to. He simply chose to.

But with Ayana, there was no walking away. No negotiation. She was mine, and I would die before I lost her.

Because they were getting married.Because I saw her first.Because she was his when she should be mine.

Vanilla, for warmth and comfort. Which is what you mean to me.

Because she’s fucking mine. Jordan was her fiancé in name, but I was the one she’d turned to first. I was the one who understood what she needed—not comfort, but vengeance. I was the one who would kill and die for her in the same breath.

Because she was his when she should be mine.

But the little girl was wrong. They weren’t gross; they were simply a part of him. Some people had freckles and moles; he had scars.

Take off your ring.” Vuk’s harsh command was a shot of whiskey straight to my veins.

Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m sure you don’t care about what happens to my shoes.” I care about everything relevant to you.

If you get divorced, you can get tips from Davenport on how to win her back. It worked for him.

My pulse fluttered at the words scratched in bold black. I don’t hate you. But I wish I did.

Four,” she sobbed. “We kissed four times.”“Good. Because that’s how many times I’m going to fuck your brains out in this elevator, srce. I’m going to make you come so fucking hard you won’t remember your own name after, much less how often you’ve kissed another man.

Whoever invented this game should die. If they were already dead, they should die again. Horribly.

I knew all this already. I’d watched every interview and read every article she’d ever been mentioned in.

That was one of the hardest parts of growing up—realizing the people you trusted to have your back were often the ones stabbing it.

She’d radiated authenticity, and she had the type of smile that made me want to smile too—and I fucking hated smiling.

But the majority of her allure for me didn’t rest on her physical looks. It was the way she moved, with a natural grace that couldn’t be taught; it was the way she laughed, so whole-heartedly and joyously that it could chase away the darkest shadows. And it was the way she glowed, like there was a fire inside her that was just waiting to be unleashed.

Srce moje. My heart.

Not everyone had the privilege of following their heart.

people who were that riled up about each other either ended up killing each other or falling in love.

But how much is our friendship really worth when you didn’t even tell me you were in love with Ayana all this time?

My stomach heaved, and another scream shattered the silence. It took several beats for me to realize the terrifying sound came from me. Because lying unconscious next to me in a pool of blood, his skin whiter than death, was Jordan.

Count it. Count how many times you come for me, srce.

Bend over and grab the rail.

You sound so pretty when you’re begging me to make you come.

You’re a lot of things, Ayana. Manipulative isn’t one of them.

Joy doesn’t require the absence of grief,” my mother said. “We have the capacity to hold both at the same time. That’s part of the human experience.

passing bus trundled through a large puddle and sent a spray of water our way. I instinctively turned my body to shield her while she grabbed my arm with her free hand. I flinched, and she withdrew with haste.