“Let your brother play the hero,” Staffan said coldly.
Saffi’s lips trembled. “Staffan, please---”
“It’s me…or him.” He saw Jeremy starting for them and knew the prince was going to force his hand.
Saffi turned to look over her shoulder and paled at the realization that Jeremy was walking towards them.
“Choose, Saffi. It’s me or him.”
Staffan’s words made her head snap back towards him. “Then let’s just go,” she cried out impulsively. “Let’s just avoid him.”
He gave one hard shake of his head. “No. Show him you are choosing me.”
She gasped, the sound heartwrenching. “I can’t. Staffan, I can’t. That’s cruel---”
He exploded, “And you think you’re not being f**king cruel, looking at him like he’s your f**king prince while I was the one with you all this time, the one who f**king stood by you while he courted his f**king princess? Do you think that just because we don’t f**king talk about it means I’ve f**king forgotten that you f**ked him?”
A moment later, Jeremy’s voice came to them, quiet and deep. “Hello, Saffi.”
She looked at Staffan pleadingly, but his expression didn’t change.
With a swallowed sob, she turned her back at Staffan. With two whispered words, Saffi felt her heart breaking all over again, and the glass bubble she had hoped would stay forever whole cracked into pieces with it.
“Hello, Jeremy.”
Chapter Twelve
I miss you, baby. I’ll miss you every day. You don’t know how much.
Sapphire March posted today at 0800H on Facebook
Staffan was coldly quiet throughout the ride back, ignoring her every overture until Saffi was forced to remain just as silent, the tears falling endlessly even as she did her best to hold them back. But when they arrived at their hotel room, she couldn’t help trying again. “Staffan, please…”
But still he ignored her, moving swiftly past the living room of their suite and going to their bedroom.
When she reached their room, Saffi was stunned to see Staffan packing. “Staffan, please, please don’t be mad.”
He did not look up as he answered, “I’m not.” He flung the wardrobe doors open. “You just f**king ceased to matter.”
The cry that came from Saffi’s lips scraped him raw, but Staffan told himself to ignore it.
“Staffan, there is nothing going on between Jeremy and me. There never was.” Saffi covered her mouth to stop her sobs.
But still Staffan didn’t look at her. He only continued to move with icy precision, taking items of his clothing from the wardrobe cabinet and dumping them on the bed.
“Staffan, I lied.”
His head shot up.
“Jeremy and I never did it---”
“WHEN WILL YOU STOP WITH THE FUCKING LIES?”
Saffi flinched at Staffan’s shout.
Staffan’s fist punched the closet door so hard it went flying, its glass front crashing against the wall.
Saffi started to cry, knowing that Staffan wasn’t as angry as he was hurt. “Staffan, I mean it,” she sobbed. “I just lied because I wanted another chance---”
“Stop! Just goddamn stop!”
She sobbed harder at the contempt on Staffan’s face.
“I just don’t want to f**king hear another word from you. I’m f**king over you – I don’t give a f**k what your family blackmails me with. You’re worse than whatever they can throw at me.”
When he started to move towards the door, she threw herself at him, unable to help it. She cried as he tried to push her away, but she clung to him as hard as she could, unwilling to let go. “Please, Staffan, please. I don’t want to lose you again---”
He froze at her words before a bitter laugh escaped him. “Lose me? You never f**king had me because the Saffi I loved was a f**king fake. There’s no real Saffi – not one goddamn real thing about you because you’re full of shit.”
Staffan’s brute strength forced her to let go and the way his cold gaze took her in made Saffi sick to her stomach. She hurt, but then she would realize that nothing would hurt as much as the next words he spoke.
“You’re the biggest f**king mistake in my life, Saffi. Because I fell for you, hook, line, and sinker – I fell for you even though you’re crazy as shit, pretending you’re a f**king groupie, talking to your fish like they can f**king talk back…” Staffan knew he was saying things he should never say, things that he didn’t even f**king mean, but he could not stop the words from pouring out. They were the only way he could stop feeling so goddamn hurt.
Over and over Chloe had lied to him, but he had let her do it because he had loved her. And in return, she had still left him in the end. He should have learned his f**king lesson from that, but he had let Saffi do so much worse to him, make him twice the fool in front of the whole goddamn world.
His own weakness made Staffan want to throw up and right now, everything about Saffi just made him hate himself more. He was so f**king weak because of this girl – a girl who didn’t even know what love was.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He could only laugh. “You don’t love me, Saffi. You love the idea of being the one fangirl who was able to catch my attention. And so you did. Like any stupid mindless sex starved cunt, you got your dream while I’m stuck with the f**king reality. Because if the child inside you is mine, then it would have a lunatic---”
His words abruptly died at the stricken look on Saffi’s face. When she started to turn away, he didn’t understand the panic that squeezed his heart. But still Staffan could not admit to it, could not allow himself to be weak again.
“Go,” he snarled. “Go run back to your family. Maybe they can buy you a husband who would be willing to stay next time!”
She disappeared from view, and the empty silence that followed suffocated him. Staffan could only stand there, waiting and just goddamn waiting for the relief to come crashing down on him.
It was over.
He and Saffi were over.
The thought choked him, and he gasped for breath.
The phone rang, and Staffan answered it, his heartbeat pounding against his chest. It had to be Saffi. She had changed her mind. She wanted to talk to him. She was going to beg him to come back---
But it was not.
“Sir, you need to come down quickly. Mrs. Aehrenthal had an accident.”
No.
No, f**k, no.