He threw a stack of cash onto the bar in front of everyone, as if he were tossing a coin to a stray dog."It's a thousand dollars.Take it. Please do not appear in front of me and Blair again."
Blair stood beside him, a triumphant smile playing on his lips, as if he were watching a captivating performance.A few other Sterling Knights members were looking over, their faces alight with the kind of amusement that comes from watching someone else's world burn.
A cold, bitter laugh threatened to bubble up from my chest.
A thousand dollars? So this is what three years of giving him everything I had was worth.
I should have given up on him long ago. I just couldn't accept it-couldn't accept that three years of giving everything I had would just end like this. So I kept holding on, waiting for an answer.Looks like today is the day.
However, my goal was never his change of heart.
"Not enough," I finally said. My voice was quiet, but it cut through the noise of the bar like a razor.
Devin froze, clearly not expecting this. "Kalia, don't make a scene."
Blair's smile tightened. She took a step closer, her posture radiating menace. "What do you mean?"
I looked straight at Devin, my voice steady. "Three years ago, you were just a probationary member of Sterling Knights MC, not even eligible for a patch. The down payment on your first Harley-that was my savings. Six thousand, four hundred dollars."
The color started to drain from Devin's face, his impatience replaced by shock.
"When you needed money to get patched in, to grease the right palms, I was the one who went to a loan shark. Five thousand dollars. I'm still paying off the interest."
Blair's expression soured. She clearly hadn't known any of this. She shot a suspicious glance at Devin.
"Every time you got into trouble and needed a lawyer, I paid for it. Over the last two years, that's twelve thousand dollars in legal fees."
The expressions on the faces of the onlookers changed. The smirks vanished, replaced by surprise and a hint of contempt for Devin.
With every debt I listed, Devin's face grew paler. He opened his mouth to argue but couldn't form a single word. Because every word I spoke was the truth.
"And what about the college education I gave up for you? The child I got rid of for you? How do you plan to calculate the price for that?" My voice remained calm, but each word was a knife, twisting in the wound.
A tremor ran through Devin's body. He couldn't meet my eyes anymore.
Blair was completely incensed, not just by my defiance, but by the revelation of Devin's sordid past.
She grabbed Devin's arm. "Devin! Is what she's saying true?"
His silence was the only answer she needed.
Her fury pivoted back to me, her face a mask of jealousy and humiliation.
"You bitch!" she shrieked. "Who do you think you are? Do you know who my father is?"
I looked at her, my own expression cold as ice. "I don't care who your father is. All I know is that debts must be paid."
Of course I know who she is.
She's the daughter of the leader of the Sterling Knights MC. She and Devin have been having an affair behind my back for a long time. They've recently decided to get married, and to bring their relationship out into the open, they've been spreading rumors everywhere-that I'm Devin's clingy, obsessive pursuer, and that she's his real girlfriend.
Blair trembled with rage, pointing a finger at my face. "You just wait! I'll make you understand what happens when you cross the Sterling Knights!"
Blair dragged the shell-shocked Devin away, but she didn't go far.
After shoving Devin toward another club member, she stalked back toward me, this time with a woman who looked even more formidable.
It's clear that she was prepared for this evening.
But I never go into battle unprepared.I've been preparing for this day for a long time.
And today, I'm going to make sure everyone knows who the real joke is.