Playing The Alphas

Chapter 77: The Rejection

JAYCE

The door closed behind Darlington and waited until his footsteps faded down the corridor. Then I laughed.

It started as a chuckle. Then it grew louder and bitter. I threw my head back and let it echo off the walls.

It was nice to watch two lovers quarell and refuse to settle. I was that brother that loved to watch my brothers breakdown. I loved to cause mayhem and chaos and just sit down, watching everything unfold terribly. What a nice thing to happen.

"What a coward," I said. "What a pathetic, spineless coward. What a sucker and loser ass person. Too too bad."

The dancers around me shifted nervously. They did not know what to do. They did not know whether to laugh with me or stay silent. They looked at me atenagely but I didn’t care.

"He runs away from everything," I continued. "From confrontation. From responsibility. From women who actually want him." I grabbed a grape from the bowl. I tossed it in the air. I caught it in my mouth. "Always the same. Always running."

Seles stood by the window. Her arms were crossed. Her face was unreadable.

"Send the girls away," she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Send them away. I want to talk to you."

I looked at her. At the women. At the dancers still frozen on the pole.

"Leave," I said.

The women scrambled. They grabbed their robes. They hurried out the door. The dancer climbed down from the pole and followed them.

The room was quiet.

Seles walked toward the bed. She sat on the edge. Her silk robe pooled around her.

"What now?" I asked. I lay back on the couch. I crossed my arms behind my head. "You want to talk? Talk. You’ve chased all my entertainment away and made me lonely. Are you happy now?"

Seles stared at me. Her dark eyes were hard.

"I am not happy," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "You are never happy."

"I am serious, Jayce."

"So am I. You were never happy. Not when you were with me. Not when you were with Darlington. Not when you were with anyone."

She flinched. "That is not true."

"It is true. You are always searching for something you cannot find. And you always blame everyone else when you do not find it."

Seles’s jaw tightened. "How did you get permission from your parents to come here?" I asked. "I thought they locked you in your tower after the last scandal."

Her face flushed. "They do not lock me in anything. I came because I wanted to."

"Your parents let you travel across the kingdom alone? In the middle of the night?"

Seles looked away. "They do not know I am here."

I laughed. "Of course they do not. You snuck out. Like you always do."

"I had to see you."

"See me? Or see Darlington?"

She was silent.

I sat up. I studied her face. The tension in her jaw. The way her fingers twisted in her lap.

"You came for him," I said. "You always come for him."

"That is not—"

"Do not lie to me, Seles. I know you. I have always known you. You came here hoping he would take you back. Hoping he would forgive you. Hoping he would forget everything you did."

She shook her head. "I came for both of you."

"You came for him. And when he rejected you, you came to me."

She gasped.

"Who is she?" she finally asked. "The girl. The slave. The one everyone is fighting over."

I was quiet.

"Who is she, Jayce?"

I shrugged. "No one."

"She is not no one. Darlington would not have rejected me if she was no one. You would not be acting like this if she was no one."

"She is just a slave. Just another woman in the palace."

"Then why does everyone talk about her like she is something more?"

I stood and walked to the window. The moon was high and the stars were cold.

"She is not important," I said.

"Then look at me and tell me that."

I turned and looked at her. Her dark eyes were searching mine.

"She is not important," I said.

Seles stared at me for a long moment. Then she laughed. It was a bitter sound.

"You are lying," she said. "You are always lying."

"I am not lying."

"You are. I can see it in your eyes. The way you look at me. The way you looked at Darlington. She is important to you. Both of you."

I said nothing.

Seles stood. She walked toward me. Her hand reached out. Her fingers touched my chest.

"You used to want me," she said. "You used to fight for me."

"Things change."

"Things do not change that fast."

"Then maybe I never wanted you. Maybe I just wanted what Darlington had."

She flinched. "That is cruel."

"It is the truth."

Seles dropped her hand. She stepped back.

"You are a monster," she said.

"I am a prince. There is a difference."

She laughed. It was a hollow sound.

"You are exactly the same as you were before. Selfish. Cruel. Empty."

I shrugged. "If that is what you want to believe." frёewebηovel.cѳm

Seles walked to the bathroom. She paused at the door. She looked back at me. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"I am going to sleep," she said. "And when I wake up, I am leaving."

"Good."

"You are a jerk, Jayce. An absolute jerk."

"I know."

She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door. I was now lonely, secretly regretting why I had thrown my source of entertainment away.

I walked to the bed and laid down to stare at the ceiling.

I did not feel satisfied. I did not feel victorious. I just felt tired.

Seles was right. I was cruel. I was empty. I was everything she said. But guess what, I did not care.

I loved to be all those things she claimed I was. And even more!