Despite how much sheâd separated herself from her family, Lana was still a de Luca. She still had the grit in her veins, the revenge and the power and the money. No matter how much she wanted to pretend this wasnât in her, Lana knew she could ruin Maxineâs life far worse than hers and Cullenâs had been ruined. The last thing she wanted to do, however, was to stoop as low as Maxine had. Lana was a de Luca, but she no longer wanted to be. She was revenge and money and grit and dirt, but she hadnât wanted to resort to any of this.
Hearing Cullenâs words only made Lana angrier, though. How could someone who had only ever given her heart deserve this? How could Cullen, who had never been anything but honest, get a love that ruined her? And how come Maxine was sitting at home, basking in the glory of what sheâd done without any guilt or shame? Lana frowned out of concern at the other woman before her, but also out of anger. At Maxine. For herself. She had been used by a friend, and at the expense of another! How could she let anybody get away with this?
âI know,â Lana replied. âI donât owe you anything, and you donât owe me anything either. Itâs justâ I have to sit here. I have to sit here with someone who knows what happened, and just⊠let myself settle. Iâ God, would a revenge plan be so bad? You still have her texts, right? Still have everything you ever gave her? That watch you gave as a gift â how much was that? She still thinks Iâm her friend, so. I mean â I have information, you have receipts, and weâre both holding grudges. So, why not?â Lana looked up at Cullen now, only half-hoping she would disagree.
The worst thing about this entire situation was the fact that Cullen couldnât stop herself from being love struck in the presence of Lana. She didnât know her as Lana, but she knew her as the woman and the face that she had fallen in love with. Cullen wondered how many pictures were stolen from her Instagram or screenshotted from Lanaâs Snapchat so that she could mess with Cullen. Shaking her head, Cullen knew that she needed to slow down her thoughts or stop, or something. She couldnât stop resorting back to how everything that had happened was because someone was deliberately playing puppet master with her heart and mind. All along, Maxine was aware of what she was doing and the effect that it would have on Cullen if anything became incorrect or proven wrong.
Cullen could still remember the moment in which she had realized that Maxine wasnât who she was saying that she was. It had taken something as simple as Cullen trying to prove to her best friend that the pictures belonged to the girl who she had been talking to, but Google Images had brought a different result back than Maxine. One confrontation turned into an argument which resulted in Maxine admitting everything. God, she was such a fucking idiot. âWait, what?â Cullen mumbled, instantly being brought back into the moment whenever Lanaâs voice was raising and something almost sinister started coming to the surface. âWhat do you mean exactly?
There was not a revengeful bone in Cullen Kensyâs body, however, there was so much hurt and anger stored inside of her petite body that she could see herself stepping into the dark side. âMaxine needs to feel what Iâm feeling right now. Itâs not fair and I need her...â Cullen paused before she was running her hands through her hair, trying to ground herself to the moment. Her emotions were taking over and making her feel incredibly out of control. âI need her to hurt. Whatever youâre thinking, Iâm in. I donât care, Iâm in.â
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