Forever Luminescent

Chapter 36

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Gwenn asked. Empty laughter filled her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the shivers running up and down her spine at the sound.

"Someone was busy lying to get her way, wasn't she?" Wolf clicked his tongue, his breathing hard and heavy, distorted by the microphone. "You thought you wouldn't get caught, blondie?"

She clenched her free fist, staring out into the dirt road, away from Ronan. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said.

"Cut the crap, Gwenn," Wolf growled. "You told me Ronan was designing a motor. A stupid motor. Come to find out he designed an entire car down to the smallest details."

"I didn't-"

"Yes, you knew," he yelled. Her lip quivered as she shut her mouth. "You let me submit the best motor I could come up with knowing he had done a car. You were with him. You knew what he was doing, and you lied to me. Do you not understand what you've done to yourself?"

"Wolf-"

"Don't bother," he cut through. The run-down neighborhood in front of her blurred as tears welled in her eyes. The sky turned molten orange as the sun began hiding in the horizon, and the temperature decreased, prompting a chill to wash over her exposed skin. "I can see where your loyalty lies. You made a choice. A stupid one. I thought you were smarter than that. But now you'll suffer the consequences. I hold power over you, and you know it. Your mother will soon find out, and your little charade will be over."

"How can you even make such an assumption?" she cried out. Blood boiled inside and her head felt like it would burst. She fed him more lies. It was about the only thing she could offer to him, but he brushed it off, slapping her lies away with a flick of his hand. "You don't even have proof that I lied because I didn't, Wolf."

Wolf chuckled. "And you keep doing it now," he said, reading her right to her core. "When I met you, I thought you were the goody two shoes who did everything by the book and didn't do anything wrong. I guess even the nicest ones turn out to be just as bad."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she sobbed. Hands encircled her shoulders, and she froze as Ronan stepped in front of her, a million questions etched onto the frown lines of his face. She shook her head, letting her glassy tears form trails down her cheeks.

"But I do," Wolf said, his tone softening in mock pity. "Bad at lying. Bad at making choices. Bad at seeing that Ronan isn't even great either. Such a shame, blondie, such a shame that you never saw how he played you just as hard."

Ronan cupped her face, drying her wet cheeks with his thumbs. "What is going on?" he mumbled. She turned away from him, allowing Wolf's words to echo in her brain before she could make sense of them.

"What are you even talking about?" Gwenn tugged at her loose bun, letting her blonde locks fall over her shoulders so she could run her trembling fingers over her scalp with ease.

"He played you," Wolf repeated. "And you never noticed. Did you think finding the information of your biological parents was hard? With the right price, you can find anything. Please, Gwenn, I found out what happened to your biological mother months ago. I'm certain your little partner in crime did too, but I cannot understand why he would withhold that from you. I guess that's one piece of the puzzle I can't find in the pile."

A lump formed in her throat, but she swallowed it down. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you still don't know?" he asked. "Your biological mother was murdered. She's dead. You can find her death certificate online. Want me to send you a screenshot? No, how could I? Let Ronan show you everything. Wouldn't want to take the show away from him after all. That's all he ever does."