Yes, Sirs (Book 1 of Desire's Den)

Chapter 140 - Emma

My hand, poised to knock, froze. I hadn't expected Mateo to be here, but that wasn't why I hesitated to let them know I was here. No, it was the anger in his voice that had given me a pause.

"Answer me, damn it," Mateo demanded.

Looking through the crack in the door, I could only just make out Mateo's back.

What had he meant by Callan knowing about it? Knowing about what exactly?

I didn't want to think the worst, but I couldn't help it, no matter how much I trusted Callan. He would've told me if he'd known about me being Mateo's student. And yet, as confident as I was about that fact, there was still a part of me that was afraid I was wrong—which was why I now found myself eavesdropping instead of making my presence known.

"I'm so sorry," Callan said sincerely, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke.

"Fuck your sorrys, they don't mean shit. Now tell me."

"You remember the private investigator I'd hired to find Emma for us?" No. I took an unconscious step back, creating distance between me and whatever I was hearing. "He found out she was a student at your school, and he told me."

No. Please, no. I shook my head as new tears filled my eyes.

"You fucking bastard," Mateo cursed his friend. The last word was almost a whisper, but for those who knew Callan and his childhood knew it would cut deeper than any other word. A sliver of me could still feel bad for him, even while my heart was breaking for me.

"I should've told you, and I swear to you I didn't know she would be your student. We thought—"

"We?" Mateo cut him off. "Did Gideon know too?" Callan didn't answer back in words, but he didn't need to; Mateo's reaction was answer enough.

He laughed harshly. "Oh, this is great. Just fucking great to know that not only one of my best fucking friends, but both were keeping this from me."

I held a hand against my mouth, trying to mute my soft cries. My body shook as I tried to contain them. I wanted to get away, I couldn't bear to hear any more, but my limbs refused to move.

"We thought," Callan tried again. "We thought that by not telling you, neither of you would ever find out. You only have one semester left, and we figured that since you hadn't crossed paths by now...you were unlikely to."

Pressing my eyes closed, I tried staving off a wave of nausea.

"And look how that turned out!" The anger from Mateo and Callan's painful truths finally became too much. Not caring if I made any sounds, I pushed away from the door and staggered out of the club. The last thing I saw was Jennifer's smug look. I didn't even have it in me to care.

Private investigator...

It had all been a lie, I realized. From the first moment we'd met, they'd lied to me. They had pretended they didn't know who I was.

Oh, God. The sponsored membership. Did they have something to do with that too? After hearing how they'd hired a freaking PI to find me, I knew they must've also been behind getting me back to the club. They'd made me think they were going to help me find a dominant, that this arrangement between us was just a convenience, after they'd gone through all of that to find me.

They'd lied, and for what? So they could have me? Why? Why me?

Right from the start, I'd been manipulated, and I'd fallen for it—I'd fallen for them. My fear really did come true. Falling for these men really did shatter me.

I made it a block before I threw up. My feelings were too deep, too messy for my body to handle. I threw up until my stomach hurt, and I didn't have anything more to empty, and even then, I dry heaved.