“What the hell is this?” I gesture around me. “Why did you hire me to clean your goddamn apartment?”
“I wanted to get to know you.”
“That’s insane. You know conversations were invented, right?”
“I find those overrated.”
“I bet you do. You’re the type of LinkedIn psychopath who believes in optimizing his daily routine, right?”
“Not exactly.”
I push myself to my feet. Water runs off my calves. I face him, arms crossed defensively. “I’m going to tell my father no.”
His head tilts curiously. “Will that work?”
“Probably not,” I confess, stuttering a bit. “But I’m going to try anyway.”
“What happens when we still get married?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want this. You lied to me… you manipulated me… you hired me for some bizarre, sick reason. Now you think we can have a marriage?”
“I never said that.” He looks to the side. He’s standing beside the deep end ladder. His fingers trace the metal slowly. “Do you think I want to marry you, Caroline?”
“Honestly, I have no idea what you want. I can’t begin to imagine it. We’re a different species.”
“You’re right about that.” His smile is gone now. The way he looks at me is terrifying. There’s a hate in him, a bleak coldness. I noticed it the first time we met and now it’s staring me straight in the face. I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a chasm.
“What do you want from me, Finn?”
“I want to hurt you.” He says it so simply, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
I have to swallow against a scream. “That’s really fucking weird.”
“I want to hurt you, Caroline. I want to hurt you, and your brothers, and your father. I despise you more than you can ever understand.”
Heat flushes into my cheeks. I feel naked and vulnerable. “Is that why you fucked me?” I snap at him.
He nods once. “Exactly why.”
“God, you’re fucking sick.” I skirt around him, keeping my distance. “I’m not doing this.”
“Yes, you are, and I am too.”
“Fuck off.”
“I don’t want this either. You think I want to marry you? You think I want anything to do with your filthy family?”
I whirl on him. “What do you know about my family? You’re nothing. You’re nobody. Just leave me alone. I’m done here.”
“Good. Storm out. Make a scene. How will that go over with your father?”
I grab my stuff, fighting tears. I hate myself for it too. Crying only ever pisses my family off and makes the hurt that much worse. If I cry, they won’t stop until I do. I shove the tears down like I’ve learned to over the years and stare at Finn.
“Stop talking like you know me.”
“I might not know you well, but I know your family. What’s your father going to do when you tell him you refuse to marry me?”
I shove the door open and storm into the apartment. Finn follows at a distance, a grin locked on his face. My heart’s pounding and I feel sick, because he’s right, and I don’t know how he knows. If I tell my father I refuse to do this, he’s going to hurt me. He hasn’t hurt me in a while, but he’ll do it again if he has to. I learned that too. There’s no disobeying the leader of the Flanagan family, not if I’m smart.