I lower my drink to the counter, resting my eyes on Sloane. I want to watch her squirm when the words leave my mouth. “When you have his attention, and I mean all of it, you’ll know, because with Wicked, he needs to own you. All of you. Every animalistic tendency that man has comes out to play when he’s fucking you. He fucks you to own you, not to sleep with you.” I pause when I notice her mouth slightly part. “That’s how I know. You may think you own him, honey, but he takes no ownership of you, and judging by the fact that you have not one single bruise on your body, or scar, or even marks around your throat, that tells me that not only does he not claim you—” I feel a pang of guilt when her eyes fall to the counter. “But neither does the monster that lives inside of him. The monster I know.”

Silence falls around us and I look to Jade whose lips are curled behind her teeth.

Sloane grabs the glass that I filled for her, shooting it back. I wait for her to answer, and how she answers is going to tell me whether or not either of us can move on. “I already knew.”

Jade sighs, her shoulders relaxing.

“God, I don’t know. I just—I got caught up. I am caught up—” Her eyes catch mine. “I’m not blind or stupid. I see what you both have, but make no mistake, I owe you no loyalty. If that man grabs me and wants to use me to get you jealous, I’ll fall to him straight away.”

I hold her stare, my brows slightly raised. Minus two points in my book for self-respect. “And I need you to know that you admitting that to me just now means that I won’t get jealous.”

“Also, I’m sorry! But, bitch, she is his only one!” Betty pops off. “You may not have known us back then, but there is no one else but her and Wicked. Wicked and Ruby. You’re deluded! And also!” Betty snaps, as if just remembering. “The mother of his fucking kid! The greatest kid!”

Sloane shrugs. “Still doesn’t change my mind.”

“Sloane,” Jade warns, but Sloane already has her hand in her pocket, grabbing a bag filled with white powder. Jade looks between the bag and me. I don’t care so long as it’s away from my kid and it comes nowhere near my nose.

Poppy takes the rolled-up bill from Sloane. “What?” Poppy glares at me. “It’s just coke.”

“No, Poppy…”

Poppy widens her eyes at me, a small smile on her little mouth. “You just spoke about my brother’s sex in front of me. This is for my trauma.”