Alec frowned. "He said he would kill my family if I didn't do it. He said cheating on you would make you hate me and never want to see me again. From the looks of things he was right."

I didn't reply.

Uncle Brandon made Alec do this?

He wanted me to be hurt?

"He held me as I cried," I whispered.

"I'm so sorry, Keela. I truly am."

I walked out of the kitchen and down to my bedroom where my phone was.

"What are you doing?"

"Ringing me uncle, I need to hear this from him."

I closed my door to keep Alec out.

I dialed my uncle's number when I had my phone in my hand and fear gripped me.

If Alec was telling the truth then I couldn't trust my uncle anymore, my most beloved family member... But if Alec was lying then I was still going to be left miserable and heartbroken because of his cheating.

There was no good outcome.

"Keela? Hello baby girl-"

"Is it true? Did you make Alec do it?" I cut my uncle off.

Silence.

"What did he tell you?"

I sobbed. "That you told him to cheat on me or you would kill his family."

My uncle swore but he didn't deny it.

"Uncle, is he lyin'? Please be honest with me, I need to know the truth."

My uncle sighed and after a long pause he said, "No baby girl, he is tellin' the truth."

I broke down into tears.

"Why? Why would you want me hurtin' like this?"

"Because you deserve better than a whore!"

"He is not a whore! He was forced to work for Marco because that bastard held the threat of hurting his family over his head, just like you did! He would have never done it if you didn't back him into a corner!"

Silence.

"I can never trust you again, do you understand that? You have lost the ability to call me your niece. I'm fuckin' done with you!"

I heard my uncle's sharp intake of breath. "I was tryin' to protect you from getting hurt, Keela."

"You caused me to get hurt, Uncle!"

"You deserve better than him!"

"I deserve to decide for meself who is good enough for me! I deserve to be happy and you ruined that for me. I hate you for it. You lied to me face! You sat in that hotel room back in the Bahamas knowing good and well what you did and you let me hate him!"

My uncle was at a loss for words so I hung up on him.

I kept my phone in my hand as I opened my bedroom and walked down the hallway and into the kitchen where Alec was still leaning against the kitchen counter top.

"You were right."

Alec frowned. "I'm sorry, Keela... I had to tell you the truth, it was killing me."

I nodded my head.

Alec pushed off against the counter and I think he was going to hug me, but I stepped back letting him know that it was not what I wanted.

"I told you the truth. Why can't I touch you?"

I looked away. "Because I can still see you touchin' them."

Alec looked tense as he whispered. "But I told you the truth."

This hurt.

"I know you did, I know you had no choice-"

"The only choice I had, was to be with you after the welcome dinner and I had to be with you Keela. There was no bad intent or ulterior motive, I just wanted to feel like you were mine. You have no idea how much I feel for you."

I swallowed. "It doesn't change anythin', Alec. I can still see you with them and it makes me skin crawl."

Alec stared at me for a long while without speaking and it was during this period of silence that I knew what I had to do. Uncle Brandon would still most certainly want me away from Alec and he would keep good on his word about harming Alec's family if I didn't.

I had to do what he did to me so he would stay away... I had to make him hate me.

"Please, don't leave me again... it nearly killed me when I read your note and realised you'd left the Bahamas."

I forced a bored sigh out of my mouth. "Alec, you hurt me and the only reason for that hurt was because I was starting to get attached to you. But it's better that we go our separates ways now, feelin's make everythin' messy."

He looked perplexed. "I don't understand, you told me you-"

"I wasn't meself in the Bahamas, I let the thought of us really datin' go to me head but it was a lie."

Alec was lost. "A lie?"

"Yeah, I don't want you, Alec. Everythin' was just a ruse for me family... nothin' between us was real. It was a just a favour, remember? All fake. I pretended to have feelin's for you to make us seem real as a couple because I wanted to one up Jason. You don't really think I could love someone who fucks people for a livin', do you?" I said my voice cold.

"Keela," he whispered.

"Come on, Alec-"

"But I love you."

I almost dropped to the floor at his declaration, but I managed to keep myself upright and still as a statue.

"You love me? You don't even know me!"

"Yes I do, and I do love you."

I wanted to cry, but I chuckled instead.

"Do you not abide by your own conditions? What happened to number one - no fallin' in love?"

Alec leaned back against the kitchen counter and slowly slid down until his arse hit the floor.

"You're the only person I've ever cared this much about in my entire life," he whispered.

My heart was breaking all over again, and my stomach was threatening to empty at any moment but I had to remind myself why I was doing this, why I was hurting him. I was keeping him alive.

"It was a favour, a job to you-"

"You weren't a job, Keela. It started out as a favour, but that changed... You know it changed."

I shook my head. "It never changed. It was always fake. I was fucked over by Jason, do you really think I could have feelin's for you so quickly? Come on, think about it."

Alec remained silent.

"If it was fake then why were you so upset?"

"Because I couldn't believe you slept with me auntie, I hate that bitch."

"That's the only reason?"

"Yep."

I tried to keep my composure when Alec got to his feet and directed a hateful glare in my direction. I began to breathe heavily when he walked towards me. He stopped right in front of me and looked down.

"You feel nothing for me?"

I shrugged. "Disgust. I mean, you fucked Everly and Dante at the same. Ew."

Alec set his jaw. "You're a hell of an actress, kitten. You really had me believing that you cared about me."

I frowned. "Damn, I'm sorry. I thought you were playin' off of me. I didn't think you would ever love me."

Alec snarled, "I can't believe a fucking word out of your mouth."

I cleared my throat. "I don't know why you're so mad, you got a free holiday out of it, you had sex with me, and you had a threesome. You should be happy as Larry."

Alec looked at me with nothing but rage and disgust and I knew my job was done.

"We can have one last tumble if you-"

"Don't fucking touch me, you heartless bitch."

I placed my hands on my hips. "That's just rude and uncalled for. I would like you to leave now."

Alec looked me up and down. "I don't know you."

He used my words against me and they broke my heart.

"I never want to see you again. Never."

I felt sick.

I shrugged. "Fine by me."

Alec turned and stalked over to my hall door but before he reached it, a knocked came to the door. I wondered if it was Aideen. I was about to ask who it was when my phone rang and my uncle's face flashed across the screen.

I looked up as Alec opened the door but not to Aideen, it was to Bronagh Murphy.

She sighed when she seen Alec.

"I knew you would be here, your brothers are lookin' for you."

Bronagh came in and closed the door behind her.

Alec put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't get comfortable, we're leaving."

Bronagh frowned. "Why, what happened? Does she not believe you?"

Bronagh knew?

"Let's just say Keela isn't who I thought she was."

Bronagh frowned at Alec but when she looked at me, her eyes were narrowed.

"What did you do?"

I shrugged.

Bronagh opened her mouth to speak when the hall door suddenly opened and Aideen entered the apartment with an excited Strom.