Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
I clench my fist tighter, not caring for a second if I leave bruises. She deserves so much worse than this.“Let go of me!!” She struggles and tries to dig her heels in, but she’s no match for me. I’m done with her. With her games. Her lies. This ends now.
With my other hand, I open the front door and release her with a shove. "Leave. I'll send your things to The Embark Hotel.”
I don’t wait for her to say anything. Nothing I’ve said is up for negotiation. Without speaking another word, I slam the front door, her gaping face disappearing behind the heavy wood. Tears streak her cheeks, and red rings her neck and her wrists. I’ll remember that look for a long time.
A smile creeps over my face, the expression sitting unfamiliar on my features. This feels...like a severing. A clean cut into the jagged gashes I've been living with for years of my life. A cut that will heal instead of fester with infection.
Turning, I stalk back into the foyer, and it occurs to me then: where the hell is that bodyguard of hers? He can get the fuck out, too. But I don’t think I’ve seen him in a couple of days, and usually he’s plastered to her back.
Tanya pounds her fist against the door, and the noise only intensifies my annoyance. I should go out there and snap her neck.
“Sebastian. This is absurd. You can’t throw me out of my own house. Legally I’m allowed to stay here.”
“Need I remind you that it’s only half yours?” I raise my voice to make sure she hears me. “Now, fuck off.”
The door knob rattles again. “Please, Sebby. I don’t even have my phone. I won’t be able to call for help. What if something happens to me? Come on.”
“I’ll send it,” I say, this time not raising my voice because I don’t care if she hears me or not.
I’ll need to ensure security knows she is not allowed on the property. At this point though, I’m looking at a complete security overhaul considering all the slip-ups lately.
I flip the lights on as I enter the kitchen, the overheads gleaming off stainless steel and granite. It only takes a second to jog down the stairs to the long hallway ending with the security room. As soon as I reach the door, I pause.
The monitors are on, but the room is empty. A ceramic mug sits on the workstation, steam wafting off of it. Whoever was in here hasn’t been gone long, so maybe they’re doing their rounds? Or maybe they went to see what kind of commotion was happening with Tanya pounding on the front door.
For some reason, a shiver rolls down my spine, setting off internal alarms as I inspect the empty room. Whatever these fucks are doing, they need to get back here now.
It’s eerily quiet in the back halls as I survey the line of rooms on my way back upstairs. A prickling sense of dread seeps into my mind. There’s no one around. No one downstairs. No one in the kitchen.
It’s like everyone has disappeared.
Back in the foyer, I do a little spin, pausing and listening for any sign of Tanya, but I hear nothing. No yelling or pounding on the door. Could she have finally taken the hint and left? When she woke me with a call in the middle of the night, I knew it would be something stupid.
I just never thought it would be this stupid.
Fucking pregnant.
Did she think I’m an idiot? I would never sleep with her, let alone without protection. Not in a million fucking years.
But what if I did?
Doubt creeps in. It wasn’t more than a few weeks ago that I drank too much, and she was nearby to take advantage. I was trying to drown out my desire and need for Elyse and inevitably fucked myself over. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had done something so vindictive. Really, I would expect it of her, like the first time she plied me with wine after my uncle’s funeral when I was sixteen. The night she took my virginity.
I push the memories away, refusing to let them drag me back to that dark place.
I take a moment to shove Tanya into that tiny box in my gut and move towards the stairs. I know it’s stupid of me, that I should go outside and wrangle up security, but I can’t be bothered. Not when all I want is to do is climb into bed next to Elyse.
She’s the only reminder I need that everything is going to be okay.
Once upstairs, I pause outside the bedroom, the air warmer up here thanks to the fire still roaring in the bedroom fireplace. It hits me then how out of control I am, how ramped up with anger and emotion I am. Fuck. I don’t want to carry this into that room. I take a couple of calming breaths. There’s no reason to take all of what I’m feeling in there with her. No reason to threaten this precious peace between us with the truth of my past.