Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“I’m not trying to push,” I say, easing onto the opposite end of the couch. “But I need to understand what I’m looking at.”
Lara’s eyes close, and she draws in a long breath. When she speaks, her voice is quiet. Controlled. “I have to tell you… I’m just so embarrassed by all this.”
“Don’t be,” I admonish. “You can’t control what he does to you.”
Her eyes flash with anger. “See… that’s just it. I let him do this. I’ve allowed him to treat me horribly, and then tonight, he thought he had the right to slap me.”
My hands curl into fists, but I don’t say a word. I let her get it out.
“It didn’t start like this. Not even close. Lance was… charming. Supportive. He was there for me after uni when I wasn’t sure what I was doing or where I wanted to go. And he made it easy. Familiar.”
I ignore the tightening in my gut. I could have been the one who was there for her, but I didn’t take the chance when I had it.
“It wasn’t bad at first. Little comments, possessive moments, but nothing that felt serious. And then we got engaged.” Her laugh is humorless. “That’s when it shifted. Like a switch was flipped inside of him and suddenly I became… property.”
She rubs her arm absently, her fingers brushing over the fresh bruises like she’s trying to convince herself they’re really there.
“He started checking my texts. Asking where I was all the time. Didn’t want me traveling for work. Said it wasn’t necessary. The behavior was concerning but I made excuses for him. I told myself he was stressed, that he loved me too much.” She looks up, eyes full of quiet shame. “And I didn’t want to let down my parents. Or yours, for that matter. Our families are so entangled I didn’t even know how to end it without causing fallout.”
“You don’t have to explain that part to me,” I murmur. “I know exactly how tight our families are.”
“I wanted out, Reid. I have for a while, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it and not… set him off.”
“Tonight was the first time he’s ever hit you?” I ask tentatively.
She nods. “It’s mostly been just verbal abuse. Sometimes he’ll grab me hard, but he’s never struck me until tonight.”
“What happened after you two left the party?”
Lara shudders over my question. “He thought I was flirting with you. He was accusing me of all kinds of horrid things, and I had no idea what he was talking about. I mean… you and I talked, but it was just… friendly talk, right?”
There was absolutely no flirting. I can attest to that because I know what flirting with Lara looks like. It’s something I stopped doing when we parted ways the last time. “There was no flirting.”
She nods. “The argument escalated, all his false accusations, and I got so mad at him, I snapped. Decided to confront him about his cheating.”
My eyes bug out. “He’s cheating on you?”
What a fucking idiot. I mean… who would ever cheat on this amazing, beautiful, talented and loving soul?
Lara snorts with laughter, claps her hand over her mouth as if she realizes this isn’t funny. “That really pissed him off. He turned it around on me. Made me seem like the bad guy because I saw his text messages. That’s when he slapped me and then told me he wasn’t going to talk about it anymore. When he went into the shower, I packed my bag and lit out of there.”
She says it plainly. A statement. Not a plea for sympathy.
But I still feel sick.
“You were right to leave,” I say softly.
“It’s long overdue. It was solidified when I realized he was unfaithful, but after tonight… he crossed a line. This will never get better, and I knew if I didn’t leave now, I might not get the chance again.”
“I’m glad you came to me.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispers. “I packed and ran, and now I’m here and I have no clue what the next move is.”
I nod toward the guest room down the hall. “The next move is getting some sleep. You’re safe here, Lara. We’ll figure out a game plan in the morning.”
Her eyes fill with tears. She blinks fast and swallows hard, forcing them down. “Thank you, Reid.”
I’m about to offer to grab her some tea when her phone rings. She flinches, then picks it up off the coffee table.
“It’s Lance.”
Her thumb hovers over the screen.
“Don’t,” I say. “You don’t owe him anything.”
She nods, sets the phone back down.
It rings again and Lara stares at it like it might explode.
Then a series of chimes start. A text. Then another. And another.
We watch as the messages light up the screen in a long tirade.
Lara doesn’t make a move to look at them, but I can’t help myself. I grab the phone. “What’s your password?”