Page 140 of Puck Princess

The sound is coming from the balcony.

I stand up and take slow, careful steps towards the door. Maybe it's the wind blowing the chairs around. Maybe it’s Delilah, who somehow escaped from Kennedy’s Catio onto our balcony.

But when I’m a few feet away, the knob, which is apparently unlocked, turns. And the door opens.

Fear floods my veins. My blood runs cold. My stomach bottoms out.

Spencer is standing in the doorway.

He is still for a second, other than his deep, jagged breathing. I have no idea how he got onto our balcony, but his expression is stony and his eyes are dark and fixated… on me.

I run.

I know I should go for the front door, but Spencer is faster than me. I hear his long strides pounding across the floor behind me, and I know I won’t make it to the door in time. He’ll cut me off, and I’ll be trapped. So I run for the kitchen, grabbing a knife out of the butcher block.

It’s slippery in my sweaty palm, but I attempt to spin and face him. But Spencer is too fast.

He knocks the knife out of my hand with a blow to my wrist. It clatters to the floor and slides away from me.

The fear pulsing through my body makes my knees give out as I shriek and fall to the floor. Not even a moment later, he is on top of me, pinning me to the ground. His knees dig into my thighs, his hands clamping around my wrist.

“No!” I cry out, my voice strangled in my throat.

“You are a bitch,” he spits in my face.

I sob, struggling uselessly against him. He’s so much bigger than I am.

“My reputation is trashed. Thanks to you and your slutty cousin.”

“Spencer, please…” I am suddenly worried about his full weight against the baby, crushing me on the floor.

But he doesn’t care. “I got kicked from the team. Banned from the industry. Do you haveany—” He literally screams the last word. “—idea what you’ve done to me? Do you?!”

“I’m sorry,” I sob. And part of me is. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve stayed quiet. I would’ve found another way. I was scared for my job—not my life. But right now, I know my life is in the balance.

“My own father is pulling back from me to save his own ass. All because you couldn’t just make things easy, do what I say, and keep your fucking mouth shut!”

I am pushing against him, trying to wriggle away, trying to get his weight off my stomach. But Spencer pushes against me harder. Then he brings a hand to my throat.

“I am getting messages—threats—from lying women like you. All of them are accusing me of shit. All of them are talking shit all over the fucking internet. Do you know what they’re calling me?” His hand tightens on my neck. “A rapist. Can you believe that?”

I can’t even respond. If I make him any angrier, I won’t be able to breathe. I am forced to do nothing but lie here, trembling and crying.

It’s the same way I felt in that closet. The same way I felt when he backed me into my office and did all the things I accused him of on the internet the other day.

“I am not a goddamned rapist!” he screams. “Say it!”

“You’re not…” I choke, my throat bobbing against his palm. “You’re not a rapist.”

“Do you believe that?” He studies me like he actually cares what I think. Like it matters.

I try to nod, but it’s kind of hard with his hand over my throat. Still, it’s enough. He eases up. I can breathe.

And I know this is my chance. I have to talk to him down. If I want to survive, I have to tell him what he wants to hear.

“I’ll make Kennedy take the website down.” My voice is raspy. I can already feel my windpipe swelling from the pressure he applied. “We can come up with a story. She can say she was hacked. You don’t deserve this, Spencer. I’ll get her to?—”

“I don’t care what the fuck you have her do,” he spits, his lips curled back from his teeth. “My reputation is gone. I’m not here to salvage it.”

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