Page 21 of The Marine

“No. Well, yes. I didn’t have lunch,” I say, swallowing.

“We’re going for damn dinner, Briar.” He growls and I flinch.

Which is exactly why I was eating. He regularly commented on my weight, and I had missed lunch— mostly because I couldn’t eat after being with Aidan today—and knew I couldn’t order anything substantial in front of my husband. So I was filling up before we went out on date number one.

“It was a cracker. That’s all,” I reply.

Another lie.

“I’m downstairs.” Kael tells me and I can hear the anger in his voice.

Shit.

This isn’t a good start.

“I told you I’d meet you there.” My eyes widen at the awareness I’ll have to be with him in a car by myself.

“You’re my fucking wife. I’m not letting you drive yourself to our date.” Kael grunts. “Get downstairs. You need to give me a key.”

No, I damn well don’t.

I tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes, then hang up before he can reply.

This is not good.

I don’t feel safe being with him on my own the entire night. At the restaurant, it would have been fine, and then I was going to Uber home.

I dial my attorney.

“Hey, everything okay?” Vanessa answers.

“Kael is here to pick me up,” I say quickly because I don’t have much time.

“I thought you were meeting him there.”

I nod, even though she can’t see me as I slip into my heels.

“This is what he does.” I grab my purse. “I need an escape. I cannot let him drive me home. He’ll force his way inside, and that’s not safe.”

She’s silent for a moment.

If I ask Savannah, I’ll have to explain. She knows I’m separated from my husband but not divorced. I told her we might be working things out.

Not that I don’t trust her.

But she’s a very busy woman who sometimes forgets things, and if she said something around Kael that triggered him...well, I just need to get through these three dates and get a divorce.

Without ending up in the hospital one more time.

I also could’ve rung Alice or Trina, but my heart is thumping, and I can’t think straight enough to come up with some clever plan.

“I’ll ring you in an hour from a different number. Answer and follow my lead,” Vanessa says, going above and beyond for a lawyer.

She’s been amazing, even if she does think I should take a different path. Like filing charges and not giving him the apartment.

“Okay.” I push the elevator button after closing the door behind me. “Okay.”

“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” she says. “We can get you a restraining order.”

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