Page 11 of Bully Billionaire Dragon

We are silent for the thirty seconds it takes for the elevator to ping and open.

I step into the elevator and TJ hops on as well.

“What are you doing?” I ask, taking a step back and almost tripping, TJ reaches out and catches my hand.

As our hands touch, I am hit with a memory from my childhood.

TJ grabs my hand as I am about to fall down the stairs.

My heart beats double-time at the action.

This is the first time he’s touched me since he threw me in the ocean.

His eyes meet mine and my stomach flips.

Is he going to apologize? He looks apologetic.

“You okay?” TJ asks, and I nod.

Besides almost falling down the stairs, my brain is in turmoil over how TJ has treated me. Part of me tells myself that TJ has never been mean about my weight before, so maybe it was just a one-time thing, but the other half is wary that he might just be evil.

“Couldn’t have you falling and making a hole in the floor. Mom would kill me,” TJ chuckles before shoving me out of the way and running out the front door.

My gaze burns into his back through the open doorway.

He really has turned into a complete jerk this summer.

What did I do to deserve such cruelty?

Looking down at my body, I cover myself with my arms and run into my room.

I stare into the bathroom mirror at my long brown locks. I have been growing my hair out for a few years, and I always thought it shaped my face well, but now all I see is it shielding my chubby cheeks. My mother always said I’d grow into my face, but here I am, staring at my cheeks. They are wet with tears.

My mother always tells me how beautiful I am, and I believed her until this moment. TJ is the only boy that I have ever wanted to see me as beautiful, but he sees me as the opposite.

The tears fall harder.

What if no one ever finds me beautiful?

I am snapped back to reality as TJ brushes his thumb across the back of my hand.

Snatching my hand away, I shoot him a dirty look.

This man made me feel worthless as a young girl. While that has shaped me into the confident woman I am today, it really hurt my self-esteem growing up. It changed me to my core.

I am not going to let him get to me now. I know better than to let some guy's flirting get to me. Especially, when he is only doing so because he finds me attractive.

TJ Rubens is as shallow as they come, and I will not succumb to his wicked words.

“I don’t bite.”

“Well, I do.”

TJ’s eyes widen at my comment, and I smirk, finally getting him to shut up.

The elevator pings and we are on the ground level.

I exit the elevator before he can say anything back to me. I walk out of the building without a second glance behind me.

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