Page 96 of Blaze & Ajax

“Get the fuck out of my house. Expect divorce papers in the next couple of days.”

“No!” I yell. He can’t leave. I need him.

My mother raises a brow at me. “No?”

“I… I love him! You can’t send him away. He… gives me love and…”

She eyes Howard. “Jesus Christ, how in the hell did you convince him of that? Get your shit and get out. Now. I’ll deal with Aiden,” she says, way too calmly, like the eye of a hurricane.

He nods his head once and walks away without a backward glance at me.

The panic is nearly explosive. He can’t leave me like this and alone with her. “Howard? Tell Mom,” I cry out. He can’t go. If he does, he has to take me with him. I don’t want to stay here anymore.

He stops, and the relief fills my veins. He turns to face me, but he’s frowning. “I’m sorry, Aiden. Goodbye.”

“What? No! Howard! I love you!”

But he keeps on walking.

“Howard!”

Mom comes over to me, and in a flash, she slaps my face with fingers covered in rings. I grab my cheek and look at her with all the hatred I feel for her. Years of neglect and never loving me have built up and festered. All that pent-up rage explodes.

“I hate you! You ruin fucking everything! All you’ve done in your sorry excuse of a privileged life is ignore me. Not once have you shown an ounce of care. Howard gives me attention and love.”

Instead of getting angry, she throws her head back and laughs. “Love? He’s a pervert, and you’re a fool for falling for it.”

Her words sting more than her slap.

“I fucking hate you,” I say again. “Why did you even give birth to me?”

“Good question.”

Despite knowing she hates me, too, her words still gut me. As I gather my clothes and put them on, she stands there, staring at me, her eyes burning a hole into my soul.

I’ll bide my time. I need to get out of this house first, and then I’ll find Howard, who will let me live with him.

“How long?” she asks.

I zip up my jeans. “How long for what?”

“How long have you two been fucking?”

“Three years.”

Mom looks shocked for a second, but she quickly recovers. Then, the rage sets in. She slaps me and hits me over and over. “He’s my husband! You willingly let me stay married to a pervert?! You piece of trash! Get the fuck out of my house! Now!”

“Gladly!” I yell, trying to fight her off without hitting her back. “I’ll get my shit and get out. Howard will let me live with him. He loves me.”

She scoffs and shakes her head, looking at me in disgust. “You are to leave now.”

“W-what?”

“Now!” she yells.

“But I need—”

She fists my hair and drags me out. My mom is taller than me, even without heels on. I’ve always been slight.

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