Page 133 of My Ruthless Opponent

His chest covers me, his hand snaking around to close around my throat. He presses his mouth to my ear, whispering, “When will you stop rubbing that word in my face, hmm?”

I don’t know why I do it? To remind him. Or us. That this is fake. But it feels somewhat good to know that Raleigh doesn’t like that word either. Fake.

“What will I have to do to make you stop using it for us?”Make this real. I don’t say that. I don’t say anything.

“Guess we are going to stay here all night.” He grits out before powering into me.

I come again and again later that night because Raleigh fucks me as a man possessed.

After bending me over the table, he fucks me against the wall, on the cold marble floor.

True to his words we were locked in that pool hall all night.

He was punishing me. For using that word, for making him feel things he didn’t like. And I took all of it he had to give me.

His glares. His pleasures. His hate fuck. His choking. Everything.

That hall was our warzone where we fought with our emotions while fucking each other.

When the early morning rays peeked through the windows, Raleigh carried me to our room.

That morning, I slept in his arms but he was miles away from me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Iwoke up alone in the morning, my body aching in places I never knew existed.

I made a mistake last night by bringing up the whole fake fiancé thing.

He was opening up to me. He told me he was happy for me.

My heart smiled when he said he wasn’t upset about losing.

I can’t pretend like last night never happened. I can’t. What he said meant something to me.

The way he looked at me, felt intimate. Like he was peering into my soul. And I went and ruined it. But Raleigh was the one who said:I want you but that doesn’t change anything between us.

I was feeling thousands of emotions ever since we set foot in this resort.

When Raleigh made it clear that our affair will be strictly physical, I was on board.

Now I don’t understand why he is acting weird. I’ll talk to him today.

Because of last night, I overslept. I never oversleep. So that was a first.

However, finding the space beside me empty and cold filled me with disappointment.

I took a long shower on purpose.

I am late and I didn’t check my phone knowing full well there are tons of messages waiting for me.

It’s one of those days where I don’t want to work and waste my time by simply doing nothing.

I can’t do that so I settle with procrastinating.

Now I am standing in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom, getting dressed in a white crisscross tie-back puff sleeve dress. Muttering curses while I try to tie the strings at my back.

Good thing I did my makeup first.

---