Page 78 of My Ruthless Husband

A burning kind of pain spreads through me. The sting of betrayal is so startling, that it almost makes me stop. But I have to get out of here.

One look at Gianna's stunning face was all it took to drag me back to that awful moment two years ago when I stumbled upon them sharing an intimate dinner.

I had made a complete fool out of myself for Damian two years ago.

I used to wonder if it was all worth it in the end. After the pain and suffering of that day in New York, I got what I wanted. Damian.

A rush of images floods my mind. Damian chasing me, me unleashing all the anger and hurt I’d been holding inside on himthen him kissing me… All hot and fierce and so intense as he kissed, no… as he devoured me ruthlessly as if he couldn’t get enough.

I was so blind that I believed every word that came out of his mouth. I trusted him so fully when he explained about Gianna. And I was so happy, so in love, so desperate to have him, so, so, pathetically love-starved that I didn’t question him.

He never gave me a single chance to ever doubt him from that day on and I was sated with that. I was all he saw. Or at least that’s what he made me believe.

But today, the last bit of my trust in him shattered when I saw them together.

The scars I thought had faded suddenly pulsed with life, the stitches on the old wound coming undone.

I am utterly shaken up inside, struggling to maintain control as I run. So desperate to escape it all that I barely draw in a few shallow breaths.

As I turn a corner, a sliver of dim light beckons from an ajar door. Without hesitation, I slip into the room and turn to push the door close, eager to be alone. But just as the door starts closing, it meets a forceful hand blocking its path.

My head flies up and I freeze. Night eyes lock onto mine, intense and dangerous. Damian. The shock of his presence reverberates through me, and I gasp, caught off guard.

He did it again. Just like two years ago, he leftherto chase after me. But this time, it doesn’t give me any satisfaction. Because the hurt I felt out there, the disappointment in realizing that I come second to his dear Gianna has hardened my heart. I know now that my feelings don’t matter to him at all or he wouldn’t have allowed her to be close to him. He humiliated me again.

“Let go.” I jerk the door, trying to close it but his steel-like grip doesn’t give. Instead, his fingers take hold of my wrist thatwas still latched on the door. “If you think you can drag me out there—” Easily he twists my fingers off the door and pushes me back into the small room and steps inside, kicking the door shut behind us.

It takes a second to register that we are in a coat closet and another to find that Damian has backed me against the wall.

My heart takes a quivering dive into my stomach as I stare at the cold sting of his eyes. “What are you doing here?” I lash out.

He grabs my chin and lifts it. “You’re upset,” he says grimly.

I jerk my face away from his touch. “Does it matter?”

It doesn’t. His silence is answer enough. As if he read my thought, his jaw tenses.

“Youwanted to come here, angel.” He reminds me.

“Yes, but I didn’t, not once ask for you to bring your little side piece here and parade her around!”

He frowns. “Who are you talking about?”

The audacity of this man. I can’t believe him. “Cut the performance, okay? You are well aware of why I am so upset! You saw me watching you with your whore!”

In a blink, he is jerking me to his chest, his grip around my nape strong. “Gianna? She is not my anything and you know it.”

“Do I?” I smile at him coldly. Breaking free from his clutches, I say, “Get out of my way. I’ve had enough of your bullshit and I am tired.” I sidestep him to go to the door but he seizes my elbow and spins me around to face him again.

Narrowing his eyes, he studies me. “You never used to be so rude before, angel.”

“Learned from the best, darling.” I mock him, giving myself a small pat on the shoulder for shocking him. It’s clear he is stunned, judging by the raised brows.

See? This is what happens when you play with others’ feelings. They retaliate. How does it feel, husband? Watching your docile wife be defiant?I taunt him through my eyes.

Thenheshocksmewhen his mouth curves into a smile. And there it is. That flutter in my chest followed by a bittersweet ache whenever I see him smiling. Even after what he’s done to me, his smile still has the power to take my breath away. I shake myself out of the thoughts.

“What?” I snap.

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