Page 37 of Bittersweet Legacy

“She told you what you needed to hear. Now leave,” Caleb added with exasperation.

“Esme, we’ve known each other for years, this isn’t you.”

I nodded. “Yes, this is me. You knew the girl I thought I was, but I’m not her, not anymore. Go and be happy Ben, I know I am,” I said knowing every word was nothing more than a filthy lie.

“I’ll leave now, and I’ll never come back.” Ben warned, his anguish probably mirroring my own.

“Good riddance” Caleb barked, grabbing my hand and pulling me to follow him. “To the car now, Esmeralda.” he ordered, walking quickly to his Aston Martin.

I turned around, meeting Ben’s eyes hoping mine conveyed all the regret I felt. “I’m so sorry” I mouthed but I wasn’t sure he saw as he was already putting his helmet back on. Great! He probably thought I was an entitled bitch now – who could blame him?

Caleb opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

I wanted to argue, but I knew it was pointless, even dangerous in the mood he was in and I didn’t expect my father or brother to stand up for me.

As I sat in the car, he grabbed the bag from my hand, slammed my door shut and made a show of dropping the bag in the trash can before rounding the car and sitting in the driver’s seat.

I looked at him, mouth agape. “How dare you –”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He glared at me with all the hate he felt.

He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot furiously, his driving mirroring his mood.

As he exited the parking lot, I realized it was actually the first time that we were alone together, without anyone around to call for help, in the two months I’d been here, it was almost laughable to realize it was the first time I was alone with the cold young man I was to marry if I wanted to keep the people I loved safe.

“You won’t make a fool of me Esmeralda,” he growled, driving way too fast.

“Can you please slow down?!” I begged, seeing the speedometer creep up to 100mph. “And I wasn’t trying to make a fool of you, Caleb, please.”

I as grateful when he decelerated a little. “You’re my fiancée, Esmeralda, you can’t go around throwing yourself into other men’s arms.”

“It was innocent.”

He glanced at me in a ‘don’t-bullshit-me’ way.

“And nobody knows we’re engaged, anyway.”

“It doesn’t matter, you’ve committed. You owe me some respect, I’m not one of your poor friends from whatever crap town you crawled here from.”

“It was not a crap town, it was a good place with good people.”

“Yeah well, I couldn’t care less. All I’m saying is that you won’t be seeing these people anymore.”

“Or what?” I challenged him.

“Or you don’t want to know.”

“Umm, I’m pretty sure I do. Try me.”

He looked at me up and down with a sleazy look in his eyes before concentrating on the road again. “Oh, believe me, I’ll try you soon enough, I’ll try you good.”

I crinkled my nose in distaste. “You’re a disgusting pig.”

“Oh yeah? Believe me, If I’m forced to marry you, I will use you in all the ways I see fit. You’re only good at destroying my life, you and your mother are only good at destroying people’s lives.”

I turned sharply. “What does my mother have to do with this?”

Caleb looked at me in shock, decelerating more, as if he couldn’t believe he said that.

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