Page 9 of Love's Unexpected Surprise

I don't think before I act, but my fists crashing into the bones of his skull are a relief. The anger grows in my body, and I can't control myself. One punch turns into seven, and Oliver is on the ground, trying desperately to block every blow I send his way. He's bleeding, and that only encourages me to continue.

“You piece of shit!” I shout at him, angry that he had the nerve to come here today but even angrier that he would threaten Amelia.

He's begging me to stop, and before I land another blow on him, I do. I look down at the pitiful man below me, a sick feeling in my stomach. I don't like being angry. I don't like attacking people, but I do it anyway. That's all I know.

“If you ever come here again, I will kill you without hesitation. Do you understand?”

He nods his head at me, and I let go of him, standing up and looking down at the mess I left behind. I need to go back inside before Amelia notices I've been gone too long.

Unfortunately for me, when I look toward the end of the alley, ready to head back inside, I see Amelia there, watching with wide eyes in horror as I stand above Oliver’s broken body.

This isexactlywhat I didn’t want to happen.

5

My stomach twists and turns, and I feel like I'm going to be sick. It takes everything in me to keep my knees from buckling and collapsing to the ground, crying and vomiting.

Thisis what I get for spending time with someone I don't know.

I can't believe I slept with this man. I let him kiss me, touch me; I let this man inside me. He's a monster.

I can't hold it back anymore, and I fall to the ground before my shaky legs can carry me away. I brace the wall beside me, trying to focus on how cold the bricks feel on my hand as bile rises in my throat.

Alexei rushes to my side, but I push him away, not wanting him anywhere near me. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to make sense of the situation.

I was sitting at the table, and he didn't come back for a few minutes. The food arrived, it smelled incredible, and I wanted to share it with him. Both of us ordered French toast, though I got mine with a homemade marmalade that I tasted with the perfectharmony between sweet and sour. I waited a couple of minutes for him to return, but he didn't.

That's when I decided to look for him. We were on a date, and he went to talk to someone outside. I thought it was weird, but I didn't think he expected that man to be there. After everything that happened last night, I was happy to spend the morning with him. It made me feel like I made the right decision to lose my virginity to Alexei.

I didn't see him out front, so I walked around a little bit, hoping to find him. His car was still parked where he left it. That's when I saw the alleyway by the diner. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I would stumble upon Alexei jumping an unarmed man in broad daylight.

The man tried to fight back, but it was no use. Alexei swung at him ruthlessly, hardly giving him a moment of reprieve between blows. I was frozen in place. I couldn't move, and I could hardly breathe.

Then those eyes locked on my own, and I saw a stranger standing before me. I already knew that Alexei was mysterious. I told him so much about myself last night, and he listened without giving me much information about himself. In hindsight, maybe that should have been a red flag.

I'd come to find warmth and comfort in his dark blue eyes. But seeing him covered in another man's blood, looking at me with that animal instinct still filling his hard, dark eyes made me sick.

“Don't touch me!” I say to him as I try to back away now. He still has blood on his hands, and I don't want that anywhere near me. I don't wanthimanywhere near me. “What did you do?”

He opens his mouth but doesn't say anything. Or maybe he does, and I just can't hear it through the blood rushing through my brain. I need to leave. I need to run as far away from this man as I possibly can. He's dangerous. He's an animal.

I turn around and try to leave, but he grabs me by the shoulder and stops me. I whip my head around and glare at him, trying to tug my arm away, but he's too strong.

“Amelia, I can explain,” he says, trying to calm me down enough to get a word in. When I continuously try to escape him, he grips me tighter. “I can't let you leave! Not after what you just saw.”

A stone forms in my chest, and it sinks into my stomach. His words are clear. I shouldn't have seen what I did, and he'll make sure I don't tell anyone. If that means he's going to kill me, I don't know. But I know I've made a grave mistake trusting him.

“I won't tell anyone, I swear,” I beg, tears streaming down my face from the terror.

You slept with a monster.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” Alexei says, trying to calm me down.

You slept with a monster.

“Please, just let me go.” No matter how hard I beg, he just holds me tighter.

He says something that I tune out while I try to think of a way to escape. Behind him, I see the man on the ground slowly getting to his knees. He's quiet, and his eyes lock on mine, but neither of us says anything. He could be my only hope out of this.

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