Page 71 of Captured Heart

That wasn’t how she looked at me just a few hours ago. She looked at me like I was all the man she’d ever want, and now there’s just unadulterated resentment.

Again, I try to reason with myself. Her whole world has been turned upside down, and she’s blaming me for it. She gave her trust to me so openly, and I abused that. Somehow, I have to find a way to earn it back.

I turn to face her again and bite back the clipped response that question actually deserves. “I wasn’t drunk,” I say instead.

“But you were horny, right? And all you were looking for was—”

“Stop.”

Soft. Controlled. But still a warning. A warning she heeds for about a second before she hurls herself straight back into the attack.

“You justusedme!” she yells.

My shoulders tense. This anger she’s spewing must be contagious because it’s spilling into my veins now, too. “I didn’t.”

“But I’m the idiot here because I keep letting you do this to me. Iletyou use me and manipulate me and make me a fool. Just over and over and over again. And you...you don’t seem to get bored of it. It’s like youenjoymessing with my head. I’ve only known you for twelve days, Alex. Please explain how you managed to screw me over so thoroughly in such a short amount of time?”

It's a rhetorical question, and I feel no need to justify it with a response. Instead, I clench my jaw to keep it shut, saying nothing as she winds me tighter and tighter.

“But last night you crossed the line.” She’s fraught, huffing out every syllable with exasperation. “I don’t know if you were lonely...or if I was just there and...available...”

“Wait. Timeout.” I know she analyzes things way too much, but surely, she didn’t get that so twisted. I’m usually very good at keeping my composure. Nothing rattles me. But she is pushingallmy buttons. I clench my fists, keeping my voice as calm as I can muster. “Katie, what the fuck are you saying? You were in this room.Wewere in this room forhours, and you tookeverythingthat happened and chalked it down to me beinglonely? Are you fucking serious?”

I exhale slowly and count to ten, trying to soothe the rage churning inside me. See, I’ve learned that anger is like fire. Mine especially. I have a very short fuse. It doesn’t take much. A careless word, a fleeting look, or even silence in the wrong moment, and it ignites. A single spark is all it needs to catch alight, and once it does, it spreads fast.

Every word out of her mouth is like throwing gasoline on the flames, feeding the heat until it’s wild and out of control. It’s at a point where it’s threatening to consume everything in its path.I can already feel the burn in my chest, hot and acrid, and I’m trying with everything in me to douse it before I lose my cool.

“What else could it be?” She shrugs like there isn’t a single alternative she can think of. “You said so yourself. You were in prison for four years, and you wanted to get your fill of me. You—”

I hate that she’s taking that statement so out of context. “Yeah, ofyou. Not just some random warm body that was available. I also said that if this was the only time we had together, then—”

She cuts me off again, refusing to listen to any argument that counters the bullshit that’s running on a loop in her head. “You made it clear on several occasions that you weren’t interested in me, that you were just in it for the money. Then you snuck in here...and the way you looked at me...all the lines got blurred. I thought I saw...the good in you. I thought...God, I’m so stupid! You kissed me and...and I thought we had...somethingreal, only to find out that last night meantnothingto you.”

If overthinking were a sport, she’d be a gold medalist. It’s like she started at point A and ended at E = mc². That’s the convoluted path she took to work herself up to this rampage.

“I’m not sure how you got to that conclusion. The mere fact that I’m here debunks everything you just said.” I step closer. “Believe it or not, being deprived of pussy for four years is not a good enough reason to willingly put myself in this situation. I made this clear yesterday. The only reason I’m here is because ofyou.”

“Bullshit!” She backs away, her voice climbing higher, tinged with hysteria. “I heard you! You told Victor you couldn’t wait for this to be over. You said you never wanted to see me again. So, just stop lying to me, Alex!”

“I had to say—”

She slaps my hand away when I reach for her. “Don’t touch me!”

Her words sting like acid, the bitterness coating every syllable as it grates against my nerves. I grit my teeth, my jaw aching from the strain of holding back. She’s scared, terrified, but she’s not listening to a damn thing. Every attempt to calm her is met with more resistance, more accusations, more vitriol.

“Katie,” I say, still keeping my voice low to deescalate the tension, “you’re spiraling. You need to stop.”

“No,youneed to stop!” Her chest heaves, her face flushed with fury. “Stop pretending you’re anything other than what you are. You’re just like him. Manipulative. Cruel. All you care about is the money!”

I snap, my last shred of patience disintegrating to dust. I grab her wrist, yanking her toward me. She gasps, but I don’t let go. I pin her hands behind her back with one hand and take a few deliberate steps forward until her spine hits the wall.

She writhes, trying to break free, but I tighten my grip, leaning in so she’s forced to meet my eyes. “Listen to me,” I grind out, my voice rough and edged with anger. “Victor doesn’t need me here. He’s got enough men, so I don’t need to be here until this is over. I could leave right now. Walk out that door, take my money, and disappear. No more bullshit. No more risks. Just freedom.”

It takes a moment for those words to sink in, then her breathing slows, and she stops fighting. Her wide eyes lock onto mine, searching, pleading.

“Then why don’t you?”

“Because what I’d leave behind is worth more than what I’d take with me.”

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