Page 79 of Daddy's Little Matchmaker

She wouldn’t continue a relationship with a man who refused to listen or compromise. She’d rather be lonely forever than live with a man who forced her to bend to his will with threats.

Tessica’s chest hurt when she thought about how much she’d been missing Connor and how much she’d been looking forward to his visit. Their little glimmer of a relationship showed her howstarved for human companionship she was after so many years, and made her painfully aware of how much better sex was when she wasn’t alone.

She parked in front of her apartment, gathered her things, and went inside. After locking her door, she leaned against it and felt her eyes blur with tears.

Her phone buzzed with a notification. Hope shot through her as she yanked it out of her purse. Maybe he’d texted an apology.

It was her bank texting an alert to let her know her monthly statement was ready to view online.

Disappointment washed over her, as she noticed at the time on her phone. She was supposed to go to Connections with Connor tonight. Knowing she was in no emotional state to go to Littles’ Night, she sent Gwen a quick text.

Sorry, I don’t feel well. I won’t be at Connections tonight.

Gwen texted back almost immediately.

Oh no! I’m sorry. Is Connor there to take care of you?

There was no way to respond without lying or explaining. Instead of answering, Tessica walked over to her couch, sat down hard, and put her phone face down on the coffee table.

Was Connor taking care of her? No. He wouldn’t be taking care of her ever again. The thought of how nice it would be to have Connor’s arms around her right now made her eyes burn, and this time the tears fell.

She put her head in her hands and cried. All the hopes and dreams that she’d had for her budding romance had been ripped away with one threat. All the trust and vulnerability she’d shared with Connor by letting her Little side out was now tainted.

Their relationship had moved incredibly fast, but she hadn’t been overly worried about it since she’d known Connor for so many years. Now she realized how foolish she’d been to assume knowingabouthim equated toknowinghim. She would know better for future relationships. If she ever had another. It wasn’tlike she was a spring chicken, and she wasn’t interested in dating someone several years younger than her.

Her chest heaved with sobs as the tears continued. How could she have let this happen? She should have known better than to fall in love. Love never ended well for her. But they’d seemed so perfect for each other.

All the fantasies she’d had about the two of them running the matchmaking service together would never come to fruition. And as she sat there crying, she realized the excitement she’d had for her matchmaking plans was gone.

She wasn’t sure how long she cried, but eventually her sobs slowed, and she got some tissues to wipe the tears off and blow her nose. A few stray tears continued to leak out, but she forced herself to get up.

She went to the bedroom, put on some comfortable pajamas, and went to the kitchen to find some dinner. Not in the mood to cook, she microwaved a frozen dinner of macaroni and cheese, and poured herself a glass of wine.

By the time her food and wine were gone, the stray tears had stopped. The submissive in her kept having the urge to call Connor and apologize, but the dominant in her knew Connor was in the wrong. He didn’t deserve an apology, she did. And she wasn’t sure if she could forgive him even if he did apologize. Not that she thought he would, but if he did, she might not be able to accept it. At least not unless he was willing to submit to some kind of punishment so she could be certain he was seriously repentant and not just saying what she wanted to hear.

As she poured herself a second glass of wine, her phone rang.

She rushed over to the coffee table where she’d left the phone and picked it up with trembling fingers and a glimmer of hope.

The screen told herPaul at Connectionswas calling.

Hope dampened, Tessica took a deep breath and answered. “Hi, Paul.”

“Hey Tessica. Gwen told me you’re not feeling well, and that you didn’t answer her last text. I know I’m probably being paranoid and overprotective, but I had to check on you and make sure you’re okay.”

Her eyes blurred again. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t sound okay.”

“I… Connor and I had an argument.” She angrily wiped tears off her face, sat down on the couch, and tried to calm her emotions.

“I’m so sorry. Did you want to talk about it?”

“No. I’m not ready for that.”

“Okay. Are you in a safe place?”

“Yeah, I’m at home. Alone.”

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