Page 5 of Rush of Jealousy

“Then why all the warnings about him if you have no proof? Why all the anger toward me going out on a couple of dates with him? Why any of the fuss?”

“Because you are mine!”

“Was.”

“Are.”

“No, Graham. Not anymore.”

“Angie…”

“You tormented me by tampering with my profile. You made me have a mediation meeting where you gaslighted me. You sent me terrifying messages to convince me I was in danger, using a bunch of burner phones that could not be traced. And you had one of your worker bees snap pictures of me in compromising positions. How could you?”

“Ang—”

“Shut up! I am not done yet!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “You made me feel cheap, Graham. Used me. You think I deserved that? That you were entitled to do that to me—all for the sake of getting what you wanted? You blackmailed me into your arms. And for what? To gain me for a night just to lose me the next day?”

Graham winces at my words. He hangs his head in frustration—probably because there is no real excuse for how he behaved toward me. He could have told the truth during the weeks he has known me. He could have trusted me enough to handle the truth. But instead, he went about this entirely the wrong way. Doing the one thing that would keep me permanently away from him. He became a liar. Untrustworthy. And that is not okay with me. None of this is okay with me.

“I am sorry.”

“Sorry?” I throw my hands up into the air. “That’s all you have to say after all of the shit you put me through?” How traumatized in their past must someone be to believe that this is actually love?

His eyes turn desperate, and his fingers clench. “I never wanted you hurt.”

“Hurtyoucaused, Graham. Take some responsibility. Your actions have consequences, despite your intentions. You did this to me! Happy now?” I ask, tears flooding out of my eyes. “You took advantage of me! You fucking took my virginity under false pretenses. If I’d known the real you, I probably wouldn’t have given it up! At least not to a man like you! I deserve better than this.”

He stands up from his perch, just to fall to his knees in front of me. He places his hands on my thighs, and I shove them away. The room suddenly feels claustrophobic, as if his entire existence is taking up all the available oxygen. I am unable to breathe.

“Graham,” I warn.

He ignores me, as usual. He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head in my lap. I grip the arm rests, careful not to touch him. My tears drip into his hair and onto his left cheek. He closes his eyes and squeezes them tightly shut.

“Graham,” I say again. “Please. Just let me go.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Well, you don’t really have a choice.”

“I have this strong need to protect you.”

“I have a stronger need to protect myself. And right now, I need to protect my heart from further damage. But just answer me something first.”

He sits back on his heels and looks up into my eyes. His are bloodshot. “Okay.”

“What about Claire?”

His nose flares. “What about her?” he snarls.

“How does she fit into all of this?”

“Damn Claire for getting you involved,” he says, getting up from the floor to sit across from me. “You’d be safe if it wasn’t for her.”

“How do you know? How do you know I wouldn’t just be another number in the list of girls getting drugged anyway?”

“Because only agency girls are being drugged. That is the commonality,” Graham explains. “And it’s getting worse. There is no way for me to protect you if you are dating anyone from the database. No one is safe anymore.”

“But Resa. I don’t think she’s an escort.”

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