Page 65 of Rejected Pretend Mate

There was another knock, and I shrugged, giving up the search. I'll just have Riley call it, and it will ring. It would be a lot easier than me frantically ripping the apartment apart for it.

"Hey Riley, can you call my phone? I don't know where the hell I put it." I unlocked the door and swung it open wide. My heart stopped beating, and my eyes widened as I realized it wasn't Riley. It was Ivan.

My entire body stiffened as he stared at me angrily. I'd seen those eyes more than a few times and knew what he could do when he was this mad.

I'd been punched, shoved on the floor, and choked when he was angry. He'd slapped me and pinned me on the bed, telling me what a disgrace I was. I'd been shoved against walls and felt up when I refused to have sex. I had put up with a lot and endured so much.

There were a lot of things I'd pushed down and forgotten about because Weslie had made me feel so safe. Suddenly, it came, hitting me like a train. I could remember all the tears or the times I prayed it would be over. All the times, I covered up the bruises and acted like everything was okay.

I swallowed, trying to pick my words carefully. I felt my fingers tighten on the door and tried to remain calm. "What are you doing here, Ivan?" How the hell did he know I was here?

He didn't speak for a moment, his eyes traveling over me, and I knew he stopped on my piercing before he brought his eyes back up. "I see you still wear this outfit."

I wet my lips, nudging my foot slightly back to hold the door. If he tried pushing it further, it would stop. I had to make sure he couldn't get into the apartment.

I swallowed. "Ivan, you need to leave."

"You see, that's where you're wrong. You're my wife."

I shook my head. I felt like we had been going in circles. "No, I'm not. I'm not your wife. I'm married to someone else now."

Ivan took a step forward and grabbed my wrist. I tried to break free, but his fingers held. "You can run and hide, but you will never be free of me, April. Don't you get that?"

"Ivan, just stop," my voice quivered, and I suddenly wondered where my confidence went. Where did the woman who wouldn't allow anything bad to happen again go? Where did my ability to stick up for myself go?

I knew it was the years of ridicule and the years of beating me into submission that were here. Ivan knew what to say to hurt me, and he did it well. He'd mastered it. He knew what to say and how to say it to strike me where it hurt.

"No, because I still love you."

"No, you don't," I growled. "You never loved me. You wanted someone to control."

He shoved forward, and I stumbled backward, landing on my ass. I crawled back a few feet as he stood there. "You think he loves you? Please. He doesn't. He is just like everyone else."

"He does," I growled, growing angry. "He loves me more than you ever could. I was just a thing to you, a person to do what you wanted. You didn't even treat me like a human."

Ivan took a few more steps into the apartment, and I pulled myself up, suddenly frantic. "You need to leave, Ivan! He will be home soon."

Ivan laughed. "Good, I'll kill him and drag your ass back where you belong."

I curled my hands into fists. I wasn't going back. I was part of this pack, and I wasn't leaving. I was married. I had a job and a place to live. There was nothing they could do to bring me back.

But I knew Ivan. He wanted something and wasn't going to give it to us until he got it. So, I did something I knew would make me sick, but it was my only shot. I had to play into this—at least get him out of the apartment.

I pulled myself up, and I took a step toward him. I felt my stomach flip as I reached up. I batted my eyelashes and puckered my lips. "Do you mean that? Would you kill for me?"

The sudden change caught Ivan off guard, and he stood still for a moment. I placed my hands on his chest, knowing exactly where to place them to get his attention. "You never said that before."

"I would," he said, placing his hands on my hips. "Now come home."

I wanted to vomit, hating the feel of his hands on me. But I needed to move him back towards the door. So, I stepped closer, running my hands down his chest. He stepped back with me. A smile tugged on his lips. "Are you finally coming to your senses? Going to come with me?"

I nodded. "As long as you promise your dick is only mine from now on."

I could see the fire burn in his eyes. "Why have you been resisting?"

I took another step forward, and we grew closer to the door. "I had to get you to see my point," I leaned closer, touching his lips. "You cheated, and I was hurt. I wanted you to understand how much you hurt me."

"And I apologized. You didn't have to run."

---