Page 39 of Stay for Me

Lucas’ eyes dropped to the little gold band with princess cut diamond perched on top. “It’s your ring, beautiful.”

That was the kindest his voice had been with me in over three months. He thought proposing to me would undo everything he’d done, erase the trauma and pain he’d caused me?

I watched in horror as he remained on his knee, his signature, practiced smile plastered on his face. Nausea hit me then, and suddenly, the Oreos I’d scarfed down didn’t seem like they were going to be a problem much longer. Unable to look at him, I lifted my gaze, landing on the man watching. My neighbor’s head tilted to the side as he shook it slightly, his eyes focused on the back of Lucas’ head.

Lucas’ next words cut through the air, lingering around me like a toxin. “What do you say, Diana? Be my wife? Make me the happiest man in the world?”

Suddenly, the picture-perfect life my parents had set out for me popped into my head, visions of me barefoot and pregnant in Lucas’ old home, cooking and cleaning while he was out doing God knows what with God knows whom. I pictured him coming home late multiple times a week, the smell of alcohol on his breath, anger seeping from him. He would take that anger out on me, his good little wife, and I would be trapped in a loveless marriage, protecting my children from his wrath for eighteen years.

Then, they would be gone, and I would alone—with him. Trapped.

I shuddered, closing my eyes for half a second to collect myself. Part of me knew he was going to come back. It was only a matter of time. I was just foolish enough to hope he wouldn’t.

Just do it now. You have a witness, and Jodie is on standby.

Rip this toxic band-aid off and move on with your life.

“Diana, babe? You going to give me an answer?” Lucas asked, sounding uncomfortable. His ego couldn’t handle the fact that I hadn’t unlocked the door and ran into his arms yet.

When I opened my eyes, the words were already on the tip of my tongue.

I spouted them out with zero hesitation in a clear voice, this new sense of unwavering strength manifesting from somewhere deep inside my soul. “Making you the happiest man in the world would mean me sacrificing my freedom, my womanhood, and my dreams,” I answered. Out of the corner of my eye, I could’ve sworn I saw my neighbor smirk. “No, Lucas, I will not be marrying you. Since you clearly didn’t get the message the first time: I’m breaking up with you.”

He shot to his feet, his jaw slack as he fumbling with his speech, trying to find the right words, sputtering out my name and cursing.

“You’ve said what you needed to say, man. It’s time for you to leave now,” Mr. Neighbor stated.

Lucas stiffened, and in a flash, his slacked jaw was tight and popping with rage. He whirled around, the now-closed ring box clutched tightly within the fist at his side. “You stay the fuck out of this,” he snarled.

My neighbor, cool and calm as ever, held up his phone. “The police are already on their way. I had a feeling you weren’t going to leave.”

As if on cue, two officers appeared at the end of the hall, and minutes later, Lucas was dragged out of my life.

Present Day.

“I’mnotgoingtellyou again,” Chase warned, his voice lethal. “Walk away now.”

Lucas ignored him, keeping his eyes on me. “You know, Diana, this is the second time you’ve had the police separate us.”

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes yet again. “Lucas, you need to leave. Read the room.”

For once, he actually listened to me, pulling his eyes from me to take a look around. I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth together when I spotted a familiar, horrid gleam in his eyes. I could practically see the gears working in his head, coming up with an attempt to win me back. To him, I was only a prize, after all.

He shot one more glare in Chase’s direction, then another to Thomas before finally looking at me. The same smile he wore when he proposed to me stretched across his face, revealing just how much he’d aged as he took a step closer.

“That’s close enough,” Chase warned, his voice low.

Lucas’ eyes scanned my body once more. “I’ll be seeing you soon, babe.”

Babe.

That was just a pet name he reserved for me. He called all woman that—well, except for the women he didn’t like. Those woman he referred to as “bitch.”

The waiting area was silent as my ex spun on his heel, pushed open the glass door, and headed out into the sunny afternoon, whistling a soft tone. Once the door fully closed, my shoulders sagged, a deep sigh leaving me. “I’m so sorry, Chase,” I said as the Sheriff turned to face me.

“Don’t apologize to me for something like this, Diana.” His brows were still furrowed, his lips tight with concern as the front phone started to ring. We continued to stare at each other as Thomas went around the front desk to answer it. “Harper Law Office, this is Thomas.”

Chase took a step closer to me, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was on his mind. “Is Lucas going to be a problem?” he asked, his eyes scanned mine.

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