Page 1 of Until I Break

One

Eliza

Blah blah blah. That’sall I hear when he won’t shut the fuck up. If I roll my eyes anymore, they might roll back into my head. I am on the phone with my asshole boyfriend while he lectures me about not washing my coffee cup this morning. I am awfully brazen when he isn’t in my face screaming at me. Over the phone, I am brave. I won’t be so sure of myself once I get home and find that he is still pissed off, though. He’s never put his hands on me, but the walls are filled with holes from where he has taken his anger out on the drywall instead. We’ve lost numerous cups, bowls, plates, and various glass objects in the house to his rage. One of these days, I’ll leave. I’ve been saving little bits of cash and storing it here at work so I can eventually have enough to run. I don’t want to leave my job, but I have to get away from him. It’s only a matter of time before he kills me. I can see it in his eyes when he punishes me that I am pushing him closer and closer to breaking.

Troy keeps a tight leash on my spending, so leaving is not an option. I live with him too, so he controls everything I do. I’m lucky he hasn’t made me quit, but if he knew how much my bosses hated him, he would. Although, if Julian and Calder knew just how poorly he treated me, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything they did.

“Are you fucking listening?” Troy yells. “You’re so goddamn lazy, Eliza.God, why am I even with you?”

“I don’t know,” I say. I do know. He’s with me because he can manipulate me with fear. He knows I’m scared of him, even if I do get an attitude. I can’t keep it from slipping out, though. When a sarcastic remark slips out, I instantly get scared that he will punish me.

“Whatever. Just go back to work,” Troy says as he ends the call.

It’s too bad Troy is so fucking crazy because he’s hot. The type of hot that I was once shallow enough to overlook all of the red flags just to not feel so lonely. Truth be told, he ambushed me with love and affection until I was swooning so hard that I was colorblind. Now, it’s my fault for staying. I have had years to leave him, yet I stay. Why?

“Trouble in paradise?” Calder asks, not looking up from his desk. Calder is a massive, six-foot four-inch man with thick muscles, reddish-brown hair, and emerald-green eyes. He is fucking intoxicating to be around. Julian is just as stunning. He is slightly taller and has more of a dad bod. His piercing blue eyes seem to cut right through this happy bullshit façade, and he understands Troy is no good. Muscles and good looks or not,they’re amazingly sweet and gentle-natured. They’re everything I wish Troy was.

“Something like that,” I mutter.

“When are you going to dump that loser?” Julian asks.

“He tries,” I lie. He doesn’t try to do anything but break me down day by day.

“Mhmm,” Calder remarks, making me sigh. “What did he get mad about?”

“I didn’t wash my coffee cup this morning,” I say honestly.

“And that warranted him yelling at you?” Julian asks.

“He wasn’t yelling,” I lie again. “He was just talking loudly.”

“Mhmm. When you are ready to leave him, just let us know. You know the pool house is yours if you need it,” Julian says.

“I don’t need a handout,” I snap. Julian and Calder look up at me and narrow their eyes. When they stand, I sigh heavily. “Stop.”

“Stop what?” Julian says as he moves to stand beside my desk.

“Stop being nice when I was a bitch,” I say. “You two always do this shit.”

“Stand up, Liza,” Calder says.

“Annoying,” I mutter as I stand up. Julian puts his arms out for a hug and smiles. I give in and step closer so he can wrap me in his arms. I always pretend like I don’t need this, but I do. Fuck, it’s so nice. It’s like they can read my body language and just know that I am overwhelmed. If only they knew how afraid I was to face Troy.

“You’ve got to stop letting him control you, Liza,” Julian says softly. “You deserve better than that.”

“I know,” I admit.

I’ve worked for Julian and Calder as their assistant for six years. I started at nineteen as an intern, but they kept me on once I graduated. Together they own The Velvet Room, which is a BDSM club with six locations, as well as VelvetBound. VelvetBound is a community of sorts. Users can set up profiles for dating, chatting, joining online, or in-person communities. It’s directly tied to the clubs, but the app and website are worldwide. It allows users to explore kinks in a safe, controlled way. We always recommend thatifsomeone meets up, they do it in a Velvet Room location, this is strictly because we have the security to keep people safe.

Now, I have never seen them do scenes, but I know they do. They teach whipping classes and lead submissive training. Whatever that is. I’ve never seenthatside of their personality, but I know it’s there. I sometimes see it slip out when I’m being a brat, but what I get to see is the soft, kindhearted men that IwishTroywas. Instead, Troy is a wannabe Dom that uses BDSM to abuse me.

When Julian pulls back, Calder hugs me. “We are good. Why don’t you cut out early?” Calder asks.

“You sure?” I ask.

“Yeah. It’s Friday, so we have some things to do at the club. Go enjoy your weekend, Liza,” Calder says.

I sigh and step back to my desk. “I’m sorry I was a bitch,” I say.

---