Page 91 of Glass Jawed
She finally looks at me again—and I wish she wouldn’t.
Her next words are jagged. Sharp enough to shred.
“And then you. You,a fucking stranger—looked at me... and decided I wasn’t even a woman.”
A sob tears itself out of me—ugly and sharp.
I’m trembling now. My hands are useless in my lap, my nails digging into my palms like I deserve to bleed.
“Woman enough to be usedtwice, though. Tim used me for ahole. You used me for yourrevenge.”
She stops moving. Squares her shoulders. Stares at me like I’m the worst mistake she ever made.
“But that’s not even the worst part,” she says, her voice low but clear. “You don’t get off easy, Mr. Vale. You don’t get to apologize and call it a bad choice. Amistake.”
I sit straighter. Bracing. Nausea crawling up my throat.
“Because what you did? That wasn’t just betrayal. That wasn’t just manipulation. It wasn’t justinhumane.”
She breathes in through her nose, hard, and then delivers the final blow.
“You pursued me withmalicious intent.You earned my trust. Touched me.Fuckedme.Deceivedme into a false sense of safety. All for the purpose of causingharm.”
Her voice doesn’t shake when she says it. Only mine does when I try to hold in the sound I make.
“You know what that’s called, Mr. Lucian Vale?”
She doesn’t wait. Doesn’t blink.
“Rape... by deception.”
Two seconds. And the words register.
No.No, no, no.
My stomach churns. And I bolt.
Straight to her bathroom, where I fall to my knees and vomit. Everything. Food. Guilt. Self-respect. My entire fucking soul.
I barely make it to the toilet before I collapse beside it, retching violently, unable to breathe.
Because now I understand.
Ireallyunderstand.
And there’s no redemption from this.
Not tonight.
Maybe not ever.
TWENTY-FOUR
Aarohi
I’ve somewhat composed myself by the time Lucian comes back from the bathroom.
I heardeverything.
