Page 1 of Saved By Love at Christmas
CHAPTER1
RUBY
I sat on the floor, surrounded by broken glass from the freestanding mirror in our bedroom. Jamie had long since left for his meeting.
Meeting.
That was a joke. It was more like a drunken night out, which would lead to the possibility of him hooking up with some young woman. After being with this guy for over a year, I knew his MO.
Rising to my feet, I looked at the dress I wore, now in tatters after he’d tried to rip it from me. A shiver of cold terror slipped down my spine at the expression in his eyes when he saw what I was wearing. In that moment, I’d feared for my life. He’d once been an attentive and loving partner, but those days had long gone.
For the first few months after we’d moved to Spain from the UK following a whirlwind romance, life had been blissful. I’d never been happier. That all changed around four months ago when Jamie’s demeanour began to alter. It started with small things. He kept asking what I was doing and where I was going, and when I didn’t go into details, his eyes clouded over, and a tic started in his jaw. The differences grew less subtle over time. He’d shout and tell me I couldn’t go anywhere without his permission. When I tried to discuss his attitude, he said he was only looking out for me.
Then he’d stay out late, coming back stinking of some other woman’s cheap perfume, cigarettes, and alcohol. He was usually drunk and always wanted sex. I’d refuse. I even accused him of having an affair. He always said,“if I can’t have sex with you, I need to get it from somewhere.”
The emotional blackmail was too much. And it got even worse when he said I could no longer sleep in the same bed with him. It actually played to my advantage because he’d be less likely to try and pester me for sex. He even brought women home, completely blasé about it. Maybe I should have left then, but I was stubborn, hoping I could change him back to the great guy he’d been when we’d first met.
I reflected on meeting him for the first time about sixteen months ago. We’d attended an interior design conference in Manchester. He owned a small chain of high-end hotels, and I was there in my capacity as an interior designer. It’s a job I love, and if I say so myself, I’m pretty damn good at it. Jamie discussed his vision for a new hotel he was opening in London. He loved my ideas, and it wasn’t long before he hired me to help design some of the executive suites. I was caught up in his enthusiasm, and I think at that point, I’d have agreed to anything.
I never even got to see the suites.
Soon after, even though it went against my ethics to date a client, we were in a relationship. Before I knew it, I’d fallen in love, and he’d whisked me off to Spain to help with some properties he owned there. The London hotel was never brought up again. In the first month or so, I asked about it, but he’d say that didn’t matter anymore and he wanted me to focus on the Spanish properties.
My best friend, Ben, and my grandad, tried to warn me about him. Said there was something about him that didn’t ring true.“Ruby, are you sure about this? You have an amazing business here. Are you certain you want to give it all up? Why don’t you go to Spain for a few weeks, see how it goes, then make up your mind?”Ben had said when I announced my plans.
My grandad had been even more direct. My parents had died when I was young, so my nan and grandad had become my only family.“I know you say you love him, Ruby, but he treats you more like a possession than a person. He rings you all the time to check up on what you’re doing, and if you even glance at another man, he gets this look in his eye like he’s warning them off.”
I attempted to assure both men in my life that he was only looking out for me. I was so in love with Jamie that I refused to see anything negative about him. This man showered me with love and attention. Sometimes, I felt a little bit claustrophobic, but then I told myself he only wanted to protect me. I’d always been obstinate and refused to listen to them. Even when the rest of my business began to suffer, I ignored all the warning signs. I missed deadlines on jobs, and in the end, customers began to look elsewhere. But after this latest incident, I knew I had to make my escape. He’d hit me once, which meant he was capable of doing it again, or worse.
Still sitting on the floor looking at the shards of the mirror glistening like ice around me, I finally admitted to myself that I was no longer safe with this man. That he didn’t love me and, in fact, I really was just a possession to him. One he was finally bored with.
My mind went back to the events from earlier in the evening.
“Ruby, you’ve put more weight on. Now the dress won’t fit. How could you be so fucking stupid? You really are getting fat. We’re meeting important clients this evening and look at you!” Jamie roared at me. His eyes turned hard and emotionless, and a small vein throbbed at his temple. His eyes swept over me from head to toe.
There had been a time when each of those words would’ve stung me like a physical slap. Now, I was immune to the effect they had on me. I told myself they were just words. It wasn’t like he’d ever hit me. It was only the stress of this important make-or-break meeting.
“Well, you shouldn’t have bought one so figure-hugging, should you? Or better still, let me go out and choose my own clothing. I don’t know why you feel you need to rule my life like this.” It wasn’t often I retaliated, but I’d had enough. My figure was fine.
He gritted his teeth, nostrils flaring. A shiver of icy dread flooded my body. The tic in his jaw started; something that was happening with more frequency. It was usually before he belittled or shouted at me. My body broke out in small tremors of fear. Was this going to be the point when he’d hit me? I’d felt these vibes from him a lot over the past few weeks. My mind was working overtime, wondering why he would hate me so much now. Because hate was all I saw in his eyes.
“We have an important gala to attend tonight. You can’t go looking like that. You’ll embarrass me.”
Before I could stop him, he began to rip the silky material from my body. I felt like a ragdoll in the grip of a crazed maniac.
“Get this fucking thing off and go and choose another one!”
I pushed at him, sick of the humiliation I’d endured, and he tore harder at the dress. I raised one hand and slapped his face with as much force as I could. He stepped back, dazed, his hand going to where a red mark appeared. When his eyes swung back to me, shock was replaced by fury. The tic in his jaw was going double-time now.
I stepped back, and he followed my movements. My breath came out in nervous gasps.
“Why the fuck did you do that?” He rubbed at his face.
“Because I’m done, Jamie. I am so sick of how you treat me, like I’m crap beneath your shoes. You’ve taken so much from me and never given anything back. I. Am. Done.”
His nostrils flared again, and his eyes grew even darker. He moved closer, hand raised and ready to strike. I put my own hands up to ward off his attack, but he was too quick. The back of his hand connected with my cheek, and I fell to the floor. I hit my head on the wooden edge of the freestanding mirror on the way down, sending it, and me, flying. The sound of glass breaking was so loud it made my ears ring.
Jamie stood over me, sneering, arms folded across his chest. “That’s what you get for defying me. You ungrateful cow.”
