Page 58 of Saved from Obsession

His hand is still on my leg, and it tightens to the point of pain. “Don’t you remember? It wasalwayssupposed to be us. But you screwed up, so I had to teach you a lesson before we could be together.”

“Rememberwhat?“ The weight of his hand is horrible, a dead thing clinging to me.

His expression transforms, shifting from calm to furious in a blink. His voice lowers, going dark and dangerous. “Don’t yourememberme, Georgia?”

My throat turns to a desert. Am Isupposedto remember him? What should Isay? “I’m sorry,” I finally manage to force out, “I—”

His other hand comes flying toward me and I jerk back as much as I can, but he grabs my chin, digging his fingers into my face. I yelp as he squeezes hard and hisses—his face inches from mine. “We went tohigh schooltogether, Georgia. Tookclassestogether. We would havegraduatedtogether, if you hadn’t left me.”

Like dominoes falling in a row, flashes of memory hit me.

The awkward boy in math class loaning me pencils, beaming when I thanked him. Trying to shove his enormous backpack in his locker a row away from mine, red-faced and flustered until I offered to help him. Pairing up with me on a chemistry lab one day when my usual partner was sick.

All small moments in the chaos of high school, pleasant but forgettable. He wasn’t a friend, not even an acquaintance. Just someone I occasionally ran into. There was never any sign of interest—he never approached me, never asked me out—our only interactions were coincidence.

I never had any reason to think it could be him.

And I’m now even more terrified. How long has he been plotting this? The dark web? The stalkers? Myface? God. Was that part of his plan as well?

“Well?“ The fingers yank my face forward and small drops of spittle hit me. “Do you remembernow?”

I can’t talk properly with the pressure on my cheeks; it’s just a whisper. “Frank?”

“Yes.” The crushing pressure on my face releases as he shoves me back, sending me sprawling onto the bed. “So you did remember, after all. I guess I’m not surprised you forgot about me, considering how quickly you left me the first time.”

Scrambling to sit back up again, I try to figure out some way to get through to him. “Frank.” My voice wobbles though I try to keep it steady. “Why? You never… we never even went out…”

He stands up to loom over me, grasping my forearms and shaking me. “You were supposed to be my girlfriend!” The simmering rage explodes as he shouts at me, “I had it all planned! All those times I wastherefor you. And then you went and fuckingRUINEDit! Youleft!”

I start to yank my legs against the ropes in earnest as I bleat, “Please, stop.”

“Youstop!“ His face is fuchsia, veins popping on his forehead, eyes blazing with rage. “If you hadn’t left to go to fucking New York City, to whore yourself out as a model, we would have beentogetherthat summer. And my life wouldn’t have beenruined!”

“I was going to ask you to the senior ball,” he continues, his voice slipping back into a more conversational tone. “Then we’d date all summer. You’d move to Rochester with me while I went to college. Everyone would be jealous of me with such a beautiful girlfriend. I’d get whatever I wanted.”

“When I got my degree, you’d be on my arm, impressing everyone. And then,” Frank strokes his hand down my cheek, tracing the line of my scar. “Then I’d get all the promotions I should have been given. The life I deserved. A gorgeous wife, perfect job, success… and youstolethat from me.”

He’sinsane. He created an entire life with me based off some chance meetings. And now it’smyfault he didn’t get the life he wanted?

“But now I’m getting what I’m entitled to,Georgia.“ He slides his hand around my head, twisting my hair into a rope and tugging. Lips curving into a satisfied smile, he says, “It was all a part of my plan.”

“First, I needed to take away your job. Ruin your looks just enough that you couldn’t work anymore. Without a job, you wouldn’t have money, you’d be struggling to get by. Then, I wanted to destroy your confidence. So you’d be weak and desperate when I finally came for you.”

Tears are slipping down my cheeks, hot and fearful and angry. Everything that happened,ishappening, all because of the delusions of an unstable man. And the one good thing that came from it—Leo—is out of reach and I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.

“Once you hooked up with that security guy, I knew I needed to make my move soon. I couldn’t let you get too involved with him, or it would ruin everything. When I saw him at your house,” Frank bares his teeth at me. “I almost had him killed right then.”

“But I knew it would be easier if I waited until he was gone. So I hired the third guy to snatch you. Who knew he’d be so incompetent?” Pausing, then contemplatively, Frank says, “Then I knew I had to take care of it myself. And here you are.Finally.”

My heart is going so fast my pulse is just a constant surge in my head. I whisper, “What are you going todo?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Frank lets go of my hair and steps back, smiling down at me. “You’re going tostayhere. Be my wife.“ His gaze drags down my body, heating, darkening.“Mine.”

No. NO. I can’t. I’d rather die than stay here with him. Ihaveto figure out a way out of here.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

LEO

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