Page 67 of Forgive Me For I Have Sinned

She leans close. "Nah, I would have told him where you were. It helped that Alaric's a tycoon. He could help an old lady out. Now that animal seated in booth eight gives me bad vibes. I think I heard about him a few years back when he was still in college. A few guys came here one night and said he was a real asshole. It's a shame he was like that to the girls too. He's a looker, but you can see it in his eyes when he looks at you."

"Me?"

"Oh yeah, I see it. I'm not sixty-eight for nothin'."

"What do you see?"

"Desperation."

A feeling of cold dread creeps down my legs because I can see it.

"Let me go see what he wants."

"Scream if you need anything. He looks the type."

If you only knew.

"What are you doing here?" I ask angrily.

He just wants to annoy me by showing up here.

"Is that any way to talk to your husband?”

"You're not my husband," I say through clenched teeth.

I hate every time I look at him; it reminds me of that night he flung the door open at the party. He had no right. It doesn't excuse Alaric for how he treated me, and I get that he's apologized, but what was Dorian's excuse? I never did anything to him.

He straightens the salt and pepper shakers, but he's trying to get under my skin. "Not yet." He slides his gaze over my uniform crudely, and I want to rip his eyes out. "You know, you don't have to work here. I think it's a waste of your time––"

"Save it."

"I can find other things you could be useful in doing. I have learned a lot of things about you, Veronica."

Creep. I don't miss the meaning behind his words, and I can't stand him. The way he looks at me makes my skin crawl. But the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Does it?

"How creepy of you. I'm sure you learned a lot from your father. He's disgusting and pathetic, just like you."

He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "I would be careful if I were you. You should be nice to me because he won't be able to save you. Once he is done with you, you must be cleansed of the filth." Fear sneaks its way in when I'm reminded of how this ends. The bathtub and the sound of water haunt me, no matter how hard I try to escape it and the memories it keeps. The heavy breathing…the pain from each strike, enough to hurt but not enough to leave a mark. He chuckles. "What's wrong?"

"Leave me alone." I turn, but he grips my wrist hard. I can feel my bones grind. I try to rip my wrist from his grasp, but he pulls me toward him. "You're hurting me."

He loosens his hold a bit. "Not yet. Soon. But I forgot to tell you, my secretary was upset."

"And? What did you do to her? Fuck her without asking," I retort.

He laughs, but it falls off. "Oh, I fucked her, but so did Alaric. I guess he can't help himself. He fucks everything that moves. She was upset he was a little rough on her throat the last time. The chains in the office didn't help either, but none of that surprises me. He did however tell me he doesn't give a shit about you before he turned down my business proposal. He's just using you to get to me because I'm marrying you. See, I always wanted you, Veronica. No guy could get the high school senior, but everyone with a dick wanted it. I admit I acted childish when I saw you two that night. I wanted to hurt you.” I snatch my wrist from his grip in hurt and revulsion. "But when my father told me how special you are." My blood turns cold, and my skin feels numb. "I knew you would be perfect."

My jaw hardens. "You're sick, just like the rest of them."

His eyes gleam. "But I'm the only one that will fight to keep you. They…just use you, Veronica, but they have no plans to keep you. No one wants you but me."

"I hate you."

"I'm going to make you my whore, and you'll like it."

My hands shake.

"Is there a problem here?" Adam asks, walking up to me with a rag in his hand.

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