Not him. Please, don’t let it be him.
“Let it be anyone but Dorian,” I whispered, the sound of it so faint I wasn’t sure I even said anything. “Anyone but Dorian.”
Not that I didn’t believe in prayer, it just never worked for me. But desperation would turn anyone into a believer. If it meant I wouldn’t have to see his face, hear his voice again, feel the cold calculation behind his smile, I’d beg anyone who would listen, as long as it wasn’t him.
The footsteps echoed in the hallway, growing louder until they reached the room, and then silence. My heart stopped as the sound of the door being unlocked, then the rattle of the doorknob echoed around the room.
The door opened wider, and my eyes opened.
A silhouette filled the threshold. His anger I felt from where he stood. I didn’t need light or words to know it was Dorian.
“Glad to see you’re awake, my lovely wife,” he said, his voice void of any emotion. “We have a lot to discuss.”
I remained silent. There was no use in trying to make the case that I had no part in what happened, again. He didn’t care I hadn’t left with Sergio because I wanted to. He had already decided we had planned the entire thing.
He slammed the door behind him after he walked into the room causing me to jump. He flipped the light switch, and the overhead lights flooded the room in harsh, blinding white light. I threw my arms up, shielding my eyes from the sudden glare. It felt like a lamp of an interrogation room.
Dorian was here, and I didn’t know what to expect next.
“How long have you been planning to leave me, Seraphina?” he asked, his voice low and tight, like he was holding back his anger.
His steps were slow as he moved to the foot of the bed, not like a man approaching his wife, but like someone approaching a threat.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My throat felt like it had been sewn shut from the fear rolling through me.
He tilted his head, studying me, like he was trying to read my thoughts with his eyes. “Was it months ago?” His tone sharpened. “Or was it before that?”
I shrank back, pressing against the headboard like the wood could absorb me. If I could fold myself into the mattress, vanish into the seams, I would. Anything to escape the way his hateful gaze pinned me down.
He started pacing, one hand running through his hair, the other clenched at his side. “You think I don’t notice things, but I do. I see everything. The way you flinch when I touch you. The way you look at the door like it’s some kind of exit strategy.”He paused, eyes locking onto mine. “You’ve been planning this. Haven’t you?”
I opened my mouth to tell him no, that I hadn’t planned anything, but what was the point? I already told him the last time he asked me. He didn’t believe me then and he wouldn’t believe me now. He never did.
He took another step forward. “Tell me I’m wrong, Seraphina. Tell me you haven’t been lying to my face every goddamn day and planning to leave me for him!”
I couldn’t let him spiral any further. I had to think and do it fast. Dorian was unraveling. The room felt smaller like the walls were closing in because his paranoia was thick in the air. He wouldn’t listen to reason. He wouldn’t listen to me. But I knew what he would listen to.
“Dorian.” I forced warmth into my voice I didn’t feel. “You know how much I love you.”
A lie. But a necessary one.
It was time to take my power back from this man. I had rolled over for way too long. And if I continued to do so, he would kill me. If not tonight, then soon.
He paused, eyes narrowing as he searched my face for the truth. “You wouldn’t lie to me,” he said, but it sounded more like a threat than a question.
“I wouldn’t leave you,” I whispered, letting my voice tremble just enough to sound sincere. “You’re everything to me, Dorian. You’re my husband. The love of my life.”
He moved fast. Too fast. He rushed toward me, and I didn’t have time to brace myself before he was on top of me, straddling my legs, his breath hot and erratic against my skin. My heart pounded, but I kept my face soft, my body loose.
I had one shot to get this right.
“I don’t believe you, Seraphina,” he growled, his eyes wild and his voice vibrating with fury.
I reached up, brushing my fingers against his jaw, letting them linger. “Then let me show you,” I said, my voice low and seductive.
I leaned in. My lips grazed his ear and my hand slid down his chest. Not with affection, but with purpose.
He stilled. His breathing slowed and his grip loosened.
