“I can do that, sweetheart, and I promise you, I will.” Then, with a final warning glare, Beth begins to back away, but not before getting one last warning in. “Don’t force my hand, Scarlett. You’ll regret it.”
“He’ll hate you, you know?” I say, letting my voice echo through the quad. “More than he already does.”
With fury boiling in her blue eyes, she stomps back, spitting on my face with her rageful words. “Listen to me, you little bitch. My husband does not hate me! He has loved me almost as long as you’ve been alive! I don’t know what you fucking did to make him fuck you, but that’s finished now!”
“Make him?!”I laugh, throwing my head back in exaggeration. “I didn’t make him do anything! He wanted, no, hebeggedfor me, and unlike you, I gave him everything he could ever desire. It turns out, you weren’t hard to replace.”
Her slap across my face splits the skin of my cheekbone. “Don’t fucking push me. Do you understand me, Scarlett? I can make life a living nightmare for you.”
Shoving her away, I collect my fallen items from the floor and move along. Walking away was the easiest thing I’ve ever done, that and ripping the proof of us from her fingertips.
“There she is,” Theodore greets as soon as his office door swings open. I spare him a smile, but it’s shaking around the edges. My mind is still replaying my altercation with Beth from an hour ago. Her threats bleed like fresh wounds. I don’t want to take them seriously, but I would be stupid not to.
“Hey, um. I need to talk to you,” I urge, creating a space between us while I lock his office door. His expression is grave as he watches me closely, eyes dropping at the corners while his lips fall into a frown.
It’s the first time I’ve seen his age on his face. It only makes him more handsome than before.
“Is everything okay?”
Sitting on the leather couch off to the side of the room, I tuck my hands between my thighs, sighing while I will the words to come to me. I debate not telling Theodore at all, wanting to call Beth’s bluff, but I can’t risk that. Theodore will be fine. She won’t hurt him, but me? She’s salivating at the idea of flipping my life upside down.
“I, uhm, I don’t really know how to say this.”
“Just say it, my love. What’s wrong?” he asks, dropping to his knees to rest his wide frame between my thighs.
Blowing out a troubled breath, I twist to the side, digging through my purse to find the folded sheets of paper I swiped from her. I was able to hide my anxiety before, but now, with Theodore as my support, I give myself permission to show some vulnerability.
“I met your wife earlier. She crashed into me on campus… she had these.”
Trembling, I hand them over, on the verge of passing out as he reveals our naked, intertwined bodies.
Unlike before, I do let the tears flow now, the weight of Beth’s threat crashing down on my head. “She threatened my admission to the University of California. She’s going to ruin it all, isn’t she?”
His silence is all the answer I need. It booms in my ears while crumbling the rest of my foundation. I’ve worked so hard, practiced, and studied to get into the best art school in the country, and just like that, it could be over.
I don’t know if I have the strength to end it. Just the thought of breaking our relationship off brings me to my knees. But he’s always there to catch me, securing me in his strong hold. Theodore runs his fingers through my hair, shushing my mewls.
Pressing his lips to the shell of my ear, he assures, “No, my love. She has hurt me our entire relationship, but I won’t let her hurt you. I won’t let her hurt us. It’s long overdue, but our marriage is over, at least according to my sister-in-law. She’s working on the divorce paperwork now.”
Sniffling, I mumble, “But what are we going to do now?”
Kissing away my falling tears, Theodore gazes into my eyes. There’s no fear there, not a whisper of worry or sign of stress. If anything, Beth’s warning lights a fire under his ass. More now than ever, he’s ready for his life with Beth to be over.
“I’m going to protect you, Scarlett. I promise. I won’t let Beth hurt you.”
And he’s going to fight for me.
Theodore Ellis
CHAPTER XXX
I’m going to fucking kill her.
It’s all I could think about on my drive home, how badly I want to strangle my soon-to-be ex-wife.
Now, what I’ve done doesn’t make me a good husband, but she’s been doing the same goddamn thing to me for years. I’ve never shown up to her work and threatened to ruinherlover's life!If I did that, I would be thrown out on my fucking ass, labeled as an abusive, controlling, violent husband, while my wife continues her torment, all because she’s a woman.
I tried to calm myself down in the time it took me to get home from the school. But after taking multiple detours and extending my trip from twenty-five minutes to an hour and a half, no progress has been made. I’m still as furious as I was in my office when I had my girl crying in my arms, only this time, I have to stare at her car, visualizing her inside with that sinister smile in place.
