The air crackles.I hold my breath, anticipating violence.But James, after a moment of stunned silence, steps back, face flushed.
“Get out,” he says to Matthew, his voice a venomous growl.“I need a moment with my fiancée.”He emphasizes the word.Staking a claim.
Matthew hesitates, jaw clenching.He glances at me, a shadow of concern crossing his eyes.I force myself to meet his gaze, willing him to understand.With a slight shake of my head, I silently plead with him to leave.
I step forward, placing myself between them.“Mr.Warren,” I start, voice trembling but firm.“If you could just give us a moment…” I gesture towards the door.“We’ll continue our meeting shortly.”
Matthew stiffens.The muscle in his jaw tightens.But he takes a deep breath and schools his features into an impassive mask.With a curt nod at me, he turns and walks out, closing the door quietly behind him.
My pulse quickens.My hands tremble.A sob rises in my throat, but I push it down, steeling myself.I brace for the inevitable confrontation.
SEVEN
THE DOOR CLICKS shut behind Matthew, sealing the silence.I stand frozen, James’s presence radiating behind me like an open furnace.
He spins me around.“What the hell are you wearing?”he spits.
I yank my arm free and round my desk, gripping the edge until my fingertips turn white.“You locked me out last night.”I force the words out with a defiant tremor.“Or were you too drunk to remember?”
James paces between the sofa and the door, one hand in his pocket, the other rubbing furiously at his forehead.The lines around his eyes are deeper, etched by a night of hard drinking and harder truths.
“Last night was one hell of a night for me, Mimi,” he says, voice thick with self-pity.“Watching those videos you recorded… How could you?”
The accusation stuns me.“You were the one cheating, James!”I cry out.“You were the one who lied to me, who said you were working late when you were out with—”
“Don’t you dare bring that up again!”He slams his hand on the desk.
The crack makes me jump.My pulse hammers in my throat.
“And lower your voice,” he commands.“You were spying on me.Not only did you invade my privacy, but you had the audacity to record it too.”
I cover my face with my hands, stifling a scream.
Unbelievable.
I shove my chair aside and round the desk, stopping inches from him.
Rage overrides fear.“What about how I felt watching you make out with another woman?How I felt when you threw me out on the streets knowing I had nowhere to go?All for a stupid ring?!”
His eyes go dark.He grabs my shoulders, fingers digging into the thin fabric of my tracksuit.“Stupid ring?It’s not justanyring!It’s an investment!I invested so much in you, Amy.Made you the perfect fiancée.And that ring?It symbolizes everything we’ve achieved: the image, the stability, the success.”He crowds closer, his words cold.“And you… you threw it away like it meant nothing.”
“It meant everything to me,” I counter, tears blurring my vision.“It was a symbol of our love, our commitment.”My voice cracks.“But you… you broke that commitment, James.You ruined us.”
“No,youruined everything,” he snarls, low and menacing.“You betrayed me.”
He shoves me back.I stumble, my hip catching the sharp edge of the desk.
Pain flares, but I refuse to be silenced.“I betrayed you?!”I retaliate.“How?By waiting alone all those nights I thought you were working?By watching you crawl into bed at dawn smelling of whiskey and cheap perfume and saying nothing?How did I betray you?Please enlighten me.”
“By humiliating me!”he roars, his face contorting.“By making me the villain.When I’ve done nothing but provide for you!Invest in you!In this bloody café!I gave you the life you always wanted.”
“The life I want?”A jagged laugh scrapes my throat.“Is that what you call this?This life where all I do is wait for you?Wait for you to wake up and remember our love?Honor our commitment?”My voice trembles, but he doesn’t show an ounce of remorse.“Instead, all you’ve done is disrespect me.Cheat on me.With any woman you cross paths with.A cheap lay—”
His eyes ignite.He shoves me hard, his hand slamming into my chest.The edge of the desk catches the back of my thighs.My feet fly out from under me, and I cry out as my body slams backward onto the hard surface.Papers fly, pens scatter, and the small ceramic vase Helen gave me for my birthday explodes against the wall.Before I can register the pain, James lunges, pinning me to the desk with his weight.
He lowers his face to mine, his breath raspy in my ear.“How dare you speak to me this way?”he seethes, fingers digging into my shoulders before he slams me back down.“I made you, Amy Beckett.And I can destroy you just as easily.Don’t you ever forget it.”
Silence descends, punctuated only by his ragged breathing.
