"You don't need to be such an asshole."
"How else do you expect me to be, Alicia?"
She tucks her head to her chest, eyes dropping to her lap.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, shoulders shaking as more tears stream down her cheeks.
I wish I could feel sorry for her, but without hearing her side of things, I can't.
"Why?" I ask.
Glancing up at me, her brows draw down and her nose crinkles.
"Why did you do it?"
The lines along her face disappear as her features soften, and her shoulders drop as she shakes her head.
"I wish I didn't. If I had known—"
"I don't want to hear any excuses," I bark, uncrossing my arms and storming towards the sofa until I'm leaning over her. "I want to know why you betrayed me!"
Her eyes widen, and her chin wobbles as she stares up at me in surprise.
"I wanted to hurt you," she mumbles, cringing at her own words.
Placing my hands on the back of the sofa, I move back slightly, creating a small amount of space between us.
My fingers dig into the leather, and my muscles contract beneath the cotton T-shirt I have on as I wait for her to continue.
"I was convinced you hated me. We were both doing such a good job of avoiding each other, making it seem like we couldn't stand each other, and it angered me. You handcuffed me to the bed, Dom. You chained me up, got yourself off, and then you left me there, half-naked, lying in your cum. Do you not realise how that made me feel?"
Huffing, I push off the sofa and start pacing the room as my stomach churns from the reminder of what I did.
"I felt disgusting and used. It was degrading!" she shouts, sitting upright. "You treated me as if I were a toy for you to use. Like I was some sort of whore. I was pissed at you. I cried myself to sleep, Dom. Then I woke up the next morning, still chained to the fucking bed, and you were nowhere to be seen. You just left me there!"
"I was going to check on you," I tell her, shrugging as if I'm unaffected by everything she's telling me.
She lets out a humourless laugh and shakes her head, standing from the sofa and moving around it until she's standing in front of me.
"I had to dislocate my own fucking thumb to get myself out of those cuffs. I was furious, and Lenny had been asking me to help him find something on you, so in that moment, I agreed to help. I thought you didn't care, Dom!"
She jabs her finger into my chest, and I snatch it in my hand.
"You betrayed me because you didn't think I cared about you?"
Using my hold on her finger, I pull her closer to me until her chest is flush with mine, our faces inches apart.
"All of this because you were overthinking and didn't have the balls to come and fucking ask me how I felt?" I reply angrily, my nose grazing against hers. "You were almost killed. My best friend may very well die, Alicia, and it was all because you were a coward!"
She raises her free hand, her palm connecting with my cheek in a powerful slap.
"How dare you!" Yanking her other hand from mine, she pushes both her hands against my chest, trying to move away from me, but I grip her hips, keeping her in place. "I may have been a coward, but so are you! If you want to blame me, then you need to realise you're to blame just as much as I am."
"How do you get to that conclusion?" I ask, cocking a brow.
"You were hiding your feelings for me, pretending to hate me, convincing me I meant nothing to you because you were scared of what would happen if you admitted to how you felt and made your feelings known. You were a coward. You are the reason I was overthinking. You are at fault for making me do what I did."
She pushes at my chest again, but I band my arm around her waist, plastering her trembling body against mine. I grip the back of her neck with my free hand, bringing our faces closer together.
