Ben's voice thunders through the last ten feet between us. "Take your fucking hand off her, or I'll snap it at the wrist, make sure you never touch anything again."
"Classy. Real classy," Richard calls at Ben before his eyes cut into me. "This is what you want? A nice life with a thug?"
By the time Ben's with us, I summon all my strength and wrench Richard's hand off my shoulder, rubbing the spot.
"Thug?" Ben snorts, almost amusedly.
Then his voice drops, and those dark eyes flash with fire. "I'm a goddamn demon when it comes to Emma, and you should be on your knees thanking whatever god you believe in that I've kept the leash tight tonight."
A shiver rakes my spine, because that wasn't a metaphor—that was something you hear before the lights go out.
"No, Ben. Please, go back. Please," I say, but Ben doesn't even move, holding Richard in that unblinking gaze.
Richard darts his eyes to me. "Exactly what I'm talking about. All anger, no class. You really think he can love you in any real way? He'll devour you."
"At least I won't starve her. She didn't look herself when I saw her."
I step between them, my hands on Ben's chest. "Ben. Please, let me handle it."
Richard scoffs behind me arrogantly. "Handle what? He's no hero. He's a failed husband, chasing what's not his because he's bored."
Ben’s eyes flash with god-wrought fury.
He touches my shoulder, moves me aside with a gentleness that only makes the moment more terrifying, then takes two heavy steps forward.
He has to tilt his head down just to meet Richard’s eyes, and somehow that tiny angle says everything.
"You. Don't. Own. Her," he grits out. Then he lets out a little mocking snort, staring Richard down. "You never did. She's been mine since the day I saw her and you've known it every second."
Richard's nostrils flare—barely a flicker, but enough toknow Ben's words struck home.
He squares his shoulders, anger winning over instinct, and steps in anyway, despite Ben’s shadow swallowing him whole.
"The law still sees her as my wife. And you? You'll be gone in a year. She'll crawl back to me, you'll see."
Ben's eyes narrow with that quiet kind of contempt reserved for the pathetic. "You think she'll crawl back to you? Keep dreaming. She'll be busy screaming my name ten times a day while you're scrolling through old photos."
Richard's jaw ticks and his fists curl. For a beat, he looks as though he's crazy enough to try deck Ben.
Then his face goes all ice. "That's your flex? That you can fuck her well?"
"You're missing the point," Ben says flatly. "I touch parts of her that you never cared about. So when she screams for me next, it won't be just sex. It will be relief. Because I'll give her what you never could—freedom."
Richard freezes, the truth landing square in his gut.
When he finally talks, it comes out tinner. "You think she loves you? She's a scared little girl who can't think for herself. I was the one keeping her sane. She needs order. Not chaos in a leather jacket."
My mouth drops.
Scared little girl...
Unable to think for myself...
"What the hell, Richard?" I whip to him then. "How can you say that? After claiming that you loved me? Is that what you thought of me all this time?"
I hate that my eyes water before I can stop them, but it hurts. Sure, I cheated on Richard, I hurt him, too, but not because I hated him. This sounded like he hates me.
Ben's hand moves before I even register it, his thumb brushing away the tears rolling down. "Don't waste your tears on this asshole, baby. He's not worth a single drop."
