Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I am not in a stable enough place to deal with more of his shit. My emotions are hanging on by a thread, and my need to break down and cry is a live wire under my skin.
Clearly, Leon is in a completely different headspace since he starts unbuttoning his shirt.
“Whoa, stop. What are you doing?” I yell, not hiding how appalled I am.
He doesn’t stop until his shirt is fully unbuttoned, showcasing the muscles that once made my mouth water. He lifts a cocky brow, as if expecting me to have a physical reaction to him again.
He gets one – just not the kind he wants. I recoil, making sure he understands that every part of him repulses me now.
A dangerous look flashes across his face before he stomps over to the bed and pulls back the covers. The tension in the room cranks up yet another notch.
“I am getting ready for bed,” he growls. “You should get undressed and do the same.”
The leash doesn’t tug on my mind. It’s a suggestion, not an order.
For now.
“Leon,” I warn, wondering how I’m going to talk him out of this.
There’s no way I’m sleeping beside him – hard limit.
He sighs, cutting me off, “Vivian, I have not held you in weeks. I have worried for you every Fates-damned moment that you’ve been out of my arms. And even though you have betrayed me, fought me, and tried to run from me, you still belong to me. We are sleeping together because you aremine.”
The venom in his words mounts with each claim, showcasing how frustrated and exasperated he is over the fact that I’m fighting him. But there’s something else there too. It’s barely noticeable behind the brunt of his anger.
Hurt.
A small part of Leon is hurt that I don’t want him.
He fully strips off his shirt, tossing it to the corner of the room, before stalking toward me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
I know that look.
‘Jump on his insecurity. Exploit it!’Cassandra’s memories hiss.
Panicked, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “But I’m still angry with you for lying to me!”
Leon pauses, looking at me like I’m a lunatic.
But hestopped.
That’s all the motivation I need. If I can’t overpower him, then I need to weaponize words. I’d like to think I could draw on my high school bullies for inspiration, but they were pretty fond of rocks.
Not helpful.
Instead, I remember how broken Leon sounded when he told me about Cassandra’s death. I only hope I can be convincing enough, as I stare up at him with wide, innocent doe eyes.
“You promised you’d protect me,” I whisper, in the same soft voice Cassandra used to use with him. Only now, I lace it with hurt and disappointment, as if Cassandra herself is speaking through me.
She isn’t – the only time I hear her, she’s yelling instructions to get me out of near-death situations.
I have no complaints.
Leon frowns at my accusation, and before he can start to defend himself, I take a page out of his book and keep going. “They took me from you, Leon – in my past life and in this one. Morgana is the one who killed Cassandra. Youletme die, and then, youletSin steal me from our home. You said I would be safe there.”
