"Theo. What are you doing? Why are you being so rough."
"I thought you liked it rough, little one. That's what you always say, isn’t it? Harder, faster, make it hurt. I’m only giving my good girl what she asks for." He says. His words oozing with sarcasm. He releases my throat and steps a few feet away. “You are stillmygood girl, right?”
"Yeah, I like it rough, but not concussion-level rough." I rub the back of my head and try to regain some composure. My whole body is flushed. “And, of course, I’m still your girl, Theo; why would you ask that?” After this morning with Lucian, I debated on not breaking things off with Theo.
"Pshh, you're fine. Anyways, where are your two gentlemen friends? Hmmm? They left without you." Oh, he is jealous. Ok. That explains the attitude.
"Number one, they are just friends. The one is Lucian, I’ve told you about him. The other is his friend and coworker Jayme. And number 2, I drank when we went to dinner last night, so I didn’t feel comfortable driving home."
"Then you call me. I don’t want my girl staying the night at another man’s home. Do I make myself clear?" His voice is laced with warning. Since when is he so hostile? He has always been calm and charming.
"I don’t see what the big deal was. He is just..." I don’t even get to finish the sentence. Theo reaches out, grabs me by the jaw,and slams my head back into the door frame, pinning me against the car. Fuck that hurt.
"Fuck Theo. What the hell." I can barely get the words out from how he is holding my jaw. He has never been violent with me. The bite he left on my lip is bleeding more; the taste is filling my mouth and making me nauseous.
"You need to learn, Cassandra; I will not tolerate you humiliating me by running around behind my back. You are just receiving part of your punishment a day early. I don’t understand what makes you think you can be this disobedient. You need to learn your place in this relationship, bitch." Tears are running down my face now.
"But I’m not being disobedient. We didn’t do anything. We went to the restaurant, came home, watched a movie, then slept. I decided to shower this morning because that’s part of my routine. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!" I’m trying to get him to loosen his grip, but it’s not working.
I can’t stop the tears from falling, not only because of the pain in the back of my head but because I am scared. He has never acted like this before. He holds me tighter by the jaw, leans in, and kisses my lips, then pulls away.
"Good. Apology accepted. Now be a good girl and go home. Your present should be there tonight. I can’t wait to see you wearing it tomorrow. Goodbye, little one. And remember what I said. I don’t want to have this discussion again." He places another kiss along my tear-streaked face. “Oh, and Cassandra, If I find out you did cheat on me, your friend might just have an unfortunate accident. Do I make myself clear?” I can’t manage any words, only a head nod. “Good.” He walks away, gets into his car, and speeds off.
I slide down the side of my car and sit on the ground. I am almost hyperventilating from crying so hard. That was the most violent anyone had ever been with me. I am sure my jaw is goingto bruise from how hard he was holding it. I touch the back of my head, wincing. There is a knot there, and it fucking hurts. I need to end things with him, but now I am worried. He either has a tracker on me or is stalking me and is now getting very violent. I don’t want him to go after Lucian. Fuck! If I leave him right now, he will most definitely go after Lucian, and Theo has power, a lot of power. I can’t believe he just threatened his life. How did I never notice how much of a psychopath he is? Ugh! I need to calm down, compose myself, and go get the shit for tonight.
I take a deep breath to stop my panicked breathing. I feel trapped. If I stay, who’s to say he won’t be more violent. But, if I leave, I could be putting Lucian’s life at risk. Maybe I’ll just stick it out. Lucian will be going back to California soon, then he will be safe from Theo. Either way, I will be going to tomorrows event with Theo. I stand and brush myself off, throw my bags into my car, then head toward Trader Joe's. It will all be OK.
35. Lucian
We get to the restaurant and grab a booth in the back. I need coffee. I am exhausted. I’m still irritated with her, but a bit less now. I see my phone going off from our group chat. Honestly, I couldn’t care less what the hell we have tonight. I’m just hungry now.
My security camera that faces the parking lot where my car is usually parked goes off, letting me know there is motion. I pulled up the app and saw that my front door one had just gone off a minute ago. Cassie must be leaving now. I try to resist the urge to check on her but fail. I open the camera app, and panic hits me in the gut. A man is standing off to the side, staring at her. She has her head down and isn’t even paying attention.
He walks toward her. Damnit, Cassie, look up! She almost runs right into him. I zoom in but can’t see her facial expression to judge if she knows this man. I don’t have to think about it for long because he tips her chin up to him and kisses her. All I can feel is rage. Heated, pure, violent rage. This must be Theo. I almost say fuck it and close down the app, but he spins her suddenly and slams her up against her car. At first, she looked ok, but I could tell she was wincing from how hard her head hit. I get a bit rough, but that looked more than rough.
They are making out now against the car. He has her grinding against his thigh like she was doing to me last night. He wraps his hands into her hair. She’s probably fine. I shouldn’t watch it anymore. It is just going to piss me off.
“What are you watching?” Jayme asks, so I turn my phone to show him.
“Shit, who the hell is that with her?”
“I think his name is Theo. It’s that guy she has been apparently seeing for a bit. She said it was nothing serious, but this looks serious.” I’m so pissed I am clenching the table with my free hand.
He pulls away for a second before I see him slam her head back against the fucking car again. It looks like she cries out this time. I’m going to fucking kill him. I motion for the waitress to bring our bill. Fuck the food; I need to get over there and help her.
“Did he just slam her head into the fucking car?”
“Yep, I’m going to fucking kill him.”
I think he is done assaulting her because he stepped back a bit, but then he suddenly lunges at her. He grips her by the jaw and practically lifts her off the ground, slamming her against the car again.
She’s crying, she is fucking crying. Damn it, where is our server. I say fuck it and throw $30 on the table.
“Jayme, let’s go!” I shove my way past the people waiting and rush to his car. I watch in horror while it looks like he is yelling at her. I see him kiss her; she just nods before he walks away. I got a good picture of his license plate and ensured the whole thing was recorded. It will help her when she presses charges. That was straight-up assault. Why the hell would she still be with him when he is abusive?
My heart is breaking as I watch her sitting on the ground. She is crying and looking like she is having a panic attack. I’m almost there, Cass—just four more minutes. I try calling her over and over, but she just lets it go to voice mail. She doesn’t even look at it. Fuck she must be in shock.
She stands and brushes herself off. She has stopped crying now, but you can tell her breathing hasn’t calmed down yet. I am so glad I designed this security system so well. The video quality was perfect so there will be no questioning who he was and what he did. I watch her get into her car and leave.
