“I’ll remember,” I whisper back.
He gives me one last squeeze before letting me go, and I walk away without looking back.
Once we’re upstairs, Ray drops his mask, and his anger slams into me full force. “What the fuck? What happened to your leisurely day hanging by the pool with a good book? You just had to spend some alone time with your fuck buddy?”
Normally, I’d cave, roll over, and apologize just to keep the peace, but I’m done with his bullshit. Squaring my shoulders, I keep my voice as steady as I can.
“He was my best friend until I was seventeen. The last time I saw him was traumatic. I needed closure.”
It didn’t feel like closure; it felt like hope. But Ray doesn’t need to know that.
Ray’s eyes are burning with anger. “Closure, huh?” he spits. “Fine, you got it. Did you exchange numbers?”
“Yes,” I answer flatly.
“Delete it. If you got your closure, you don’t need it.”
“Absolutely not,” I snap, my resolve deepening. “That was taken away from me before; no one is taking that away from me ever again.”
He falls silent, but fury is burning off him. I storm past him into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me, his anger weighing heavily on my shoulders. But my resolve hardens.
Once Heather’s back from the cruise with my mom, I’ll come clean and ask for her help. I’m done living this version of my life. I’m done withhim.
Chapter 9
Jay
Ireturned from Florida feeling a quiet confidence, something I haven’t experienced in years. I’ve pushed back on filming new content, especially anything involving sex, even though Ray keeps pressuring me.
He’s pissed about it, but I think he knows he’s skating on thin ice. For now, he’s recycling old clips and waiting for the Florida footage, as if that’s going to save us.
On the flight home, while Ray snored beside me, I kept sneaking glances at Aiden’s number on my phone. Since Ray tried to make me delete it, I couldn’t shake the fear that he’d go through my phone and erase it.
I can’t risk losing Aiden again, so I memorized the digits.
My mom and Heather are still on their Caribbean cruise, so I haven’t had the chance to tell Heather that I want out. In the meantime, I’ve been doing my homework.
The house is mine, legally and financially; I bought it before I met Ray. I’ve made the payments and covered the bills. I’m documenting everything, laying out the facts he can’t dispute.
We share bank accounts and credit cards, but my savings and investments are in my name only. I won’t leave him destitute, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let him drain what I’ve worked for.
The past week has flown by. Work has been nonstop since my team’s year-long project is nearly finished, and I’ve been working ten-hour days to get it done.
I finally shut my laptop after a long day, feeling tense in my shoulders and tired in my eyes.
That’s when I hear Ray’s voice, sharp and raw, echoing down the hallway. He’s raging.
The hairs on my arms stand up as I push away from my desk, bracing for what I’ll find at the end of the hall. I know, even before I see him, that he’s snapped.
Reaching the living room, I find him pacing like a caged animal, his face beet red, and his eyes wild. When he spots me in the doorway, he explodes.
“What. The. Fuck. Did. I. Just. See?”
My body tenses. “What are you talking about?”
Spit sprays from his mouth, his voice quivering with rage. He jabs a finger at the laptop screen. “The footage from your little orgy. You lied. You said every guy fucked you. That’s bullshit. It was the Aiden and Jay show, fucking each other’s brains out in the corner.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” His face twists, almost primal.
