Instead, I let him scare me into thinking I had no choice.Perhaps he does have the power to destroy my acting career, but is that really important enough that I’d let two men do what they did?Destroy my soul.My pride.My sense of safety.
I played dead while they used my body as if it were a toy they had rights to.
They didn’t.
We need to report this.
The thought of speaking to the authorities makes my stomach curdle.I’d have to revisit and talk about everything that happened.Mom and Dad would end up finding out, and so would Jayden.
I’d have to face Frank Bonito in court if they had enough to charge him while also facing public criticism.
I don’t even know who the other man is.
I don’t want to know.
Some women are brave and fight.I just wanted to hide—behind Liam.
Perhaps I’m a coward, or maybe I have a right to be scared.Is it really my responsibility to speak up and go through more than I already have?
Or is it those men’s responsibility to fix themselves?Why should victims have to suffer further?
Fucking assholes.
For the rest of the weekend, Liam says nothing, and I’m grateful that he’s given me the space to wrap my head around how to move forward.The truth is, I just want to bury my head in the sand and focus on this thing between us.
“I’m sorry.Seeing Noah on top of you, kissing you...I wanted to fucking kill him,” Liam said.
Not gonna lie, now that he’s calmed down, I’m secretly happy he was jealous.
“I hope you don’t get into trouble on Monday.”
Liam snorted and shook his head, like the idea was preposterous, then sipped his coffee.After a sleep-in on Saturday, we’d walked down to a cafe for brunch.
Neither of us had much of an appetite.
After, we went to the beach and lay in the sun.Liam jumped up, dusted off the sand, and pulled me to my feet.
“Come on.”Taking my hand, he led me down to the water where we splashed around like kids.
Then something shifted, and Liam pulled me against his ripped, wet chest and kissed me like...well, like I was the woman he loved.
Deep, slow, purposeful.
Taking my breath away.
Instead of heading home, we got a pizza and, my hair dripping down my back, we sat on the beach eating as the sun set.
It was peaceful.
And very romantic.
Sunday, I woke up, and we were on the sofa.Liam had tucked me into his arms the night before, and we’d both dozed off.I realized we hadn’t been intimate since the night I was triggered.Yet I felt closer to him than ever.
His smile when he opened his eyes was drop dead gorgeous.I was falling more and more for this man.Especially when he surprised me with a visit to the zoo later that morning.
Walking around hand in hand, we enjoyed a long day looking at the animals, some of which had us in stitches.
On our way out, Liam bought me a stuffed, fluffy elephant.I made a joke about it having averynice trunk, which earned me a kiss.But he didn’t follow it up with his own dirty comment, and that was when I started to get suspicious.
