We’re standing too close now. I can see the pulse racing in her throat. See the way her chest rises and falls with rapid breathing. She’s furious and terrified and so goddamn stubborn it makes me want to shake her.
“You can’t win this,” I say quietly. “You know that, right? I own this house. I control your family’s future. I have unlimited resources and patience. You have what? Determination? That’s not enough.”
“It’s all I need.”
“It’s going to break you.”
“Then I’ll break. But I won’t let you have them.”
“I don’t want to have them. I want them not to be afraid of me. There’s a difference.”
“Not to me.”
I reach out and grab her arm. Not hard. Just enough to keep her from walking away. “This stops now. You can hate me all you want. You can avoid me, insult me, make my life difficult in every possible way. But you will not turn my household into awar zone. You will not make those children cry because you’re too scared to be rational.”
She tries to pull her arm free. I don’t let go. “Let go of me.”
“Answer me first. Are you going to stop this?”
“No.”
“Anna—”
“I said no. I will never stop protecting my children from you.”
“They don’t need protection from me!”
“Yes, they do! You’re a monster!”
“Then what does that make you? You married the monster. You sleep in his house. You fuck him when the tension gets too high.” I pull her closer. “You’re not protecting them from me. You’re protecting yourself from admitting you made a choice you can’t take back.”
“Fuck you.”
“You already did. You’ll do it again.”
Her free hand comes up and slaps me across the face.
The sound echoes in the room.
We both freeze.
Then I grab her other wrist and push her back against the wall. “Don’t,” I warn.
“Or what? You’ll kill me too?”
“I’ve never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it.”
She’s breathing hard now. We’re pressed too close. I can feel the heat of her body through her clothes. See the way her eyes drop to my mouth before flicking back up.
“I hate you,” she says.
“I know.”
I pin her there on the wall with my body, one hand still wrapped around her neck, the other braced beside her head. She’s still fully dressed. Good. I want her to feel every second of this while she’s still pretending she has control.
“You think you can hit me in my own house?” I growl against her mouth. “You think that changes anything?”
She spits the words right back. “You’re a monster. I’ll hit you every day if I have to.”
