I’m about to say yes because it’s impossible to summarize a decade in one sitting when Rick stomps over to our table. I didn’t even notice him enter the club until he was towering above me.
“Outside. Now.” Rick sneers in my face and only backs off when I move to stand.
The crazed look in his eyes makes me swallow thickly. I almost tell him I’m not going anywhere with him when he is acting like this, but I don’t want to create a scene in front of everyone, especially in front of Harvey.
I feel a presence behind me, and when I look back, I’m stunned to find Harvey glaring at Rick with a murderous glintin his eyes. He starts to move forward to cover me, but I stop him with a shake of my head. His eyes flash with hurt before he quickly looks away, but I can feel the weight of his disappointment in the air.
I’ve barely known my mate for an hour, and I’ve already hurt him more times than I can count.
As much as I’d love some support, it’s time I finally stand up for myself. Rick might not deserve that courtesy, but I want to part ways on civil terms.
I’ve wanted to end things for a while now, but never found the courage. Meeting my mate changed that.
Rick pushes past the crowd until we’re outside the club’s front door, standing in an eerily quiet, empty parking lot. The moment the door bangs shut behind us, Rick marches up to me, seething in anger.
“I don’t even know where to start with you tonight. You’re throwing yourself at strangers like some cheap slut wearing—you call that tiny piece of cloth a dress? And what did I tell you about leaving your hair down like that?” Rick snarls in my face. “Why do you insist on embarrassing me, Grace?”
He saves this condescending tone for when we’re alone. It’s degrading and meant to humiliate me. I hate to admit it, but I’ve gotten used to it. No matter what I do, I’m always wrong in his eyes.
Rick expects me to roll over and take his verbal hits, but I can’t look weak tonight.
“There’s nothing wrong with the dress, Rick. I like it. And I feel more comfortable with my hair out of those tight braids.” I keep my voice steady, praying it won’t crack from fear.
“It makes you look dirty and unkempt!” I knew he’d hate my hair. “And what about that man?”
“That manis our Prince of War.”
“So you’re defending him now? It’s his rank, isn’t it? I should’ve known you’d latch onto him like the power-hungry whore you are.”
I won’t lie, that felt like a punch to the gut.
Is this really what he thinks of me? Rick wasn’t even an elite warrior when we started dating, so what power was I chasing then?
I can’t stay quiet anymore. He already assumes the worst of me, but maybe if he knew who Harvey is to me, he’d understand I’m not a whore for simply talking tomy mate.
Just the thought of that bond gives me enough courage to blurt out the truth, even with Rick pacing like a caged animal, tugging on his hair.
“Reject him.”
My world stops spinning the second the words leave Rick’s mouth. I search his eyes, hoping they’re just fueled by anger and confusion, but all I see is a clear threat.
The idea of rejecting my mate pulls me away from logic and strategy. My survival instincts take a nosedive as I blurt out. “I won’t reject my mate.”
“You do what I say!” Rick hisses, but I stand firm. I won’t back down, not this time. I’m going to tell him how I feel calmly and clearly for the first and last time.
“No. You can ask me politely, but I’ll only do itifI feel comfortable. I’m supposed to be your partner, Rick, not your slave. Nevaeh was right. I can’t keep trying to make you happy by sacrificing my own comfort and happiness.”
“Of course, she’s the one pulling your strings.”
Rick kicks over the trash can behind him, muttering something about counting days, then stomps toward me, cornering me between him and a brick wall.
Don’t panic, Grace. If he sees that you’re scared, he’ll use it against you.
God, I just want to be done with Rick forever and get out of this place. I’m tired of him treating me like a possession, something he brags about to his peers, instead of someone he should love and cherish.
“This isn’t about who said what, Rick. It’s about how I feel, and… and I feel uncomfortable, ridiculed, stepped on every time you talk to me. I-I keep fixing what you break, but you never stop breaking. And I’m tired of piecing myself back together. I’m sorry, but it’s over.”
The words are barely out of my mouth when Rick roughly backhands me. I stumble, my vision going dark, and he slams me into the wall, his arm pinning me under my chin.
