On no! Not the wig!
This was my last thought before it came off. He flung it across the room, then wrapped his hand around my throat, thumb digging into the hollow under my jaw.
My pulse skyrocketed. I blanked out.
Valmont stared into my eyes again. His head was tilted at a strange angle. His face went slack, eyes widening just a fraction.
He saw it.
He recognized me.
Think, think of something.
He dragged his thumb over my mouth and cheeks and smeared some of the makeup.
"You little bitch," he whispered, almost in awe.
The grip around my neck tightened to the point where I couldn't breathe anymore.
"I know you," he said, louder now. "I should have killed you three years ago."
He shoved me back, hard. I fell against the ottoman, smacked my elbow, and dropped to the floor.
I didn't cry out. The camera hidden in the pendant was still recording. I only needed to make sure I kept it safe. Yes, the audio was transmitting live and it would still be enough. But I wanted for people to see the real Caius Valmont.
"You didn't get enough last time?" he hissed, grabbing the whip.
Blue balloon is tired."I'm here to kill you," I blurted. If he thought I was stupid, it would be better than him guessing I was recording.
He laughed like a maniac and swung the whip at me. "Kill me? You're one fucking dumb bitch!"
I barely had time to shield myself with my arm, protecting my face and neck where the pendant was located.
It stung badly. The entire left side of my body was on fire.
I gritted my teeth and braced for another blow.
He swung again as expected. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"
I blocked the hit again.
He crouched in front of me, close enough I could smell the rage coming off him. "You think you'll be alive after this?"
I stared at him, not blinking, chin tilted up.
This threw him off.
He punched me in the face. It wasn't a slap this time. My head bounced back and I felt blood flooding my mouth.
Then he got up and started pacing.
I sat up, spat the blood onto the carpet.
"You think you're so smart?" He halted to a stop to roll up his sleeves.
I smiled, let him see the blood in my teeth.
Blue balloon is tired.
