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“It’s exactly like that. And I don’t care what you want.” Angry tears clouded Holly’s vision. “I’m not accepting your offer. You can’t do that. You don’t dictate anything about me. Maybe I will change my mind about Eric. He can’t be any worse than you.”

Avel glowered at her. “I knew you were still into him.”

“Really? What gave you that impression?” She wanted to reach across the table and shake sense into Avel. “Was it the way I looked like I was going to throw up every time he touched me? Was it when I told you to your face that I’m not interested in him? Oh wait, perhaps it was when I fought him off after he forced a kiss on me and you barged past and didn’t help?”

Avel wouldn’t meet her gaze.

Anger bubbled inside Holly. No rough, domineering thug told her what to do. Avel really was no better than Eric.

“I maybe saw things differently to you,” Avel finally said.

Holly was so angry, she didn’t care that other people were watching as her voice raised. “You did. You got it completely wrong. You’ve got all of this wrong.” She stood from her seat and jabbed a finger at him. “I don’t need you trying to rescue me. I’m rescuing myself.”

“It didn’t look like it yesterday,” he muttered.

“What a surprise! You get it wrong again.” The rage Holly had trapped inside her for so long flooded out. It poured over Avel. She was so sick of guys telling her what to do, how to live her life, how to look, and how to act. No more. She’d had enough.

“So, that’s a no to my offer?” Avel crossed his arms over his chest.

“I would never accept that offer.” Holly kicked her chair back. “You should have kept your mouth shut, and this would have been over. I’d have paid you back, and we could have gone our separate ways. We’d never have to see each other again.”

Avel’s cool stare pinned her to the spot. “If that’s what you want.”

“Yes! That’s what I want.” Holly was almost choking on her tears and anger, but she pressed on. “I want to be happy. I thought we were happy. We had something. When it was just the two of us on that ship, it felt right. That’s what I want. You messed it up by offering me money and conditions about who I can see. You’re the one who turned away from me.”

Surprise registered in his eyes. “That’s not what I meant to do. I was trying to—”

“You were trying to tell me what to do. You’ll get your money back, and there’ll be no conditions attached to it. I’m done with this.”

Avel stood from his seat and reached for her hand, but Holly stepped away. “Let’s talk about this.”

“I’m done talking.” Holly wiped her hands across her eyes. “I know what I want. I’ve made my decision.”

Avel stared at her for a few seconds without speaking, his hand held out, reaching for her.

It would be so easy to take that big, warm scarred hand and let herself be drawn back to him. Holly longed to feel his arms around her and for Avel to tell her everything would be fine; he’d keep her safe. He’d always be there for her, no matter what. No matter what demons reared up from the past and scared her.

Yeah, she’d be safe with Avel, so long as she lived by his conditions. He thought he had a claim on her because he’d planned to cancel her debt. Avel wanted to dictate her life, just like Eric.

Avel glanced around the dining hall. “Let’s go somewhere quiet. We can figure this out. I didn’t mean to screw this up so badly.”

Holly shook her head. “I know what you meant to do. I’ve been through this before. It’s not happening again.” She backed away from the table.

“I’m not like that other guy.”

Holly swallowed a sob. She’d heard enough. She turned and ran into the kitchen, ignoring Avel as he called for her to come back.

Her heart throbbed as her anger faded. What had she been thinking? She could never fall for Avel. He was just another controlling jerk. He wanted her, but only on his terms. He wanted her, but only if she behaved the way he expected her to.

She finally let the tears fall as she slumped against a wall. No more. She was better off alone. She was better off without Avel.

Chapter 20

The anger, frustration, and fury that had mingled through Avel all day made him want to knock himself out. It was the only thing he could think of to get Holly out of his head.

He’d gone to her with a plan to help and had ended up making her cry and run from him. How had his solution gone so wrong? She’d stunned him by saying she wanted to pay off the debt. That was when it had fallen apart, and he’d reacted like an ass.

Avel had assumed it was because Holly didn’t want to see him anymore. She’d come to her senses and realized nothing he could offer her was good enough, not even his money. He hadn’t intended her to think he wanted her to change or do anything differently. She’d have full control over her business. He had no clue about running a chocolate store.