“Okay,” he says, grabbing the cage and rushing from the room.
Leilani curls up on the sofa in her bedroom and texts Charles about the disaster at the hotel.
“That man is Dean Meyer’s old friend. He’s a trustworthy person. Why does he have anything to do with Leonie?” Charles texts.
Charles is frustrated and upset. He didn’t expect Leonie to meddle with the sale, and he has no idea how Leonie got to know his father’s friend. He feels disappointed in himself for underestimating her, and he wishes he’d checked the details more carefully before telling Leilani about the opportunity.
“Tell me honestly,” Leilani texts, “Did you know that Leonie was behind all of this?
“Of course not,” Charles replies, “That man represents an independent company. He doesn’t have a boss and rarely accepts business partners. It’s my fault though. I should have asked more questions and been more careful.”
“It’s not your fault,” Leilani texts.
“I know it’s too little too late, but I want to apologize and make it up to you,” Charles writes, “Money is not a problem for me. Can I offer you a loan?”
“You’ve already helped me in many ways,” Leilani replies, “This time I’ll figure something out on my own.”
Charles reads Leilani’s message. He anticipated her stubbornness and pride, but he’s frustrated by her refusal. Though he admires her independence, he wants to be able to help her.
Thunder rumbles ominously in the distance, and a flash of lightning suddenly illuminates the room. A dark shadow appears over the sofa, and Leilani turned around startled to see Waylen towering over her.
“Christ, is he always so sneaky when he enters a room?” she thinks.
“Who are you texting?” Waylen asks.
He looks absolutely livid. He’s just found out about the pills, and now he walks in on Leilani messaging someone. He immediately suspects it’s Charles.
“Does she have any idea that he’s drugging her?” Waylen wonders.
He feels his rage building in his chest, and he imagines all the different ways he could have Charles killed.
“I asked you a question: who are you texting?” Waylen repeats.
Waylen feels his blood boiling out of control and he leans down and snatches her phone. Leilani pales and reaches for the phone.
“No! Don’t look at my phone!” she screams.
Waylen ignores her and raises the phone to eye level.
“You’re violating my privacy. Give it back!” she protests.
He looks at her recent messages, but there’s nothing there.
“Do you delete the messages?” he asks.
“I was browsing the internet,” she says, “I wasn’t talking to anyone.”
In the past, she would have admitted to texting Charles just to upset Waylen. She knows he’s especially sensitive about her interactions with Charles. However, she doesn’t want to wind him up as she’s planning her escape—she doesn’t need to draw any additional attention to herself. She knows that the more she enrages him, the more obsessed he becomes with subduing her. She bites her tongue and tries to control her temper.
“I don’t believe you,” Waylen says with a snarl.
He grabs Leilani from the sofa and roughly throws her onto the bed. Leilani looks up at the demon standing over her, and trembles with rage and fear. Waylen becomes terrifyingly angry every time Charles appears in their lives, and she can only guess at how he’ll enact his rage on her.
Leilani clutches the sheet tightly and stared helplessly at her phone in his hands. She reminds herself once again that she can’t afford any more trouble with Waylen before she leaves. She swallows her anger and tries to arrange her face in a calm expression, but Waylen takes her silence as guilt and becomes even angrier.
He grabs her jaw with his hand, “Is he the reason you’re trying to divorce me?”
“No!” Leilani whispers.
She knows that Waylen becomes extra possessive where Charles is concerned, and she wants him to calm down. She gazes calmly into his eyes.
“It’s not about him,” she says.
“Then who is this about?”
Though Waylen often goes into rages, Leilani has never seen him so wild with anger before. She wonders what has gotten into him, and she tries to calm him.
“It’s about me,” she said in a low voice.
“Is she still protecting Charles?” Waylen thinks, enraged.
Waylen looks at her like a wolf. His eyes seem to glint yellow in the dim room, and she can’t shake the impression that he’s hungry for blood. He knows he could forgive her almost anything—he could even bear it if she didn’t love him. But he refuses to allow her to fall for another man.
Waylen rips her dress apart viciously, and Leilani can’t help but imagine it’s her body he’s tearing into. She can imagine him clawing her heart out of her chest.
As if he could read her mind he says, “Leilani, I wish I could examine your heart to see what it’s made of.”
He stares at her exposed body and feels his heart beat an erratic rhythm in his chest. Suddenly the thought of hurting her, makes his chest hurt.
“Why do you lie to me?” he whispers.
“What do I lie to you about?” she responds.
Waylen kisses her as soon as the words leave her mouth. She hammers her fists against his chest, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. Eventually, she stops fighting and accepts that he’ll do whatever he likes with her.
Waylen is so angry that his fingers have left small bruises on her jaw. He deepens the kiss and bites her lip hard enough to draw blood. He slides his hands down her body but suddenly stops as if he’s remembered something. She’d on her period. He almost forgot about it and was prepared to take her then and there.
Leilani feels his weight lifting. The room is dark but shears him get up. His footsteps echoed across the ground and then the door slams shut. Silence fills the room.
Leilani forces herself to take deep breaths. She assumed that Waylen would force her, and she’s surprised that he suddenly stopped.
“His self control seems so fragile these days,” she thinks, “He used to be like ice—always in control and never swept away by passion. Now he loses and regains control suddenly and unpredictably.”
Leilani changes into her pajamas and discards the torn shreds of her outfit. She returns to her room and lies in her bed. She feels safe there, knowing that in their three and a half years of marriage, Waylen has never once bothered her there. She tries to sleep, but her mind replays the day’s events on a loop.
“Sir, you’re back,” says a surprised bodyguard.
Bodyguards and butlers outside Leilani’s room greet Waylen respectfully. Leilani can hear their voices and then the sound of a door opening and closing very softly as if Waylen doesn’t want to disturb her. She doesn’t even hear his footsteps as he crosses the room, but she closes her eyes and pretends to be asleep.
Leilani feels the mattress sink as Waylen climbs onto the bed and lies down next to her. She smells alcohol instantly.
“Was he out drinking?” she thinks, “He must be drunk. Too drunk to tell my room from his, anyway.”
He lies in bed with a rigid posture, keeping distance between them. He makes no move to hold or touch her as he has the past few nights. The smell of alcohol makes it impossible for her to sleep, and she finds herself wondering about him.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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