Dreams and reality blurred together, and I couldn’t tell which was which. It wasn’t until I felt my hand gripping a solid forearm like a lifeline that I snapped back to myself. Panic surged through me as I yanked my hand away, letting out a startled gasp before scrambling to the far corner of the couch.
Edward looked stormy, his expression unreadable. He unfastened his cufflinks and rolled up his white shirt sleeve, revealing angry red marks where my nails had dug into his skin.
Seeing those marks, my mind was a mess–I didn’t know what to do.
Edward glanced at the cold, untouched food on the table, then out the window at the darkening sky. “Victoria, that’s not what dignity is for.”
I was so emotionally exhausted by him that it felt like my whole world was falling apart.
“Then why don’t you teach me?” I snapped. “Is that all you’re good at, bullying women, Edward?”
“Bullying?” Edward frowned. “You have no idea what real bullying is. I’ve been giving you the chance to live a better life.”
“A life without self-respect or fairness? That’s not a good life,” I retorted.
“Self-respect and fairness? Those things don’t exist in this world,” Edward said coldly. “You don’t actually believe in that, do you? Fool.”
My faith crumbled in that moment, and I stared at him with hatred in my eyes.
Edward burst out laughing, almost involuntarily. “I know it’s painful to accept, but the sooner you understand how society really works, the sooner you’ll start gaining the kind of wealth you can actually grasp. Don’t be foolish. I can help you get so many things you want. Isn’t that worth it?”
“Oh, sure, sounds great,” I snapped back, my mind a mess but my urge to fight even stronger. “But would you really give me money with no strings attached? Of course not. All that generosity comes with your control and power hanging over me.”
Edward looked like he couldn’t even be bothered to argue with me anymore. He let out a weary sigh. “If you don’t eat something soon, you’re really going to pass out.”
“Wouldn’t that be perfect? Just what you’re hoping for,” I scoffed.
Edward glanced out the window again. “It’ll be dawn in three hours. If you still haven’t given me a choice or a clear decision by then, I’ll just do things my way.”
“Please, don’t hurt my family,” I said, my voice shaking with fear as I stared at him.
Edward’s eyes grew cold as he looked at me. “I won’t lay a finger on your family, but I will have you lying in my bed.”
My chest tightened, ‘What a shameless jerk,’ I thought.
“I don’t even need to do anything to you,” Edward went on, rising to his feet. “All I have to do is make Ryan think there’s something between us, and he’ll choose differently. And when that happens, the pain you’ll feel will be twice as bad.”
I realized then that Edward was nothing but a sly old fox. “Now I finally get why you ended up divorced,” I shot back. “No woman could ever put up with a manipulative, scheming guy like you.”
Edward stood up, towering over me with that superior, mocking look. “Looks like you’re divorced too, huh? So what’s your story? Were you just too dumb? Stubborn as a mule? Or maybe you were so narrow-minded you couldn’t even imagine a future with your ex?”
“Just shut up!” I snapped, my face burning with embarrassment and anger.
Edward crossed his arms, watching my face go pale with amusement. “See? Just a few honest words and you can’t handle it. You’re so thin-skinned. Can’t really blame your ex for walking away.”
I had nothing to say.
Edward was toxic–scheming, always plotting, and his words could cut deeper than a knife.
I was so mad I just dropped my head and ignored him.
Last night, I must’ve snapped my hair clip in my sleep, because now my long hair hung down in a tangled mess, hiding my pale face.
My fingers curled tightly in anger.
Seeing I wasn’t saying anything, Edward spoke in a low, serious voice. “Try to see things differently. You have three hours left–think it through carefully.”
I rested my face in my hands, refusing to say another word to him.
Edward left, and the room sank into dead silence.
I stared at the cold leftovers on the table, but in the end, I just picked up a glass of water and drank it in silence, feeling completely drained.
When you’re backed into a corner, you end up doing things that make no sense at all.
But I couldn’t let myself starve or let anger finish me off. I had to survive, no matter what.
The thing that hurt the most was realizing that the future Ryan and I had promised each other–the dream of making it through life’s ups and downs together–was probably about to fall apart halfway.