Stranger! I Smell Danger!
1465 Words
GWENDOLYN
My heart was pounding against my ribs frantically, as if it was desperate to tear its way out of my chest.
I could still feel his hand on my waist, the feel of his lips aggressively claiming mine, and those wild thrusts that knocked the air right out of my lungs.
The memories were too vivid…
No! This couldn’t be happening.
“…stop trying so hard to take my daughter away from me Casimir, it won’t work.” I could hear my sister’s voice as she struggled to take Bella away from her father.
They seemed to be having some kind of argument but I wasn’t listening, I couldn’t.
Camille murmured something to me and before I could ask what she had said, she walked out with Bella in her arms, leaving me alone with him.
Oh my God!
I gripped the counter top to balance myself just as his gaze landed on me,
“You…y-you knew?” I stammered, my entire body trembling.
His jaw flexed, a muscle ticking at the side like he was holding something back. Before I could say another word, he stepped forward in fast strides and grabbed my arm.
“Not here.” He said quietly, “follow me.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He just turned and started walking, his grip wasn’t painful, just firm enough to keep him in control and force me to keep up as he led me down a hallway.
“Let go of me.”
He didn’t. Not until he shoved a heavy door open, pulled me inside what looked like a study and slammed it shut behind us.
I wrenched my arm free immediately, my chest heaving as I shot him a glare,
“You knew!” I yelled, unable to contain the anger coursing through my veins.
“Get a grip, I didn’t and for God’s sake, keep your voice down.”
“Don’t you f*****g lie to me!” I snapped, my voice breaking beyond recognition, “you knew exactly who I was. Was this some kind of twisted joke to you?”
“A joke?” His eyes darkened as a harsh, humorless laugh rumbled out of him, “you think I’d intentionally… what? Have s*x with my wife’s sister for fun? You walked into my club not the other way around.”
“Your club?” My eyes widened in disbelief, my nose scrunched up in disgust, “now I see why she wants to leave you, what kind of father and husband owns a place like that?”
“The kind who doesn’t owe you an explanation,” he shot back, his eyes narrowing as he stepped closer to me, “but since you’re so keen on judging, how about we focus on you? What’s your excuse, huh? Does your fiancée know you go about screwing random, masked strangers in clubs?”
Of course he knew about Henry, leave it to Camille to tell everyone about my misfortune!
Those words landed like a physical slap. The back of my eyes stung as tears pooled at the bottom but I bit down hard on my lip, refusing to give him that satisfaction.
“Ex-fiancée, you sick son of a…”
He suddenly took a step forward, cutting me off. I stepped back on impulse but he took another step closer.
Each step made the room feel smaller, the air became tighter like it was folding in around us and forcing me back until the hard edge of his desk dug into my lower back.
I was trapped.
My throat went dry. He was so close that I could feel his muscular body pressing against mine. His scent wrapping itself around my mind and dragging me back to last night.
My heart was beating wildly for a whole new reason now. For one breathless second, I thought he was actually going to kiss me. My body went rigid.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he gripped my chin, forcing my gaze to his,
“Now, let’s make sure we’re on the same page,” his touch sent a weird jolt straight down to my core and every nerve in my body was yelling at me to get the f**k away from him but those grey eyes held me down.
“You’re not going to breathe a word about Elysium, or our little escapade to anyone, especially not Camille.”
My heart was thudding so hard I was certain we could both hear it.
“Are you threatening me?” I tried to sound tough but my voice was nothing but a shaky whisper,
“I don’t have to, Gwendolyn.”
God! I hated it when he did that. When he called my name with that tone that sent an unwanted shiver down my spine.
He leaned closer, just enough for his lips to slightly graze the edges of mine. I gripped the desk, my nails digging into the wood as my chest heaved.
What the f**k was he doing?
“You and I both know you’re just as desperate as I am to bury last night. Because you know, just as well as I do, how much your sister hates you.”
My entire body froze. He was right.
He just casually said the ugly truth no one in my family dared to say out loud.
“Go to hell.” I muttered but he didn’t even flinch, he simply reached behind me, his arm brushed against my side as he grabbed a folder on the desk.
He stepped back and the sudden space between us made my pulse trip.
I quickly straightened my spine, forcing myself to breathe like none of it had affected me. Like a part of me wasn’t itching for him to close that inch between us.
The thought of it made my skin crawl yet for some twisted reason, I wanted to feel the weight and heat of his body against mine, again.
“Good,” he said, his voice shifting back to a much colder one, “now that we understand each other, we can talk about why you’re really here.”
I arched a brow at him, “Excuse me?”
“Your sister isn’t the only one who wants to walk away with everything,” he responded, his voice flat.
“What are you talking about?”
He casually sat down behind his desk, calm and collected. An unusual calmness that kept me on edge.
“You’re the best at what you do, I’ll admit that, that’s why you’re going to help me get full custody of Bella, and make sure your sister doesn’t get a cent out of me.”
I opened my mouth to say something but was left speechless. I scoffed out loud,
“You must be delusional.” I turned for the door but his words slowed me down,
“I knew you were going to be a tough nut to crack so I’ll save us both the unnecessary stress of going back and forth, I’ll just go straight to the point.”
My brows furrowed as I spun around to face him,
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“This is my insurance,” he said as his fingers began to fly across the keyboard of his laptop, pressing a few buttons before he suddenly turned the screen towards me,
“Help me win full custody of Bella and this disappears forever. Go against me and I’ll release it. I’ll make sure the whole world knows your own sister set the whole thing up. I’ll burn your life down, Gwen. Publicly and completely.”
A cold dread began to creep up my spine but I plastered an unbothered smile on my face,
“Is this you trying to blackmail me?” I chuckled, my tone dripping with mockery, “What could you possibly have against m—“
Those words instantly died in my throat and my face turned pale when he clicked on a button, and a video began to play.
No! No!
My own voice filled my ears, the memories that had taken so many months at therapy to bury, violently rushed to the surface.
My knees went soft and I was left gasping for air as I staggered backwards.
It’s been six years since that night… how? How did he get…
My eyes stung and my vision turned blurry due to how quickly the tears had gathered, threatening to pour down my face any second,
“Y-You… how did you… you’re sick!” I choked out, my throat burning,
“You’re right, if wanting to protect my little girl even after finding out she isn’t mine makes me sick, then by all means Gwendolyn, I am sick.”
- Writer
