“Get. Off. Me. Now.”
“Please don’t leave. Brynne, I—I—didn’t mean to hurt you but I was protecting you from remembering. There’s a threat out there to your safety…and then I met you…and I couldn’t stop wanting you. I couldn’t stay away from you.” He tried to kiss me.
I turned my face away and closed my eyes. All the trust I had for this man was gone. In its place a terrible ache filled my heart. He knew about me. He knew what had happened to me. Probably had seen the video. And now there were people out to hurt me? Why? He was hired by my dad and all this time he knew and I didn’t. How could he? How could he be the Ethan I’d fallen in love with and betray me like this?
“Waterloo.” I turned back and stared.
“No…no…no,” he chanted. “Please no, Brynne.” He shook his head back and forth, his eyes devastated.
“Water-fucking-loo, Ethan. And if you don’t get off me I will scream the walls down.” I spoke clear and soft, my heart hardened and bleeding black blood. Blackstone blood.
He moved out of me and helped me sit up. I hopped off his desk and lunged for my bag. He zipped up his pants and tried again. “Brynne, baby, I—I love you. I love you so much; I would do anything not to hurt you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so f**king sorry.”
I tried to get out the door but it wouldn’t budge. “Unlock it,” I demanded.
“Did you hear me just now?”
I looked at him and nodded. “Open the door so I can leave,” I spoke very evenly, surprised I was not a weeping wreck crumpled to the floor. I just needed to get out of here and to my flat. I had one purpose and it was to flee to safety.
He rubbed his head and looked down, and then moved to his desk and reached the button or whatever it was that held me in. I heard the click and I was out of there.
“Thank you for the delicious lunch, dear,” Frances called as I bailed.
I waved at her but was unable to speak. I just walked out. I had my purse and no underwear, but I wasn’t going back in there to find them. Just get me out of here and home…just get me out of here and home…just get me out—
Oh my god I was leaving Ethan. We were done. He’d lied to me and I couldn’t trust him anymore. He said he loved me. Is that what lovers do? They lie?
I didn’t speak to Elaina at reception either when I headed for the elevators. I pushed the call button and realized he was right behind me. Ethan had chased me down and still I didn’t break.
“Brynne…baby, please don’t leave me. God, I—I f**ked up. I love you. Please—”
He put his hand on my shoulder and I flinched. “No you don’t,” was all I could manage.
“Yes I do!” he yelled, his voice getting angry. “You can leave me but I’ll still be protecting you. I’ll still be watching over you to make sure you’re safe and that nobody can hurt you!”
“What about you hurting me?” I spat back at him. “And you’re fired, Ethan. Don’t ever contact me again.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. I stepped in and turned around to face him.
He rolled his head up and opened his mouth in a pleading gesture that told me he was hurting. Not as bad as I was but he looked ragged and desperate. “Brynne…don’t do this,” he begged as the doors started to close me in alone.
I heard a loud bang coupled with one very comprehensible f-bomb shouted as the car started to take me down. Down to the street where I would hail a cab to drive me home to my flat. Where I would fall apart as soon as I could get inside, and where I would crawl into my bed and curl up and try to forget him. Ethan Blackstone. I was doomed to failure. I knew that. I would never be able to forget Ethan. Never.
The End