C4, PT. 1

Her jacket offered little protection from his fierce bite. She went rigid and then let out a piercing scream.

“Roth!”

He released her abruptly and muttered something under his breath before he spun her around and tossed her over his shoulder.

“Let me go, you evil son of a bitch!” she shouted as he strode out of the kitchen.

“I’ll let my mother know what you think of her,” he said placidly.

“I’m so done with you! You said we wouldn’t fight, and look at us! Reaching for knives and biting? We bring out the worst in each other!”

“Passion is an essential ingredient in marriage, we’ve just veered off course,” he ground out. “That’s what happens when you put off a talk for five years.”

“What would you know of essential ingredients for any relationship? You don’t have any! You have no friends, family, and we never had a real marriage! Put me down!”

He strode swiftly down the hall that led to the great room. As they passed the formal dining room, she made a desperate grab for the doorjamb. He didn’t slow, but smacked her ass hard enough to stun her into letting go.

“You didn’t just…” Ass stinging, she pummeled his back and thrashed, which made him stagger before he clamped her legs to his chest. “You hit me one more time, I swear to God I’m going to find a way to ruin the rest of your life! And you have the nerve to wonder why I went to my father instead of talking to you. Why would I try to reason with a psychopathic, manipulative fucktard?”

“If I did then what I’m doing now, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” He dumped her on the couch and loomed over her as she sat up and glared at him. “Your running days are over. We’re having this out.”

“Having what out?”

“What we would have discussed if you’d picked up the phone and talked to me instead of going to your father.” His bad-tempered gaze raked over her flushed, disheveled appearance. “Maximus said you begged him to get you out by any means necessary. Is that true?”

“Why does it matter?” she cried, pounding her thighs with her fists. “All of this happened a million years ago! Why do you insist on dredging up the past when you won? You’re a fucking mogul, are carrying out your revenge on everyone who’s wronged you, and have my family at your mercy. You got everything you wanted and more!” Her voice became shrill as frustration bubbled over. “And, despite Dad’s best efforts, you managed to force your way back into my life to punish me for having the gall to leave you before you were through with me.”

Lightheaded from stress, she buried her face in her hands.

“You’ve taken everything from me,” she said thickly. “You claimed all my firsts and robbed me of my virtue and self-respect. What more do you want? I don’t have anything else for you to take.”

She tried to control her ragged breathing as icy waves of panic crashed over her. She couldn’t have another breakdown. She wasn’t going to let him do this to her again. His fingers brushed over her hair, featherlight and so tentative she thought she imagined it, before his hand settled on the crown of her head.

“I told you in Lisbon, you still have much to give me.” When she shook her head, his fingers burrowed into her hair, massaging the screaming tension holding her body rigid. “I thought it was best to ignore our past, but after years of wondering, I need to know the truth.”

Gone was the mocking monster. He sounded … apologetic?

“Why did you go to him, princess?”

She surrendered to the inevitable. “You know why. He was the only one powerful enough to take you on.”

“Did you know he was going to blackmail me?”

She shook her head.

“You never asked how he got me to sign the divorce papers?”

“No. I assumed he offered you something you couldn’t refuse—a business deal or payout.”

Even with her eyes closed, she sensed his energy shift.

“Payout?”

His tone was clinical, but she wasn’t fooled. The abrupt switch from raging beast back to unruffled businessman gave her mental whiplash.

“You said Dad was constantly undermining your deals. I’m sure it affected your money flow. I thought Dad may have offered to compensate you for the trouble he caused if you signed.”

“No amount of money could have forced me to let you go. If Maximus wasn’t armed with blackmail, there would have been no divorce.”

She didn’t allow that to penetrate. His words slid off her like water on a raincoat. She focused on the scalp massage—a welcome diversion that offered relief as Roth continued on his path of destruction and mental anguish.

“Maximus said you never wanted to see me again.”

“You don’t see him again. Ever.” She flinched at the echo of her father’s steely decree and her vehement, “I don’t want to!”  If Dad could see her now… Her shoulders drooped under the crushing weight on her shoulders. As she deflated, Roth moved in to support her and guided her face so it rested against his abdomen.

His voice was low as he asked,“Did you say that, princess? You never wanted to see me again?”

With her father’s voice in her mind, listing all the promises she’d broken, speaking was beyond her. She nodded.

His hand bunched in her hair. “Was I such a monster that you sold your soul to the devil to get away from me?”

“Better the devil I know than the one I don’t.” She was grateful her face was hidden as a stray tear fell and joined the remnants of her bath water he still wore. “My father could be cruel, but I believed a part of him still held some affection for me. Enough for him to help.”

“And you didn’t believe I held the same level of affection, if not more, than what your father had shown you?”

When she started to straighten, his hand clamped on her nape.

“Answer me.”

She ground her teeth. “No.”

“No, what?”

“No, I didn’t believe you had any real affection for me.” When his chest swelled to speak, she added, “Whatever you feel for me is muddied by my family’s connections and the business opportunities you thought would come through me.”

His voice deepened. “I had affection for you, princess. More than your father and sisters combined. I sacrificed everything for you, just as you did for me. That has nothing to do with business.”

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Confessions. Please do not share or distribute.

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