He pulled a USB drive from his bag and waved it in front of my face.
"Be a good girl and stay my lover. I promise you're the one I love most—the others won't affect your position."
"Otherwise... this is full of our intimate videos. Want them leaked?"
He took a long drag of his cigarette and blew all the smoke directly into my face.
I choked, coughing violently.
His gaze was ice. "In this life, don't even think about leaving me. You have no other choice. You can only choose me."
"If you still want your reputation, endure it. Otherwise..."
He shook the USB drive.
To punish me for mentioning a breakup, he locked me in the house for a month.
I lived without daylight in that room.
My heart hurt until it split open. My tears ran dry.
I didn't know when he'd filmed those videos.
Every intimate moment between us—turned into leverage to threaten me.
During that month, I couldn't eat. Sometimes just thinking about what was in those videos made me so sick I wanted to throw up.
My hair was falling out in handfuls. In the kitchen, staring at the cleaver, I actually thought about ending it right there.
That month locked inside, Alex would come by occasionally. Every time, I hoped a bottle of sleeping pills would mean I'd never have to see him again.
Days bled into nights. I couldn't tell them apart anymore.
When he found me lying on the bed, barely conscious, Alex slapped me awake.
"You'd better stay alive. Anything happens to you, your dad's next."
My father was critically ill. The treatment costs were astronomical. I'd just graduated—not a penny to my name. Alex had paid for everything. The best doctors. The best care.
He flung the medical bills in my face.
"Without me, could your dad afford any of this?"
That slap woke me up in more ways than one.
I hadn't wronged anyone. Why was I the one suffering?
If Alex could have countless lovers, why couldn't I?
He demanded I be his. He never demanded I be his alone.
Once I understood that, I accepted his terms gladly.
That was when Alex Gilbert entered my life.
I took a lover too—Alex Delgado's closest friend.
The next morning, Alex was blocking my doorway.
Face dark. Hair a mess.
"I texted you last night. Why didn't you answer?"
I was carrying out the trash. "Isn't this what you wanted?"
That sentence lit him on fire. He lunged forward, grabbed my chin, and bit down hard on my lips.
Blood flooded my mouth.
I shoved him back.