“Why did you do it?”
A tear slipped down my cheek, my skin clammy and ice cold.
“Why did you fuck him?”
“Oakley, please,” I choked on a sob, trying to look him in the eye without cowering.
He crouched down in front of me, leaning his head to the side. “Why did you fuck him, firefly?”
I bit my lip and lightly shook my head, unable to respond. My thoughts, my body, everything was paralyzed with fear.
“You’re mine. You’remygirl.” He reached out to touch my face, but I jerked away, a soft whimper leaving my mouth. “You still love me, don’t you?”
I closed my eyes, unable to look at him and the madness that turned his brown eyes to black.
“Don’t you?” He snapped, and grabbed my face, fingers biting painfully into my cheeks. “You still love me!”
My body trembled as I cried.
“Look at me.”
I flinched. “Oakley, please.”
“I said fucking look at me!” He yelled, grabbing my head with both his hands, bringing his face inches from mine. “This is what you do to me,” he seethed. “You drive me fucking crazy.”
“This isn’t you,” I pleaded between sobs. “This isn’t you, Oakley. You don’t want to hurt me.”
“Of course, I don’t want to hurt you. I fucking love you.” His grip tightened, shaking. “But I can’t get that image of him fucking you out of my goddamn head, and it’s driving me insane. It’s making me fucking crazy.” With a jerk, he let go of me and stood glaring down as I wept. Tears slipped past my lips, the saltiness of my fear lapping on my tongue along with the metallic taste of blood.
“I love you, Sienna. Can’t you see that? I’ve always loved you.”
“Then let me go!” I cried out. “Untie me and let me go.”
“No. No.” He started pacing again, roughing his hands through his hair. “I’m not letting you go until you admit that you still love me. You and I, we are meant for each other, and you need to see that.”
The panic grew more powerful, burning a hole inside my chest. I tried to breathe, but the air couldn’t reach my lungs. My senses were drowning in adrenaline. I could barely think straight.
I leaned my head to the side, drying my cheek against my shoulder. “Oakley, stop this,” I said in a calm tone, trying my best to hide the quiver in my voice. “Stop this before it goes too far.”
“I’d say it’s too late for that, don’t you?”
“No.” Surging adrenaline forced me into survival mode, and if that meant putting on a mask and lying, then that’s what I needed to do. “It’s not too late…for us.”
His eyes snapped in my direction. “What are you saying?”
I licked my lips, swallowing hard, trying to keep the bile down. “You asked me whether I still loved you.”
He inched closer, his dark eyes wide and lips slightly parted.
My body shuddered. “I do,” I whispered and closed my eyes.
That’s not convincing enough. Try harder.
“I’ve always loved you.”
He stepped closer and sat down in front of me, and I had to try so fucking hard to keep in control. To not cower and flinch away from him.
“If you still love me, why did you fuck him?” He leaned closer, and I held my breath. “Why did you let him put his hands on you if you knew you still loved me?”