She shoulder-checks me as she heads toward the bed. The sudden snap sends me on high alert, forcing me to flip around so I can keep her in my sight. She stares at the mattress. What’s she thinking about? All the times she pleaded for me to take control of her?
She shakes her head. “I can’t believe it.”
I button my blazer and casually drift toward the door.
She spins around. “Youhavebeen using me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You just want to see me squirm. Is that it?”
I stare at her. “Nothing gets past you, Liya. So why don’t you tell me?”
“You keep giving me freedom and then snatching it away.” She curls her hands over her stomach. “God, you’re doing it because youlikeit. How could I be so stupid?” Her eyes bulge. “God, I keepfallingfor it, too.”
I shrug. Is there a point in arguing against this anymore? She’s going to believe whatever she wants to believe. If I can’t convince her otherwise, then I don’t see why I should keep wasting my time.
She doesn’t trust me.
That much is clear.
“It’s no consequence to me what you believe,” I state as I reach for the doorknob. The cool metal greets my fingertips. “You’re leaving at the end of it all. You said so yourself.”
She sniffles. “Because you keep treating me like an object.”
Again, no point in arguing.
For a moment, I expect tears, but instead, all I get from her is a baleful glare. “Is that what gets you off? Dangling power in front of me?” she seethes. “Or is it when you take it all back?”
“The power you give me of your own free will is what gets me off, Liya. Nothing more than that.”
“Like hell it is.” She turns away. “You’re always going to be like this. I don’t know why I bother telling you how I feel.”
“I don’t know why you bother to do that either.”
Indignation lights up her face. I resist the urge to walk away. I’ve made my bed. I’ll climb right into it and yank the covers over my head just to make a point. This is what she does to me. There’s no going back now.
“Why bother telling me your feelings if you’re just going to leave?”
“Because maybe I thought that you’d fucking fight for me to stay.”
“I can’t control you, Liya,” I reply. “No matter how much you claim that I do.”
“And yet it’s all you’ve ever done.”
“It’s easier to blame everyone else, isn’t it?”
Her upper lip curls with disgust. “Isn’t that what you do?”
“Careful, Liya. I take your threats seriously.” I close the space between us. She doesn’t withdraw, standing her ground with her head held high. At least she has some dignity about being wrong. “And Iwilldo something about them.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
It’s a last-ditch effort to strike at me like a cornered animal. Only thing is that it truly works. Her words land right in my heart and pierce it. Not enough to wound. But enough to draw blood. I finally pause in front of her. We’re inches apart, panting like we’ve been sprinting a marathon while arguing with each other.
The way she holds my gaze—without flinching—makes me admire and loathe her all the same. Such a powerful woman deserves to be celebrated, to hold a place at my side.
Yet she refuses to use that power, choosing to invest it in her stubborn pride rather than in our marriage. What a waste. We could do amazing things together. But she doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t think I can protect her.