Richard put his wine glass down and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “What’s up, my love?” His asinine tone grated on me. Patronising bastard.
I turned to Stacy and Fraser, who were sitting rigid like stunned mullets. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take one more second of this.” I turned back to Richard. “We need to talk.”
Without any obvious reaction good or bad, he wiped a few drops of wine from the edges of his lips with his linen napkin. He pushed back from the table and stood up. Leaning forward, he whispered in my ear, his wine-soaked breath making me flinch. “Don’t you dare make a scene in front of our friends, Juliette.” He gripped my arm so tightly I was confident he would leave a mark. “Let’s take this outside.” Without waiting for my agreement, he made our apologies to Stacy and Fraser then dragged me out of my seat, through the restaurant and out onto the footpath.
He didn’t stop directly outside, and I quickly found myself in the darkened confines of a deserted alleyway running between the next two buildings. A dirty grey rat scuttled off, scattering onion skins over the damp cobblestones.
“What the fuck was that about?” Richard asked, pushing me roughly—one hand pinned my left arm to the cold brick wall while the palm of his other hand pushed against my chest. “You need to cool off, and then you need to go back inside and apologise for embarrassing me.”
“Get your hands off me right now.” I spat the words out, overcome by the desire to end him on the spot. “This is over. We’re over. Do you get that? I don’t want you touching me again.”
He didn’t let me go. His grip tightened on my arm while his other hand moved up to my throat, squeezing momentarily before slowly moving down my neck and chest. I knew I could have him writhing on the floor in seconds, but I wanted to hear him acknowledge we were over first.
His sneer turned into a thin-lipped smile as his knuckles grazed my breasts. “We’re over when I say we’re over, Juliette. What happened to Mummy’s good little girl? You’re so pathetic.” He grabbed the hem of my skirt, wrenching it up.
Years of emotional abuse crashed down around me. He was right. My life was pathetic and I’d allowed others to steer my life choices. I was taking control though, and he was making it increasingly easy to be sure of my decision to end our relationship. I heard his snide words loud and clear, and they were making me mad.
I reefed my left hand out of his and pushed him hard in the chest, out of my personal space. “Get off me, you son of a bitch.”
The next thing I knew, I felt a hand connect with my cheek. The bastard had slapped me. Who the fuck was he?
“You’re mine, Juliette.” His voice was rough and his eyes were almost black with a hatred I’d never seen before.
I took a few calming breaths as I watched his arrogant face smile in satisfaction at his perceived dominance. Banking on the element of surprise, I went for the sucker punch. My clenched fist, propelled by anger and resentment, landed in the solar plexus—the soft tissue between the middle portion of the chest and the abdominal muscles. I was quietly thrilled by his shocked expression and his struggle to draw breath. I had successfully winded him.
“Don’t ever touch me again, Dick.” I knew I should’ve run, but I took up a defensive stance and waited for him to recover.
He slowly stood up, rubbing his chest. “Your mother is right. You’re unstable.”
I took a step towards him and he took one back, glancing over his shoulder back up the alleyway. I hoped he was scared. He should’ve been. I had a lifetime of suppressed anger rising to the surface and I had self-defence training to back it up.
“I’ll pack up anything that’s yours in my apartment and have it delivered to your place.”
“This isn’t over.” He motioned between us.
“This should never have started,” I replied, incredulous he would still want anything to do with me.
He began walking away from me towards the busy street. Halfway, he turned and spoke with a quiet confidence. “Watch your back, my love.” He said my love with such hatred; the irony wasn’t lost on me.
I stood in the dark alley and watched Richard retreat. I was sure his ominous words were just about him wanting the last word.
Checking my watch to make sure it wasn’t too late, I called my father. Mum played Bridge on Monday nights, so I knew he’d be home alone.
“Juliette. Is everything okay?”
“Hi, Dad. I… I need you to keep an eye on Mum.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She’s going to be angry with me and I don’t want her overreacting.”
“Why will she be angry with you?”
“I just broke up with Richard.”
“Oh.”
I hated having this conversation with my father. It was awkward, but he was the best placed to know if she was going into meltdown territory.
“I’ll give her a call tomorrow, but just in case she speaks to Richard tonight, I wanted to let you know she might not take it well.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“Okay, Dad. Just giving you a heads up. She was really invested in our relationship.”
“Okay. If there’s nothing else, I really need to get back to work. Thanks for calling though.”
I rolled my eyes and said goodbye.
Chapter Nineteen
Juliette
“Holy shit, Jules. You look awful. Are you okay?”
Sia’s greeting in the office lobby the next morning reinforced the reason I knew I should avoid all reflective surfaces for the next few hours at least. “Thanks. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
When the lift doors opened, too many people pushed forward to get in. Sia and I found ourselves jammed into the back corner like sardines.
“Too much crazy sex with your hot man,” she whispered, trying to stifle a giggle.
I just smiled and shook my head. She couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“Are you okay?” she asked, sounding concerned.
“Lunch today?” I asked as we got out on the fifth floor before going our separate ways.
“Of course. I’ll meet back here around one?”
I nodded, making a mental note to ask her why she didn’t want to come to my desk, then watched her saunter away, swaying her hips in an exaggerated fashion.
Crazy girl, I thought to myself.
Heath was in the morning meeting when I got to my desk, so I took the opportunity to call Mum. Even though I had finally done the right thing breaking up with Richard, I knew she would think otherwise and I was worried about her.
“Yes?”
“Hi, Mum. How are you?” I said through clenched teeth.
“Fine.”
“I presume you heard.”
“Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“Look, Juliette. I’m a bit busy at the moment. The world doesn’t revolve around you and your dramas, you know.”
I shook my head. I really couldn’t win.
“Okay, Mum. I’ll speak to you soon, then.”
She hung up, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. I would’ve preferred her to yell and scream at me.
***
“So what’s up with you?” Sia asked when we were settled at a lunch table several hours later.
I looked down at my laksa and stirred slowly. When I looked up, I could see genuine concern and I knew I needed to be honest with her. I wanted to be honest with someone.
“I broke up with Richard last night.”
Sia’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. “What? Are you serious? Why? What happened?”
“The short story is I met someone else.”
Sia nearly choked on her noodles and had to take a swig from her water bottle.
“Are you serious? Who? Where?” She leant forward and rested her elbows on the table. “Did you cheat on Richard?”
“No!” I was a little offended. “Nothing has happened. I just met so
meone who made me feel something I’ve never felt before, and it made me reassess a lot of things in my life.”
“Sounds like you need to tell me the long story.”
“We just want different things. I wasn’t as happy as you thought I was with him.”
Shaking her head, she paused for a minute. “So how did Richard take the breakup?” Did he have any idea?”
“He actually took it far worse than I expected. I’ve seen him get angry before, but he really flipped out when I insisted we were over. He got quite aggressive. At first I thought it was because I embarrassed him in front of his friends, but then he got angrier when we were alone. I don’t get it.”
“How aggressive are we talking?”
I instinctively cradled my cheek. It had been a limp slap and the slight redness had faded. I’d managed to hide what was left of the mark with makeup. “Nothing I couldn’t handle, but it was a wakeup call. I saw a whole new side to him.”
“You know that’s why a lot of people insist on a prenup before they get married? It’s impossible to foresee how anyone will behave when things go sour. It’s so easy to think both of you will be rational and fair if it doesn’t work out, but if one party feels slighted, shit can hit the fan.”
“Lucky we’re not married I guess.” I laughed humourlessly.
“Hey, speaking of weddings, it’s Zac and Juniper’s this weekend. I’ll let them know Richard won’t be coming.”
“Thank you. Hope that’s not a big inconvenience.”
Richard didn’t like Sia. He’d only met her once but had deemed her beneath us because her family was working class. I was ashamed of how long I’d stayed with him.
“It’ll be absolutely fine. As long as you’re okay. I’m here for you. I hope you know that.”
“I do. Thank you.” I pointed at her with my fork. “Now tell me how it’s going with Heath.” I scrunched up my nose. “Spare me any details from the bedroom though.”
“Oh, we called it quits. You were right. Total workaholic, but we had some fun. He has the most enormous penis.”
It was then my turn to choke on my lunch before laughing so hard Laksa came out my nose. When I’d recovered, Sia filled me in on her short-lived raunchy affair with Heath. It was far too much information for me, but she appeared happy. I wasn’t sure how I was going to look my boss in the eye.
The next few days passed in a blur of rollercoaster emotions and too much work. By the time Thursday evening rolled around, I was ready to take out some of my frustrations.
“Steady on, Jules.” Zac put one hand on my shoulder and stilled the swinging bag with the other. “Take it easy.”
I’d been letting loose on the punching bag suspended from the ceiling. I was already dripping with sweat and our session hadn’t even started yet.
I stepped back from the bag, puffing, and Zac undid my boxing gloves. “I’m fine. I think I’m warmed up now.” I smiled. I’d been imagining Richard’s head when I put the full force behind every punch.
Mum had called me several times a day, leaving increasingly irate messages, but she didn’t seem to be melting down. I’d answered the first few times but soon realised the conversations were getting us nowhere. She thought I was making a big mistake throwing away someone as wonderful as Richard and was adamant I was going to come to my senses.
The fact that Richard and I’d had no face-to-face contact since we parted ways in the alley was a relief. I couldn’t deal with the histrionics from both of them. Out of courtesy, I’d emailed him about Zac and Juniper’s wedding to let him know his attendance was no longer required. I’d received no reply.
“Juniper told me about you and Richard splitting up.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Good riddance, I say. The guy was a dick.”
I snapped my head up. “Really?” I’d never heard Zac speak badly about anyone and his candour surprised me.
“I only met him that one time, but I got a bad feeling. I know you can do so much better.”
It was good to know I had someone else on my side. I’d committed social suicide when I broke up with Richard, and that was actually fine by me. The likes of Fraser and Stacy had never been people I would choose to spend my time with. I’d always been really happy in my own company, but I was glad to have a few real friends.
Zac started the session slower than usual, perhaps giving me a chance to recover from my self-imposed gruelling warm up. I’d been looking forward to seeing Zac all week, and I didn’t want him to go easy on me—I wanted to be pushed hard. I didn’t feel like falling apart. I did, however, feel anger towards my parents, towards Richard, but primarily towards myself. That was enough anger to push to the next level of my training.
“Holy shit, Jules,” Zac said, shaking his head. It was the first time I’d managed to blindside him and, for a few seconds, I’d had the upper hand. It didn’t last and Zac regained his superiority, but for those few seconds, it was exhilarating.
I left the gym that night feeling energised and happy. As I’d walked out the door, I automatically looked around for Richard. It was second nature and when I realised what I was doing, I smiled knowing I wouldn’t have to play along anymore. Practically skipping up the street, I became aware of the hair standing up on the back of my neck. It was hard to describe, but I felt watched and I couldn’t help stopping to look behind me. There were plenty of people around, so it was impossible to know if anyone was actually following me. It was just an uneasy feeling I couldn’t shake. Perhaps the guy from fight night hadn’t got the hint after all.
“Can you spare a dollar?” I practically jumped out of my skin when I turned back the way I was walking and was confronted by a man holding his cap out to me.
I reached into my bag, grabbed some loose change and put it in his cap.
“Thanks, pretty lady. God bless you.”
I smiled then jogged the rest of the way home despite my tired muscles. Richard’s parting words from the night we broke up had bothered me. “Watch your back, my love.” His display of aggression on Monday night replayed over and over in my head. He had been a stranger. Clearly, neither of us had shown our true colours for the full course of our relationship. I was starting to worry that his mask was shielding something far more sinister than my miserable and misguided quest.
Chapter Twenty
Leo
I’d spent all week thinking about her, and working on the stone wall at the farm did nothing to alter that. Juliette was irrevocably under my skin.
Smack.
It made no sense, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. The physical attraction was clear as day—we were drawn to each other like magnets. She was drop dead fucking gorgeous, and the lust I’d seen in her eyes convinced me of our mutual desire.
Smack.
But it was more than that. Much more. I wanted to know every detail about her. That was a first for me.
Smack.
Was I that much of a masochist that I wanted a girl obviously laden with baggage, potentially unstable and attached to a man who couldn’t be less like me? Plenty of girls had made their interest known, but none of them had registered anything close to what I felt when I made eye contact with Juliette on fight night, or when I touched her briefly, or when I saw her mask settling over her perfect features and turning her to ice. Perhaps it made perfect sense and our lives were destined to collide exactly when they did.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
I dropped the mallet down on the rough earth and picked up my chisel and straight edge to smooth off one of the surfaces of the first stone I’d worked on in years.
I wasn’t ready to work on the house yet, so I’d decided to start on the drywall boundary—one of the features I loved most. My grandfather had built it with his own hands, and my father had shown me the technique when it had needed repairs over the years we still lived there.
“Leo!” Bea’s voice called out.
I looked up towards the house and saw her standing next to her yellow bug
. “Over here.” I watched her turn and acknowledge me with a wave before wandering over.
“I was just at Beans, and Kayla said you were headed here. I had to see it for myself. Never thought I’d see the day,” she said with a sad smile.
“It’s not such a big deal.” I picked up my discarded shirt and wiped the sweat from my face and chest.
“It is a big deal, Leo.”
I shrugged my shoulders. I knew Bea, and Angus to a lesser extent, struggled with the fact that I wouldn’t talk about what happened five years ago, but verbalising it wouldn’t change anything.
“Leo Ashlar bashing on rocks again. That makes me happy.”
“I’m rusty as hell.” I bent over and sifted through my tool box, looking for something I wanted to show her. I found it behind the mallet head tooth chisel. “I could do with a break.”
We both walked over to the gazebo and sat down. I opened my palm for her, revealing a winged horse carved from stone. “I found him this morning when I went looking for my tools in the shed. Do you remember him?”
Bea took it from me, cradling it gently in her hands. “Oh my God. You were totally obsessed with Pegasus and all those Greek myths. I’d totally forgotten about this little guy. He was your favourite, wasn’t he?”
I nodded as Bea’s finger gently traced the intricate curves, her eyes glassy. A few tears slipped down her cheeks. “Where are all the others?”
“I’m not sure.” I took the small horse back from her and wondered how something so small could hold so many memories. “I haven’t seen them in a long time.” I looked up to see Bea’s tear-stained face.
“I’m sorry, Bea.” I moved closer to her and touched her shoulder. I would’ve given her a hug if I weren’t dirty and sweaty. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No. No. I’m hormonal. I cried at a toilet paper commercial last night. I’m so glad you found him. He brings back such good memories of…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, but I knew what she meant. Bea wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “So you’re here and you’re fixing the wall. Does this mean you’re ready to talk?”
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