Pain And Pleasure 18+✓

Forty-six

Silently, I study Richard to no avail. He releases a sigh as he grips the edges of the table while leaning forward to stare close into my eyes. It should perplex me but I'm strangely stoic, like a patient lioness in the Serengeti, so sure of its prey among the big herd of dumb wildebeests.

"Ara," he starts haltingly, "I know you're angry at me and it's understandable." Again, he takes a pause, gauging my reaction. I don't respond, which makes him continue, "But you don't need to do this."

I gaze up at him with a frown. "Do what exactly?"

"This, damn it!" he snaps, throwing his arms around. "Showing up with some insanely rich dude who's supposed to save my goddamn factory with his money! He probably won't even sign that fucking contract because of whatever you've told him, no?" His face hovers toward mine with hysterics from across the table. "You don't need to do this just to get back at me, Ara! You don't! What happened back then was just—"

"Okay, shut up!" I grunt. Furious, I step out of the dining table and follow him menacingly. "Who do you think you are, Richard? Some kind of Messiah that I can't live without? Or someone I'd put my life on hold for, just because you once broke my heart and made me cry? Or do you actually believe that I'm here because of you?"

Responsively he seizes my waist and pulls me toward him swiftly, starting me. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't come here for me!" he says cynically with a snarky grin.

"Let go of me!' I wiggle in his brace, elbowing his chest for him to free me willingly.

Tightly he holds me in place, sniffs into my hair, and whispers into my ear, "I know you missed me, Ara. And I won't lie; I missed you too. A year without you felt like—"

I swing my head and jab him good on the nose.

"Fuck!" he growls.

Out of his arms, I yell, "Don't you dare touch me again, you prick!" while nursing the pain pulsing through my skull.

"Good Lord, I almost forgot you're a badass bitch, damn it!" Richard sneers, eyes on his arm smeared with crimson discharge from his nose. "Not bad. You still box, huh?" he bursts out laughing.

"And I guess you're still the same thin-dicked asshole who thinks everything revolves around him," I remark with disgust.

"Oh, come on!" He brushes it off like it's nothing. "Are you gonna pretend that you didn't like it? Or maybe you're scared that your date may walk in and find you in my arms, possibly dying for me to kiss you and fuck you right on this table?"

"In your dreams!" I bellow and walk past him to grab my purse. What's wrong with him? He looks like he's lost his damn mind. "Miss you? You fucking think I'm here because I missed you? You're sick, Richard Cooper!"

His smile doesn't die even when he asks, "Then why are you here if not for me?"

"To show you that I'm completely fine even after you hurt me and humiliated me in public! To show you that I don't need to be like Sally or anyone else to feel good about myself! I'm here to show you that I'm enough, Richard, even if I wasn't for you!" I snap.

His face reddens when his smile slowly disappears. Touché! If he thought I'd be a messy, lonely woman, I'm happy to prove him wrong. Even if Adrian Castle is just a temporary boyfriend, his presence in my life has taught me that self-worth comes from within.

I don't need a man to feel precious and vital, and I certainly don't need someone's but my own approval to feel confident and deserving of greater things in life. If there's one thing I desperately want right now, then it's to stand on my own two feet so that no one can ever look down on me.