Boudoir Secrets

Chapter 72

Her ears rang, her eyes watered and she felt something warm dribble from her nose. She had expected him to be capable of anything but this! Sure he had anger issues but he had never taken them out on her before. Lifting her hand to wipe her nose, she looked down as she smeared it off jeans, leaving behind a bloody trail. Oh dear Lord, he had given her a bloody nose!

Trying desperately to get up, without much success, she decided to just sit a while longer on the floor. Her arms were sore from where he had grabbed her and shaken her like a doll. He hadn't slapped her, he had taken a well aimed punch to the side of her head. It explained the ringing in her ears that refused to subside.

As her breathing had become more normal, Sharline tried once more to stand on shaky legs. He had kicked her in the thighs before he left her apartment. Tears welled in her eyes once more. Oh why did this happen? Why had she provoked and taunted him with the mistress. Better he take out his frustrations on some anonymous bimbo than on her! Her nose still dribbled blood and she wiped it with the back of her hand. Gingerly she explored her cheekbone, trying to asses if it was broken or merely bruised. Sharline was used to abusive men. Her ex had been one of the worst. She just never expected the same cowardly behaviour from Paul.

Slowly she managed to get to her feet and with superhuman strength, drag her sorry arse off to the bathroom to inspect the damages. Her eye was puffing up, her lip had been busted, a purple bruise was already forming on her cheekbone, Sharline shuddered as she stared at the vacant eyed reflection. It was horrible! A child playing with mummy's makeup couldn't have done a worse job. Her face was a myriad of different hues ranging from the rusty brown of the dried blood on her lip to the scarlet red of the dripping nose. Purples, greens, blues and yellows all mingled in the whopper of a bruise she was now the owner of. Black ringed her puffy eye, sealing shut with each passing moment. Sharline knew that it was going to take more than makeup to mask this.

Turning on the taps for a bath, she peeled her clothes off her body and settled into the warm water, enjoying the tender sensation it stirred as it lapped her body with each movement. It caressed her so gently she was afraid she would fall asleep and drown.

Paul had been late for dinner.

Had she not seen him leave a local cafe with a young lady at lunch while on her errands, the evening may have panned out significantly more different. Sharline, being Sharline, she greeted him at the door, not with a smile and kiss but with an ultimatum. One that didn't bode well with Paul.

The rest was history. She didn't want to dwell on the nasty turn of events.

While she tuned out and focused on her breathing, Sharline did not hear her door open. Nor did she hear anyone enter. She was too absorbed in self pity and her own inner demons to notice the man that watched her bathe.