Onyx

Chapter 16: In Which Revenge will be Hers (Onyx)

I was just turning on my cellphone, sorting through all the messages that I had missed while I was out with Ren when I thought I heard a car door slam. Nothing followed in the moments after but silence, so I continued scrolling past the millions of calls from Khalan that flooded my lockscreen. He even left a couple of voicemails that I wouldn't dare listen to. I pushed the thought of him into the deep recesses of my mind, swiping to remove the notifications, and my mind drifted back to the stranger I'd encountered instead when I pulled out the black business card with his cell phone number listed on it.

Ren was such a wild card that it threw me for a loop. He was rough, but his edges were smooth and pliable. I could tell he didn't trust people easily, but he did help me in the end when I had no one else to turn to. And for that, I would be eternally grateful to him. He had cleared up the misunderstanding of what I overheard in the garage. Although he wouldn't go into details, he said it had something to do with family back in his home country. He was just trying to protect his sister and her kids from whatever unresolved conflict that remained between them. And I could understand that I didn't know what it was like to be in that position. I had no right to judge him.

It wasn't any of my concern, but I was still worried for Lana and her littles. Especially when her boyfriend liked to throw her around from time to time. I bit down on my lip in frustration.

My mind was slipping into the memories I had made over just a few short hours. My chest was burning with an unknown passion. Although I was still without my car for a few days, I had saved up some time off, so I was in no rush to get back to the office. I would just be on leave for the rest of the week while I got my life sorted out. That was all that I needed.

Hopefully.

I punched the digits in before I could pussy out of calling him to thank him. The phone rang a few times before I heard a loud boom towards the foyer.

The sound of the door being forced open as it ricocheted off the wall behind it had me scurrying towards the kitchen in a panic. Who was in my house? The only person who had a spare key was my ex-husband. I knew I had made sure to lock the deadbolt after I came in.

I could see a tall form of someone's shadow on the wall, but no identifying features. I kept quiet, trying to think of a way to defend myself. Maybe Ren was crazy after all? I knew I shouldn't have given him my address.

"Honey... I'm home."

A voice of knives wrapped in velvet called out to me as I continued to shy away from the noise coming from the foyer. I could hear dress shoes tapping against the hardwood floors before the form stepped out and spotted me standing frozen in the middle of the kitchen. He was dressed in his usual long sleeve collared-shirt, black slacks, and loose hair as he closed the distance between us.

"Khalan, why are you even here? You kno—" He rushed towards me, trapping me in the kitchen until he crowded my space. There's no escaping him now. I stumbled backwards until my backside bumped into the counter, but he continued forward in pursuit of me.

"You fucking him?"

"What are you—" He pressed a finger against my lips to hush me.

"Onyx, don't you dare fucking lie to me." He was even closer now, his hot breath fanning against my face.

"Did. You. Fuck. Him." Khalan pronounced each syllable in those four words, leaving no room for misinterpretation. When I continued to disobey him by not answering his question, he grabbed both of my cheeks into his hot hands, pulling our faces close enough that our breath mingled in the thick air.

"Baby, I'm not going to ask you again." He kisses my forehead quickly before returning his eyes to mine in search of an answer.

I loudly swallowed but said nothing more. I didn't have anything to say to a man who could abandon me and not even say a word. Again, I was supposed to be his wife crying out loud! Everything always revolved around him. Still, he had learned nothing in our time apart. Was there truly no hope for us?