Page 95 of I see you Beauty

That’s why I let him go; I could hear in your voice how exhausted and scared you were. You’ve been through so much lately, and I didn’t want to put you through more by killing your husband—soon-to-be ex-husband—in front of you. But don’t worry, baby. He’ll pay.

Your whole body won’t stop shaking and quivering in fear. That’s why I decided to take you upstairs, away from all the blood on the floor. You don’t need to see any of this. I’ll deal with it later.

“Come on. I’ll take you upstairs and look at your face,” I say calmly before lifting you and carrying you up the stairs.

You don’t make any effort or move except to cling to me like a little child and ask for comfort and support. I’m here, Beauty. Always. I’ll be with you forever and protect you from everything!

When I arrive in your bathroom, I carefully place you on the toilet seat and then look for a first aid kit. You slump down like a little heap of misery. Your face is already glowing in the most horrible colors. Your lip has burst open, and the first swellings are already visible. This jerk has dared to mess you up like this. Fuck, Beauty! I’m going to kill him! For you! For doing this to you. I promise you, he’ll pay!

I finally find what I’m looking for under the sink, and a little later I kneel in front of you, armed with the first aid kit so that I can take care of you. With a gauze cloth soaked in disinfectant, I carefully dab your face and remove the blood from your lip, cleaning the wound at the same time. A hissing sound escapes you; otherwise, you bravely put up with it.

“I’m proud of you, little lioness. You stood up to him and finally kicked him out,” I murmur and press a kiss to the top of your head.

“Thank you,” you breathe as I finish fixing up your beautiful face and wash my hands.

I quickly dry them and squat down in front of you so that I can look at you, as your gaze is already lowered again.

“Hey. You never have to thank me. I’ll always be there for you, Beauty,” I reply, giving you a delicate kiss on the corner of your mouth.

Our eyes meet, and you nod weakly.

“I… I really did it. I broke up with him,” you stutter as if you still can’t believe you went through with it.

“I’m proud of you, baby. You deserve better.”

You nod, then stand up, and I will give you the space you need right now. Even though I wish I could spare you from this, you’ll eventually see your face. Slowly and with a hunched posture, you approach the counter to look at yourself in the mirror.

As you stand in front of it, your eyes widen and you gasp for air, clapping your hand over your mouth, visibly overwhelmed by what you see.

“Should I leave?” I ask you, even though it’s the last thing I want. I know you don’t want to be restricted anymore.

And even if I just want to be with you all the time, to hold you, taste you, touch you, and feel you, I don’t want to do anything to scare you off. You’re like a shy deer. I must think about every move. But you are also worth it to me; you protect me from myself and keep me safe from my old patterns. You heal me and dispel the darkness within me.

Your eyes find me in the mirror, and you shake your head firmly. Relief floods through me. You can’t do without me any more than I can do without you. You want me with you, and you want me to hold and comfort you through the night.

Beauty, you couldn’t make me any happier. From the beginning, I wanted nothing more than to finally hold you in my arms, fall asleep with you, and wake up again in the morning. It’s not about our fantastic sex but about holding the woman I adore, protecting you, loving you, and cherishing the privilege of owning you. You are mine now, Beauty. Mine alone, and finally, no one will come between us!

Chapter Sixty-Four

“Can you get me some ice from downstairs, please?” I ask Ezra, still looking at him through the mirror.

He nods and then leaves me alone. I immediately burst into tears again and looked at my bruised face in horror. Blue and green marks, swelling, redness, and my bloody, thick lip. I look terrible, and I don’t know how I will explain this to June tomorrow when she comes home from college.

Her world is about to fall apart when I tell her I’ve broken up with her father. Because I meant it. This is the end. Thomas has gone too far. I know it wasn’t right of me to cheat on my husband, and I don’t want to absolve myself of any guilt. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t have beaten me up like that again.

I should have made this choice much sooner. For the first time, I feel truly free, able to breathe without a weight pressing down on my chest. Is it wrong to feel this way? Everything is out of alignment, but I’m accepting it as it is. Leaving my husband feels like the right decision.

However, I will still tell June tomorrow that I’ve fallen down the stairs and her father is away on business. I need some distance and don’t want to bump into Thomas again soon. I need time and space, and I will take it for the first time in over twenty years, and he has to accept it.

I glance at the rest of my body and realize it hasn’t been spared. One bruise follows the next across my ribs and back. I look terrible and feel at least as bad as I look. At least my story about the stairs will sound credible.

“Fuck!” a dark curse snaps me out of my appraisal; I quickly lower my dress again and turn to Ezra. “Let me see. Is something broken? A rib?” he demands to know and is next to me in three quick strides.

Ezra puts the bag of ice in the sink and gently turns me around so he can examine my upper body again.

“It’s nothing. It… looks worse than it is. You probably always have marks like this, especially how you guys fight in the ring.” I play it off because I don’t want Ezra to worry.

“It's different in the ring because you're facing an evenly matched opponent, and both participants are willingly entering the fight, fully aware of the risks. It's a controlled environment for sport or anger management, not intended to cause serious harm or injury.”

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