Page 98 of Words We Didn't Say

I forced down gulps of air, trying to stop my hand from shaking as I dusted a coat of powder on her face. “Take it from someone who grew up around a man like him. Chriswon’tchange. He’ll get worse. It’s not the hours. Or the pressure. It’shim.Lola, please, I know people. I can help you find somewhere—”

“N-No. Thank you. I appreciate you helping me with this.” Her fingers hovered above her cheek. “But I don’t want to cause any more trouble.”

“Please,”I begged. “Let me help.”

Lola’s head bowed. She wasn’t ready for this conversation yet—not from me, anyway. I wasn’t a superhero. I was a stranger. As much as I wanted to swoop in and save her, that wasn’t how life worked.

“No matter what that bastard says, youdon’tdeserve it,” I whispered. “I know you’ll find your strength one day. And if I can do anything to help you get there, just ask. Everyone knows where to find me.”

Lola nodded. She rose to her feet and carefully checked her shawl in the mirror. She was going to walk out that door. Not to escape, but to stand beside the same man whose handprint was hidden under the makeup I’d applied to her pale skin.Me.I’d hidden it.

My heart cracked down the middle.

I couldn’t stay.

I couldn’t stand there knowing what would happen to her tonight…or tomorrow…or every day until she left him.

With a sad smile, I edged away and… I ran.

I flew out of the door, stumbling down the suffocating corridors until I burst back into the function room. My eyes desperately searched the crowd. I needed to find Zach. The partnership announcement was so close. He needed to know the truth about the man he idolised. Even if Lola wouldn’t listen,hewould. I needed his arms around me so I could crumble into a fit of tears. He was safe.Home. The opposite of the monsters who walked around in the world undetected until you stumbled on them in a corridor.

WherewasZach?

I rushed onto the deck, the salt breeze a relief on my burning skin. I leant over the railing, sucking down breaths, trying to dull my anger—and the fear it masked—by watching the swell of the ocean bobbing to the horizon.

I’m…done.

Done with small talk. Done pretending Chris wasn’t the boss from hell. Done seeing another broken woman who hadn’t found her wings. I growled. I’d left her in the bathroom! I should’ve dragged her into a taxi! I should’ve—

A hand palmed my backside. I swallowed down my emotions, plastered on my bravest face, and, shimmying a little, turned around to sass Zach.

“So,” I drawled. “We’re back to playing this ga—”

My smile vanished. Chris stood eye-to-eye with me. I considered Zach’s promotion for less than a nanosecond before my fight instinct flew out with a vengeance, and I smacked that smug bastard’s hand away. Hard.

He laughed.

Laughed.

“Keep your fucking hands off me,” I hissed at him.

Chris was too close to my ear and stinking like the expensive alcohol boring bastards like him preferred drinking. “Is that the best you’ve got? I’m disappointed.”

“Step away, old man,” I warned him. “This ain’t happening.”

“Rugby players more your thing? I remember you had quite a thing for musicians back in the day.” A blond eyebrow arched. “You certainly get around, Eden.”

I lifted my chin.Please. Slut-shaming? Nothing emasculated a man like him more than a woman who enjoyed sex on her own terms.

I restrained my anger under the fakest of smiles. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

“Oh, I’ve heard plenty.” Chris’s eyes locked on my chest as his fingers reached for a feel, but I was even quicker. A harsh crack rang out as my hand connected with his cheek. Chris’s eyes flashed. Not with anger. He was laughing again.

“You’re fuckingperfect,Eden.”

“You’re fuckingdisgusting, Chris,” I seethed. “Take your drunk arse back inside and find your fiancée.Ifyou can find her. One day soon, she’ll realise she can do a lot better than your abusive arse.”

Saying those words was a mistake.

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