Page 24 of Ruin Me Gently

In for four. Hold for four. Out for four.

I didn’t want to open it. Every part of me screamed not to do it, but I knew Clark. If I didn’t answer, he’d keep pounding. He’d start yelling. And if that didn’t work? He’d break the door down.

So, begrudgingly, I pushed myself up. The second I turned the lock, he shoved his way inside.

“Lilith!”

What fresh hell was this?

By the time I’d shut the door, he was already sprawled on the couch. Legs spread, one arm thrown lazily over the backrest, sinking into the cushions like he was settling in for the night. The blanket I’d been wrapped in minutes ago sat crumpled beside him, and something about that—the sight of him back in my safe space, made my stomach turn.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.

“We need to talk.” His voice was smooth, like he thought this was some casual conversation.

I crossed my arms, planting my feet firmly where I stood. “We have nothing to talk about.”

“Come on, Lilith,” he said, flashing that easy, practiced smile that’d once worked on me. “I’ve given you enough time and space to cool down.”

I let out a short laugh. “No, you haven’t.”

I raised a hand, ticking off fingers as I went.

“First of all, the gifts—those weird, manipulative, guilt-trippy little deliveries? Yeah, not exactly giving me space.” I lifted another finger. “Secondly, what exactly am I supposed to be ‘cooling down’ from? We’re done. Period.”

“What gifts?” he said, brows knitting together, feigning confusion like he hadn’t been sending them every damn day.

Before I could even open my mouth, he waved a dismissive hand.

“Would you please sit down, Lilith?”

My body moved before my brain caught up, sinking stiffly into the armchair across from him, arms folded tight. The second I hit the cushions, I knew I’d fucked up. I’dengaged.Given him the illusion that there was something here worth discussing.

“Look,” he began, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. “I know I’ve been a little out of line lately.”

A little out of line? That was how he was describing it? Like the months of emotional gaslighting and tearing me down were just a minor lapse in judgement? Like physically bruising me multiple times were just oopsy-daisy moments?

“You’ve got to understand, Lilith. You can be a bit… sensitive sometimes. I didn’t mean to upset you. You just overreact. A lot.”

My heart thudded in my throat. He was already twisting the truth, trying to rewrite the narrative right in front of me.

“And honestly,” he continued. “You’ve been acting a little crazy lately. You know that, right?”

Crazy.

He sighed dramatically, shaking his head like I was the exhausting one. Like I was the problem.

“You stormed out of the gala over nothing,” he said, his tone sharpening. “Which by the way, was completely embarrassing for both of us. You’ve been ignoring me for weeks. You blocked my damn number. That’s not fair, Lilith.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as rage simmered through my flesh. What, was he waiting for an apology?

“You’re just sonegative,”he added. “You turn everything into some dramatic ordeal. You make things so much harder than they need to be. I mean, if you think about it, with the way you were behaving, it was kind of your fault.”

“This is your fault!”

I flinch, shrinking back, pressing myself into the wall as her voice lashes against me.

“It’s always your fault! If you’d do as you were told the first time, he wouldn’t do this! Don’t just sit there shaking, you were asking for it!”

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