Page 63 of Someone Like You

“Do not speak to her, Giselle. Ignore her.” Casimir seethed through his teeth.

I took several steps forward until I stood by his side.

“I am not a part of Casimir’s life to take advantage of him or to use him for my benefit. I’m not here to make him into anything other than the man he is, and I see him for who he is and accept him for who he is. So, whatever you’re thinking, please get it out of your head. I was not involved with your husband while the two of you were married. And I do not need him or any man to take financial care of me when I’m capable of doing so myself. In fact,—”

“Giselle!”

I jumped at the bite in his voice and the way he gripped my upper arm and pulled me protectively behind him.

“I’m glad that you’re feeling that way now,Dr. Champagne.Because I can promise you that I will be bringing this before the state board, and we’ll see what they have to say about the matter.”

My heart dropped, and I closed my eyes. This was the main reason I hadn’t wanted to get involved with Casimir besides him being married.

Casimir moved so fast that it caught both Bethany and me off guard.

“I swear to God, if she so much as gets a letter about a hearing for unprofessional conduct, you will regret it,” he growled as he backed her up against the wall.

I had never seen Bethany have anything other than an attitude of superiority or outrage. Fear etched on the planes of her face or shining from her eyes wasn’t a look I ever thought I’d see. Yet, her skin had blanched pale, and her eyes were wide.

“Casimir,” I called gently.

Despite my heart breaking, I was more concerned about the impact his actions would have on his future if he threatened her in any way. I wasn’t worried that he would cause harm to her. Although I hadn’t known either of them long, I knew Casimir well enough to know in my heart that he would never hit a woman.

“You’d do well to remember what the fuck I told you, Beth. If I catch you around here again, I promise that you’ll wish that you had never lain eyes on me in life!”

Bethany jumped and backed up out of the door after I tugged on Casimir’s arm one final time and forced him to back up.

He slammed the door so hard that the vase on the foyer table shook. He caught it just before it smashed to the ground. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ward off the inner turbulence that I didn’t realize I was feeling until Bethany left.

“Giselle,” Casimir called to me through the emotional fog that I staggered through.

I didn’t respond, still reeling by the fact that Bethany not only knew about us and threatened my license, but the night before he came to me, he had been with her.

“Giselle,” Casimir stated again as he grabbed my shoulders and slightly shook me.

“What?” I knew my voice was cold and riddled with anger, but I did not care. I was angry with myself for making such a stupid decision to become involved with him.

“Are you okay?”

“No. I’m not.”

He crushed me to him and wrapped me up in his arms. “I’m so sorry, baby. So sorry,” he whispered. He repeated it until it turned into Spanish. “Lo siento.”

I recalled that his father was Dominican, and he grew up in a household that spoke both English and Spanish.

I pulled back from his grasp and stared up at him. “It won’t be okay, Cas. I could lose my license behind this.”

“And I will take care of you.”

“I don’t want to depend on a man to take care of me.”

He gripped my chin and tilted it back. “Do you recall when I told you the moment that we had sex, it created an inseparable bond, a soul tie, and that you now belonged to me, and I belonged to you?”

Tears pricked my eyes. “What’s that got to do with anything?” I asked and angrily swiped tears from my eyes.

“That shit meant everything to me, Giselle. I don’t talk for the sake of hearing my voice. When I speak, I mean what the fuck I say. You’re mine. And I take care of what belongs to me. Even if that means I gotta go to war. If that bitch wants a war, she’s got one.”

“She’s threatened my license, though, Casimir.”

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