Page 43 of Melted by a Man

Vincent glared up at Leo, before swiping his nose once with his thumb and sniffing, stubbornness squaring his shoulders. I felt my heart drop in fear for Leo at that moment. Vincent wasn’t ever truly violent with me, but he made it clear that it was just because I was a woman. I had seen him be violent in a bar one previous time, with another man.

I didn’t want Leo to end up like that man.

“Leo—”

“And who the fuck are you? Telling me how to talk to her. I’ll talk to her however I fucking please.” I cringed and panicked at Vincent’s choice of words.

He hadn’t changed

He’d never change.

I wastedso muchtime on him.

Years of my life spent attempting to make something work with him when it wouldn’t. He would be the same, selfish, prideful, immature asshole until the day he died. I fell victim to the sunk-cost fallacy, the more time I spent trying to make it work, the more time I ended up wasting. Frustrated that I wasn’t happy with him, no matter how hard I tried. Determined to make all those years of pain and anxiety worth it.

“Leave,” Leo replied. I gasped,no, no, no.

Vincent sneered before he balled his hand into a fist and pulled back.

No, no, no!

Before Vincent’s hand could strike, Leo’s left hand came up and palmed his punch, preventing the contact to his face that my ex aimed for. I swore time slowed in those seconds. Watching the surprise on Vincent’s face as Leo’s long fingers flexed over his meaty fist. Seeing Leo’s hand perfectly engulf the entirety of Vincent’s. How Vincent was shaking and Leo…wasn’t.

I was holding my breath, watching Vincent’s eyebrows slowly rise in fear as I saw Leo’s head lower towards him. Still holding his fist in one hand. When he tried to pull out of Leo’s grip, he couldn’t.

“I wish I was a better man than this,” Leo’s voice was lethal, and I widened my eyes when in a blink, Leo’s right fist pulled back and snapped across Vincent’s face.

Right when my hands came up to cover my mouth in shock, Vincent dropped to the ground.

He groaned, but he stayed down.

A small cut started to bleed across his cheekbone, and his eyes were unable to stay open as he struggled to orient himself.

“Jacqueline,” Leo’s voice was by my ear as I stared wide-eyed at Vincent on the ground.

This man, who I feared for so long. Too long.

He was just…on the ground.

Vincent looked so small down there, at our feet, his hand slowly coming up to rub at his cheek. Pulling his fingertips back enough to see the blood. He was upset about it, but still unable to sit up from his disorientation.

“Jacqueline,” Leo’s voice was paired with his hands on my biceps this time, “We need to go.”

I glanced up, seeing the bartender stalking over and pointing to the back exit of the bar, nodding at Leo and me in farewell as he pulled out his phone to dial someone.

“Okay,” I nodded, though my feet felt heavy.

“Can I help you?” Leo asked.

I just nodded, unable to take my eyes off of Vincent.

Even when he managed to finally look up at me, I didn’t feel this crippling panic I used to. This desperate need to win his approval. For him to love me.

No, instead, I released a surprised laugh of disbelief, covering my hands over my mouth again to hide my hysterical grin as Leo used his grip to tug me out of the bar.

I felt weightless as he pulled me out of the building, into the cool day. The sound of him pulling his keys out seemed louder than normal, as did his car beeping to indicate it was unlocked.

Leo just punched Vincent in the face.

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