Page 33 of Michael
Richard steps closer, wariness washing away his fury. “Listen to me, that necklace is wrong,” he assures me. “Jack Langley is a lowlife demon and… you’d do best to stay away from him!”
My brow furrows. “Jack Langley?”
I’ve forgotten all about him—my mission, my ticket out of hell! Just days ago, I set out on my journey to find him—himbeing the mysterious man who could potentially help me escape from this cursed fate and move on with my life. How could I have forgotten?
“Don’t even think about meeting him,” he demands.
Forthcoming tears warm my eyes. “Why are you doing this? You gave me the charmed necklace so I could find my fated love, and now I have! He’s my only way out of our contract!”
Richard’s eyes suddenly darken. “Do you see this bracelet, darling?” He snatches my wrist and lifts it, holding it at eye-level. “It meansforever.I willneverlet you go.”
My tears spill and roll down my cheeks. Shit. I’m crying in front of Richard, and that makes me furious. He promised to help me find a way out of this mess, yet here he is, stopping me from achieving just that.
He doesn’t seem bothered by my emotional outburst, however; in fact, it seems to please him. He sneers as he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, keeping the bracelet on my wrist firmly in place like a prison sentence.
I try to push him away, but he won’t budge; I’m too weak to break free from his grip.
“It’s time for you to move on from this nonsense,” he says in a low voice meant only for me. “You’re mine now, and I’m not letting go.”
My heart sinks as reality sets in—he was never going to let me go, no matter what I did or said. I take a deep breath and try to stop the tears from flowing; there’s no point in crying over something that can’t be changed now. All I can do is accept my fate and make the most out of this situation... But I won’t.
Rage swells up inside me as I look into his eyes. I can’t believe how controlling he is, trying to keep me from finding my freedom. But I’m not taking it anymore.
“Fuck it.” I jerk away from him and step back. “I’m calling him.”
Richard’s face contorts with fury and he steps forward with a menacing expression. “Don’t you dare, Amanda!” His voice is low but firm and vibrates through the air like thunderclaps.
I don’t let his intimidating aura stop me, though; I just clench my fists and stand there resolutely, determined to make this call no matter what he says or does. After what feels like an eternity of silent tension between us, I firmly speak, “You can’t stop me, Richard.” I take another step back, pushing away his outstretched hands. He follows me and I quickly move away towards the center of the room, knowing that he’d never cross the line of protection I created there weeks ago.
“I can fucking well try...” His voice is low and menacing as he marches closer to me. The air around us grows tense, the intensity radiating from him almost burning my skin.
I stand my ground and put a brave face on. “Stay back,” I say. In a flash, I peel off the carpet beneath me, revealing a magic circle of protection.
He sighs and stops in his tracks for a second, then resumes his aggressive advance. “Fuck, Amanda,” he says with desperation in his voice. “Don’t do this! You don’t know that devil as I do. He will ruin you, love! You’d be so much happier with me!”
I shake my head, not believing how manipulative he’s being right now. He’s trying to scare me into staying with him forever, but it won’t work. I’ve decided that nothing will stop me from making this call—nothing except maybe fear itself... And even then, I’m determined to overcome it and keep going until I get what I want: freedom from Richard’s controlling clutches.
“Fuck off, Richard!” Anger and fear course through my veins.
He stares at me with a mixture of disbelief and rage, but he knows I’m serious. I take one last look at him before turning away as I grab my phone from my jeans pocket.
“Leave!” I tell him, and the demon finally fades and disappears.
My fingers tremble as I scroll through my contacts until I find Jack’s number. Taking a deep breath, I press the call button and wait for him to pick up.
“Hello?” His voice is gruff, but familiar.
“Jack Langley? It’s Amanda… from the Speed Dating place?” My voice is steady despite the pounding of my heart. “We need to talk.”
There’s a pause on the other end as he processes what I’ve said before his reply comes out in a thin stream of air. “What do you want?”
I launch into an explanation about Richard’s attempts to control me, how much it hurts that he can’t accept that I have freedom of choice and how scared I am of being stuck with him forever if I don’t do something about it now. When I finish, there’s silence again—but this time it feels different; like he knows exactly how desperate this situation is and what needs to be done to get out of it.
Finally, after what feels like ages, he speaks again: “Amanda, meet me tomorrow night at the DeLux Café.” He gives me further instructions before hanging up without saying goodbye.
The conversation leaves me both relieved and scared; relieved because someone finally understands my needs and scared because now there’s no turning back—whatever happens next will determine my future with Richard forevermore.
CHAPTER19
