Page 74 of Man Vs. Woman
Fuck, that stings.
“Save your fucking excuses,” she yells, and her shoulders begin to quiver.
“They aren’t excuses, if you just let me---”
She cuts me off. “No, you’re not worth it. Apparently, I need to save myself. I should’ve never trusted you.” Tears stream down her face and it pains me not to wipe them away.
But my arms extend towards her anyway. I follow my heart and completely ignore my head—it’s what I’ve been doing lately, even if the logical part of me knows I’ll be slapped away.
She steps back, adding more distance between us.
“Ma’am, please quiet down. Or better yet, come with me,” the Maître D suggests in a calmly stern voice. I’ll give her credit for trying to diffuse the situation, but I think her effort is wasted. Serena is not backing down anytime soon.
“I love you. I fell in love with you. Was that your plan all along?” She keeps her attention on me, ignoring the frustrated and humiliated woman next to her.
I almost feel bad. But not that bad. I only really care about the woman yelling at me, the one I love with everything I have. Not the ridiculous appearance or scene we’re making.
“Serena, please. Calm down, let me explain, please.” I’m a second away from falling on my knees and begging her to shut up and listen to me. But I have a feeling she’ll still push me away.
“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down. Fuck you.”
Lesson number one, never tell a woman to calm down. I should’ve known that.
“Hiram and I…” I go for it, hoping I’ll get somewhere in my explanation before she stops me.
“Don’t.” She pushes me back and slaps my chest repeatedly. I stand there, taking it. She needs to let her anger out, and I’ll let her have it.
But I stop her before her palm meets my cheek.
We stand there, frozen, my hand wrapped around her wrist. Tears well up in her eyes and I stare back at her, praying that she can read my thoughts and feel my heart break.
This is not how it’s supposed to happen. She shouldn’t have found out; she was never supposed to know. It was all a part of my plan, to be her savior and make her dreams come true, while she’s oblivious to the storm brewing underneath her. Maybe, I should’ve told her to avoid all of this, but if this is how she’s acting, God only knows how she’d respond if she really knew the truth.
“It’s all for you, baby. I promise,” I plead with her, needing her to know this.
“No!” She retrieves her hand and I stagger on my feet from the sudden weight shift. “You have three days left.”
“The Board meeting?”
“Three days until all of this is over with. Until you can stop pretending with me and go on with your life, with this woman…and your new fucking business partner,” she shouts.
This woman? What the fuck?
“Stop. You need to stop.” Ok, this is getting out-of-hand. “Just listen to me.” I yell, my anger fueling the volume of my voice. The chandeliers shake from the vibrations. And, in the corner of my eye, I see the manager approaching us.
“Don’t contact me. I want nothing to do with you.” She stands like a marble statue, staring into my soul and ripping it to shreds. I look down, noticing her knuckles have turned white and she’s trembling.
Uh,Serena.Please.
“I’ll see you at the Board meeting,” she turns away and without another glance, she leaves me reeling.
What…just happened?
I made a deal with Hiram, but he still wanted me to be sure he knew who was boss?
Every person in the restaurant has turned to watch us with the same expression engrave don their face—it’s wide-eyed, open mouthed, with a few audible gasps here and there.
“Oh, fuck off! Mind your own damn business,” I shout across the room.
