question. His eyes were now disdainful.
He was judging her.
She forced herself to stay calm and just shrugged. “Maybe I have rich parents.” She never had to defend how rich her family was. It was just something that she took for granted. She was born into it.
“Or uncles.”
“Huh?”
He gave her a flagrantly lascivious once-over. “I can’t blame them. You have a good gig going, kid. Innocent girl-next-door-act. It works on some lonely old men. And idiots, too.”
She felt like he had back-handed her hard across the face.
Whack! Just a few sentences and her fairy tale dream of ever after with this man threatened to disintegrate right before her very eyes.
Everything in her screamed in violent denial.
Noooo! Please, no! You can’t do this to me, Dare! I’ve been waiting for so long for this! You can’t ruin it for me!
Fire seemed to blaze inside the cool interior of the limo. Her heartbeat accelerated again but no longer because of excitement. She could hear every painful kick of her affronted heart, almost deafening her. Angry tears of betrayal burned at the back of her eyes.
“Take it back,” she uttered in a strained voice.
His brows just rose in mockery as he drank from his glass again. “Come on, don’t be mad. You think you’ve fooled me? I have screwed enough women and I can spot a gold-digger from a mile away. How much do you need to leave Ben alone? Name it. I will pay you. Now. In cash.”
She was blind-sided.
Totally.
Nothing, as in NOTHING had prepared her for this. She had never entertained this possibility, that her knight in shining armor, the man she had put on a pedestal for so long, was a first class asshole!
She couldn’t accept it. Not his beloved Dare! This was so NOT in her dreams!
Her immediate instinct was to fight for her dreams. Defend it from the very man who was trying to destroy them.
She leaned forward aggressively. “Take it back!” she spat, her hand knocking the glass he was holding. Expensive Cognac splashed on the car’s carpeted floor.
His eyes widened in surprise.
“No wonder Ben had a heart attack! Having you as a client must have been too much for him! He told me so! Now I know! You’re the reason he had a heart attack!”
“Now, you listen here, you little...”
She jabbed a finger inches from his face. “Don’t you dare call me names! You have no right! I will not take insults from anybody, not even from you! Take it back!”
“I will take back nothing!” he growled.
She glared at him, her entire body hyper-ventilating with the turbulence of her emotions. Her chest felt constricted and she had difficulty breathing. Shock, disappointment and denial mingled inside her and she wanted to scream so she can drag more air into her suffocating lungs.
He sat there like a king, looking down at her with arrogant condescension from his high throne, his eyes raking her with indifference as he unknowingly, ruthlessly ground her precious dreams under the heel of his boot.
This was not the man she had loved for so long. For seemed like forever, she had kept him in her most sacred memories, cherished and revered. All these years he had been the living, breathing memory of that unforgettable young man she met in Coney Island, who, in less than thirty minutes, gallantly helped her conquer one of her greatest fears. He taught her how to fly. He made her young heart soar to the heavens.
The person sitting in front of her was a total stranger. She didn’t know how to deal with him.
“Stop the car!” she screamed.
“What the…? Hey, calm down!”
“I said stop the car, damn you! Stop the car, stop the car!!!”
He pushed a button and spoke, “Pull over, Carlos.”
The moment the car screeched to a halt, she scrambled to the back door.
Dare grabbed her arm.
“Let go of me!”
He let her go and she reached the door in no time. She grabbed the handle but it won’t budge. “Let me out of here!”
He was cussing behind her. The door suddenly
He was judging her.
She forced herself to stay calm and just shrugged. “Maybe I have rich parents.” She never had to defend how rich her family was. It was just something that she took for granted. She was born into it.
“Or uncles.”
“Huh?”
He gave her a flagrantly lascivious once-over. “I can’t blame them. You have a good gig going, kid. Innocent girl-next-door-act. It works on some lonely old men. And idiots, too.”
She felt like he had back-handed her hard across the face.
Whack! Just a few sentences and her fairy tale dream of ever after with this man threatened to disintegrate right before her very eyes.
Everything in her screamed in violent denial.
Noooo! Please, no! You can’t do this to me, Dare! I’ve been waiting for so long for this! You can’t ruin it for me!
Fire seemed to blaze inside the cool interior of the limo. Her heartbeat accelerated again but no longer because of excitement. She could hear every painful kick of her affronted heart, almost deafening her. Angry tears of betrayal burned at the back of her eyes.
“Take it back,” she uttered in a strained voice.
His brows just rose in mockery as he drank from his glass again. “Come on, don’t be mad. You think you’ve fooled me? I have screwed enough women and I can spot a gold-digger from a mile away. How much do you need to leave Ben alone? Name it. I will pay you. Now. In cash.”
She was blind-sided.
Totally.
Nothing, as in NOTHING had prepared her for this. She had never entertained this possibility, that her knight in shining armor, the man she had put on a pedestal for so long, was a first class asshole!
She couldn’t accept it. Not his beloved Dare! This was so NOT in her dreams!
Her immediate instinct was to fight for her dreams. Defend it from the very man who was trying to destroy them.
She leaned forward aggressively. “Take it back!” she spat, her hand knocking the glass he was holding. Expensive Cognac splashed on the car’s carpeted floor.
His eyes widened in surprise.
“No wonder Ben had a heart attack! Having you as a client must have been too much for him! He told me so! Now I know! You’re the reason he had a heart attack!”
“Now, you listen here, you little...”
She jabbed a finger inches from his face. “Don’t you dare call me names! You have no right! I will not take insults from anybody, not even from you! Take it back!”
“I will take back nothing!” he growled.
She glared at him, her entire body hyper-ventilating with the turbulence of her emotions. Her chest felt constricted and she had difficulty breathing. Shock, disappointment and denial mingled inside her and she wanted to scream so she can drag more air into her suffocating lungs.
He sat there like a king, looking down at her with arrogant condescension from his high throne, his eyes raking her with indifference as he unknowingly, ruthlessly ground her precious dreams under the heel of his boot.
This was not the man she had loved for so long. For seemed like forever, she had kept him in her most sacred memories, cherished and revered. All these years he had been the living, breathing memory of that unforgettable young man she met in Coney Island, who, in less than thirty minutes, gallantly helped her conquer one of her greatest fears. He taught her how to fly. He made her young heart soar to the heavens.
The person sitting in front of her was a total stranger. She didn’t know how to deal with him.
“Stop the car!” she screamed.
“What the…? Hey, calm down!”
“I said stop the car, damn you! Stop the car, stop the car!!!”
He pushed a button and spoke, “Pull over, Carlos.”
The moment the car screeched to a halt, she scrambled to the back door.
Dare grabbed her arm.
“Let go of me!”
He let her go and she reached the door in no time. She grabbed the handle but it won’t budge. “Let me out of here!”
He was cussing behind her. The door suddenly
Similar Books
