"You weren’t supposed to leave me.” (Patreon)

Continuation of previous snippet. "I had no intention of letting you keep me a dirty secret."

When she tried to look away, he cupped her chin and leaned down, so she couldn’t avoid him.

“I wanted to give that woman the world, but before I could, she ran from me. I told you where my head was, why I lied and said you weren’t worth the struggle, but I never contemplated letting you free. The year I refused to sign the divorce papers should have told you that. You weren’t supposed to leave me.”

Her chest locked. She struggled to take a full breath. She needed to get away, but there was no escape. The only defense she had was to close her eyes against him. He nibbled along her jawline.

“What did you promise your father in exchange for his help, Jasmine?”

She wasn’t sure why her gut twisted as if she had betrayed him. She had every right to end a marriage she didn’t want to be in. He shouldn’t have fought her choice, forcing her to involve her father, which started this war of revenge that she was still waging four years later.

“I wanted freedom,” she whispered, willing him to understand.

“There’s no such thing as freedom.”

His voice shredded as his emotions seeped through the cracks. Even with her eyes closed, she sensed the violence coursing through him, so at odds with the fingers gently massaging her prickling scalp.

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Confessions. Please do not share or distribute.