other things, but Aedian wanted to taste her. He wanted to have her limp and pliable against him, making those pretty sounds as she begged for more.
What he got was an outraged gasp and her rearing back and slapping him in the face.
The shock of it made him release her, and she stepped back, eyes hard as she glared at him. It looked like she was going to hit him again, but then she just turned on her heel and marched out of the bathroom.
Aedian listened as she got dressed, as she cursed at him and grabbed up her things. And then he listened as the door closed behind her, standing there in the bathroom, unmoving.
The anger in him had dissolved with the slap to the face, and even though it had barely hurt, the shock of her hitting him had jolted him out of the mood he’d been in.
And once the anger was gone, he was left with something that felt a lot like shame, a feeling he was quite unused to.
Chapter 6: A Matter of Forgiveness
“The nerve of him, honestly,” Roxanne ranted, pacing back and forth in her parents’ living room. “Like I’m just some kind of toy for him to pick up and put down when he wants. Like, I’m a...a stress ball or something for him to take his frustrations out on. Who does he think he is?”
Her parents sat on the couch, watching her with wary eyes as she paced. Neither of them said anything, but it was clear that Roxy didn’t need their input. She just wanted to get this out of her before she exploded. The whole drive to their house she’d been fuming, muttering under her breath, but trying to keep her temper under control lest she get into some kind of accident and hurt other people with her anger.
She didn’t want that.
But as soon as she’d cleared the threshold of her parents’ house, she let all of it come spilling out.
“And the worst part is that this is just what my life is going to be like now,” she said. “Because I’m stuck with him. It’s just going to be bickering and him trying to use me, and I hate it!”
Her mother flinched back from the anger in her voice and then sighed. “Roxy, dear, have you considered that this was an isolated incident?”
“What?”
“Well…” Her mother and father exchanged glances. “You said he’s never done anything like this before, right?”
“...Right,” Roxy admitted, somewhat reluctantly.
“Well, then. Maybe he was just in a bad place and made a mistake. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to set the tone for your whole relationship. If I got discouraged at every stupid thing your father’s ever done, you wouldn’t have even been born.”
“Oh, thanks,” her father said dryly. “But your mother has a point, Roxanne.”
“Oh sure, take his side,” Roxy muttered, folding her arms.
“You’re my daughter, Roxanne. I’m always on your side, I’m just saying that-”
“And of course it’s always going to be like this,” Roxy cut in. “That’s just how he is. He sees me as something inferior, something weak. Why wouldn’t he take advantage of that when it suits him? He’s showing his true colors more and more.”
There was a moment of silence, and her mother sighed. “Darling, I’m not making light of this, because I can tell you’re upset, and if you think this is going to be a problem, I promise I’ll do everything I can to try and get you out of marrying him, I just… Did you even talk to him about it after it happened?”
Roxanne stared at her mother in disbelief. This was the woman who had congratulated her for punching Robbie Harper in the face when he’d unhooked her bra in math class. This was the woman who had taught her that she was the only one who had control over her body and that she didn’t have to put up with anyone doing anything to it that she didn’t want. And now she was sitting there telling her that she was overreacting about this?
“No, I didn’t talk to him ,” she said, as if the very idea was ridiculous, which it was. “I slapped him and got the hell
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