AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who hurt you?” His voice breaks the silence, soft yet firm. “You flinch whenever I come near. Why?”
The question, simple but loaded with depth, slices through my defenses.
I hesitate, not because I don’t trust him, but because voicing my pain makes it real, gives it life. Yet, something about him, perhaps the earnestness in his eyes or the protective aura he exudes, compels me to open up.
My voice trembles, betraying the turmoil within as I start to unravel the threads of my past. “My boss,” I begin, the words tasting bitter, “he always stood too close to me. Made work a nightmare. I needed the money so I kept quiet about him even when he started to touch. I don’t like being touched. Well, I didn’t. Until you took my hand.”
He shakes his head. “Who else? Your father?”
I continue, the dam breaking. “He’s an asshole. Mom died when I was little. She’d kept him in check but after she passed, he had no one to stop him drinking. It’s the drink that makes him violent.”
“You want him killed?” He leans forward in his chair. “Say the word and both your father and your boss are dead.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“The men who hurt you today. They’re dead. All three of them.”
“I don’t want anyone else hurt,” I whisper, a desperate attempt to cling to a semblance of peace, “I’ve seen too much fighting in my life. I just want to feel safe, you know? To be at peace. Dumb dream, I know.”
“Nothing dumb about it. Don’t let anyone tell you peace is impossible.”
In his gaze, I sense a promise of safety not just from harm, but from the loneliness that’s been my constant companion. It’s as if he sees me, truly sees me, in a way no one else has. And it’s terrifying because it makes me want to lean into that feeling, to trust it might be love.
He nods. “I have increased the security on your home today, ensured the mortgage is paid off. No one will ever hurt you again.” He frowns, seeing me shaking my head. “Problem?”
“I’m not worth all this trouble,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself, an unconscious attempt to shield my curvy frame from his scrutinizing gaze. “Why am I so important to you?”
His voice is steady when he answers. “I’ve been watching you longer than you might be comfortable with,” he admits, his gaze never wavering.
His confession sends a shiver down my spine. “You’ve been watching me?” I say.
I’ve felt eyes on me before, chalked it up to city living or my own paranoia. But to know it was him, all this time? It scares me. Yet, amidst the fear, a perverse sense of being cared for seeps in. Can I be angry at him for watching over me when it’s brought me to safety today?
“I first saw you a year ago. I was driving by your store when you walked past and I had my car stop at once. I couldn’t stop staring at you. I’ve driven past every weekday at the same time for the last year.
“I’ve seen the way you bite at your lip when you’re stressed. The way you rub your hands together no matter how warm it is. I know how stressed you are, all the time.”
My heart skips a beat. “You noticed that?”
“And how you always pause at the corner bakery, looking at the pastries but rarely buying anything. You should, they taste good.”
I shake my head. “I can’t eat from there every morning. I’d be twice this size.”
“You should eat well. And they make damned good pastries there. Those books you always carry. You a history fan?”
“My mother was a historian. She wrote a few books about the middle ages. I guess it’s my way of being close to her.” A shiver runs down my spine as he stares into my soul.. “Why? Why watch me so closely?”
He sighs, his gaze not leaving mine. “Because even from a distance, I could see the caution in your steps, the wary glance over your shoulder.
I noticed the days you seemed more tired, the mornings you rushed more than usual, like you were running from something. I thought it might be a boyfriend but I decided not.”
“I’ve never had a boyfriend.” The words are out before I can stop them.
“Ever been kissed?”
I shake my head. “Go ahead, laugh at me.”
He frowns. “I would never laugh at you. You’re my addiction. Watching over you isn’t a choice; it’s a compulsion. You ask why you’re important and I’ll tell you. You’re the only thing good and pure in my life and I want to protect you. Let me and I’ll give you the world.”
