AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His eyes never leave mine, searching for an answer to my reaction. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Did I do something? If I moved too fast, Charlotte, I apologize.”
I take a deep breath, trying to collect my thoughts. “It’s not you,” I say, my voice barely audible. His piercing gaze never leaves mine as I choke back a sob. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then what is it?”
My heart races as I take a shaky breath, steeling myself to reveal my darkest secret. “I just got out of an abusive relationship,” I confess, my voice trembling with fear and desperation.
“How long?” he demands in a low, dangerous tone.
“Seven years,” I choke out, tears threatening to spill from my eyes as I relive the nightmare all over again.
“Seven years,” Thor repeats, his voice filled with anger and concern.
“Yes,” I admit. “I divorced him six months ago.” The memory of our divorce rushes back to me. The sneer on Terrance’s face as he blamed me for everything. His arrogance that the beatings I’d endured because of him were my fault.
“Tell me what happened,” he growls.
I take a deep breath and recount a watered-down version of my life with my ex-husband. The longer I talk, the darker Thor’s eyes go until there’s almost no light left in his eyes. He hisses in anger when I tell him how Terrance manipulated me into getting a hysterectomy after I had lost a baby. His way of preventing further accidents, he said.
“Where does this motherfucker live?” Thor asks, his voice so low and dangerous it sends a shiver down my spine.
“He doesn’t matter anymore.”
“The fuck he doesn’t,” Thor fires back. He begins to pace in front of me. Anger wafting off him in thick waves. “Tell me, Charlotte.”
“Thor,” I mutter, stepping forward and pressing my hand to his chest. It rises and falls rapidly under my touch. “He doesn’t matter. He’s not worth whatever you’re thinking right now.”
“I can’t help the way I feel, Charlotte. Knowing that had I not stepped in last night, the cycle of abuse in your life would have continued.”
“But it didn’t, and I met you because of it.”
Thor’s expression softens, his eyes filled with empathy. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Charlotte. No one deserves to be treated that way.”
His words provide a small comfort, but the pain still lingers deep within me. I take a deep breath, willing myself to continue the conversation.
“I’ve been trying to rebuild my life since the divorce, to move forward, but sometimes the memories and fears still haunt me.”
“He choked you, didn’t he?” Guilt flashes on his face. “When I touched your neck, you went back there.”
I nod my reply.
“I moved too fast. It’s on me.”
“No, it’s not,” I argue. “You didn’t know. I wasn’t fully honest with you earlier when you asked about my life, but how do you tell someone you’ve just met something like that?”
Thor takes a step closer to me, his eyes filled with determination.
“Charlotte, I want you to know I will never hurt you. I will never force you into anything you’re not ready for.”
I can feel the sincerity in his words and genuine concern for my welfare radiating from him.
“Thank you,” I whisper, tears streaming down my face. “Thank you for understanding.”
Thor brushes away my tears gently with his thumb, his touch calming the storm raging within me. “You don’t have to thank me, Charlotte. I’m here for you. We’ll take things slow, at your pace. Pressuring you is the last thing on my mind right now.”
A sense of relief washes over me as his words sink in. For the first time since escaping the clutches of my abusive past, I dare to believe that love and happiness might still be possible for me.
“What do we do now?”
