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I look into his eyes, and all the anger and hurt fades away. I can see the pain and regret in his eyes, and he means what he is saying.
Without a word, I step forward and hug him. After a few moments, I step back. "I've moved on, Tim. Did you expect me to be waiting around for you to show up?"
Tim shakes his head. "No," he said. "Why aren’t you happier to see me?"
I can't help but laugh, though the sound is tinged with sadness. I moved on and found love again—this time in the form of Adonis —and I am happy. But telling Tim is like betraying myself; wrong somehow to take away from him what little hope remains we can make things work between us one day again.
I look up into his eyes, gathering courage before speaking once more. "I am happy, and you need to move on."
"Why are you doing this? We were supposed to be getting married? And instead of waiting for me to come home after our fight, you left. You didn't care about me at all, did you?"
Is he trying to turn this around on me? Now, I'm the bad one? "You've got to be fucking kidding me." Everyone in the diner turns to me, and I pull Tim to the side. "You want to make me out as the bad person here? Until I got away from you I never realized how much I had lost. Hell, I wasn't even me anymore. The best thing I ever did was get out from underneath you."
His face becomes red and I see his fist clench. He wouldn't dare hit me in a diner full of people, but if we were alone, it might be a different story. I have never spoken my mind, especially around him, and he's not used to it.
"Wow, you have a mouth on you now. Your new boyfriend isn't doing you any favors. Does he allow you to speak to him like that?"
His fingers are now twitching like he's aching to put me in my place. This is the first time I have stood up to him and feels fucking good. "Adonis doesn't allow me to do anything. I'm my own person. He's not a controlling, manipulative asshole like you."
Tim's nostrils flare, and jaw clenches tight. He is trying to hold in his anger, to not let the patrons of this establishment see it, but it's obvious.
Judy, another waitress, is watching us from across the room and asks if I'm okay without saying a word. I nod, and give my attention back to Tim.
"He might put up with it now, but once he sees how worthless you are, he'll understand why I had to do the things I did. All you women thinking you should be treated like queens when the men are the ones that have to do everything. It's not a happy wife, happy life. It's a happy husband, happy life. Without us, you guys would be garbage."
The bell sings and Adonis steps into the diner. His eyes land on mine. He glances at Tim and then back at me. After everything, he is probably surprised to see Tim here at the diner. Or maybe I'm the lucky one and he has no idea who is standing in front of me, but by his eyes, he does.
He approaches with crossed arms, eyes full of curiosity and giving Tim an uneasy glance. My hands are trembling; the tension in the air is like a heavy blanket.
"Adonis," I say, "This is Tim."
They stare at each other with such fury.
"You left me for this guy?" he says, looking at him up and down.
Tim likes to talk a big game, but Adonis has about four inches on him, and if it came down to it, Adonis would win the fight.
"I think it's best that you leave. Right now," Adonis says, almost growling.
Tim's face flushes bright red. He turns to me and snickers. "That's okay, you'll come running back to me after he turns out to be just like me."
Adonis gives me so much more than Tim can ever provide me and even if we didn't work out, there is no way in hell I would ever go back to him.
He acts like he's going to leave and then he turns around with a gun.
27
Adonis
The people in the diner cower as Tim's grip tightens around the gun. His jaw clenched, wild eyes dart from person to person. The air is heavy with tension and panic, nobody dares to make a sound. Tim's rage is palpable and it might consume the room. He has come here with a mission and won't leave without Raven submitting to him. As I watch in horror, I realize this man has gone off the deep end. Tim brandishes the gun wildly, seeking out Raven, and deathly silence fills the air as everyone waits with bated breath for what will happen next.
My muscles tense as I lunge forward and shove Raven behind me, shielding her body with my own. I come face to face with Tim, the gunman, who spews venomous words at Raven. His eyes are wide and crazed and the gun shakes in his hands. The anger is burning inside him as he struggles to comprehend why his thoughts are fixated on her, and it makes me sick.
"You are worthless!" He screams.
His eyes get wilder with every passing second, and he swings the gun back and forth between us as if to make a point. My heart is in my throat and I know this is the moment where I must make a decision that decides our fates.
Something inside me snaps as Tim continues to berate her with every vile word imaginable. Raven trembles behind me. He wants her to break down, grind her into a dust, but a rage fills me. My voice is like steel. "You will never hurt her again." I'm not backing down and fury lives in my eyes.
