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I glance at my sister, Isabella, and she narrows her eyes at me. “We are not doing that,” she states before quickly glancing at Imogen. “No offence.”
“You practically live at Starbucks,” I point out. “Just think of how much you would save.”
“It’s bad enough my birthday is in December. I always have to hear, ‘this is part of your Christmas present too’ and I’m done with it.”
Imogen taps the end of the knife on the table. “I have to admit, I wouldn’t like to share my birthday with Christmas. It’s bad enough mine is in November.”
“She gets it.”
“You fucking bitch,” is roared, and Imogen startles, spinning around towards the door.
“Shit!” Hope hisses, watching Zach storm towards us.
I get up, standing between him and Imogen. “You need to go now before I throw you out.”
He doesn’t even look at me. “What have you been telling people now? Isn’t ripping my heart out, shacking up with him, and ruining my fucking life enough? Are you that insecure? I tried to give you a second chance and you blew it.”
“What are you talking about?” she asks, getting to her feet. And I notice Hope pry the knife from her hand. “Are you not sick of singing the same tune?”
“You’ve been telling people fucking lies,” he screams.
“Sounds like a Clubland song from two thousand and twelve,” Hope mutters.
“Someone has set fire to my car and spray-painted ‘woman beater’ on my house,” Zach continues like he wasn’t interrupted.
“That wasn’t me,” Imogen declares.
“No, but you’ve clearly been telling your psychotic family lies, and in return, they’ve torched my car. It has their animal behaviour written all over it.”
Hope clears her throat. “And here you are, tempting fate once again.”
“First, that sounds like ayouproblem. And second, how is it a lie if you raised your hand to me?”
Mum inhales sharply. “Benjamin, take the trash out,” she orders, then starts rattling off profanities in Italian.
“Shut the fuck up,” he snaps, before turning his angry glare towards Imogen. “You are going to pay for this. You want to treat me like this after everything I’ve given you. Then so be it. But I’m taking back the years you took from me. I’m going to take everything you love away and see how you like it. I’m going—”
“That’s it, you’re done,” I demand, and quicker than he expected, I have his arm pinned behind his back and I’m pushing him towards the door. I want to rip his head from its socket, or smash it against a wall until it caves in. When footsteps follow, I stop and turn to Imogen. “Enjoy the food. I won’t be a minute.”
Something in my expression must give her concern because she nods and slowly takes a step back.
I continue to push him towards the exit, ignoring the gazes from the other guests eating their dinner.
“Get the fuck off me,” he roars.
Once we get outside, I shove him away from me. He tries to go back inside, so I quickly grab him and pin him against the wall, my forearm across his throat.
“You will not come near her again. You will not stalk her home. You will not speak to her. Or breathe the same air as her. Imogen is no one to you anymore, and it will stay that way.”
“She set her fucking family on me,” he spits out, his face bright red. “Can’t you see what a bitch she is?”
“All I see is a scorned ex-lover who isn’t happy things have ended.”
“Then you understand why I’m angry.”
“I’m talking about you,” I growl. “You think I don’t know you? I do. You’ve had that girl fooled for years, and now she is seeing the real you.”
His veins in his temples bulge. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
