Jace’s grip on me tightened. “I already exined it–I was drunk and confused.”


    “If you can make that mistake once, you can make it again. And we both know, some mistakes are


    unforgivable,” I shot back, my voice firm.


    “Stop acting like you’re so perfect,” Jace snapped, his voice sharp with anger.


    Seeing him like this just made the disappointment sink in deeper. I couldn’t believe I’d ever been


    stupid enough to fall for someone like him.


    “Rea, you just want to leave me so you can mess around with other guys. Don’t think I don’t see


    what you’re up to,” he continued, trying to twist everything.


    I was so tired of this fight. “If that’s what you believe, fine. I know your pride can’t handle being


    betrayed, so why don’t you just let go of me? Let me get as far away from you as possible and


    make things easier for both of us.”


    I was desperate to escape this toxic mess, but my words only made Jace angrier. Suddenly, he


    leaned in, trying to force a kiss on me.


    I turned my head away, disgusted at the thought of his mouth–the same mouth that had kissed


    Tanya. Anger and revulsion churned inside me.


    But the more I resisted, the more enraged Jace became. He shoved me onto the desk, his hands


    roughly fumbling under my clothes. “You won’t let me touch you, but you’d let Hayden? Have you


    slept with him,


    huh?”


    His crude words and aggressive actions filled me with a mix of shame, fear, and fury. As his hand


    slid up my waist, I reached out blindly, grabbing for anything I could find. Without thinking, I swung it


    at his head.


    The loud thud echoed through the room, and Jace’s hands froze. I looked up to see his stunned


    expression, blood starting to trickle down his face.


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    A warm drop of blood dripped toward my eye, and I instinctively squeezed them shut.


    It was blood!


    The warmth of it sshed against my eyelid, then slowly slid down, tracing a path across my cheek.


    My hands were shaking, and before I could even process what I’d done, Jace’s voice, low and cold,


    hissed in my ear. “Keira Kay, listen to me. You are mine


    With that, he finally backed off. I scrambled to my feet, just in time to see Jace clutching his head as


    he stormed out of the office.


    My legs felt like jelly, and I clung to the desk behind me to keep from copsing.


    “Mr. Johnston, you’re bleeding…” I heard Gavin’s shocked voice from outside.


    “Shut up!” Jace roared, and then I heard his footsteps storming away.


    I closed my eyes, feelingpletely drained. After a few moments, I forced them open again–I


    couldn’t let anyone see me like this. I quickly made my way to the private restroom in Jace’s office.


    Standing in front of the mirror, I saw his blood smeared near my eye, the bright red streak looking


    like a twisted version of bloody tears.


    I grabbed a wet wipe and cleaned my face as best as I could, then hurried out of Jace’s office and


    left the building.


    As soon as I got home and parked the car, my phone rang. It was Lena.


    “Rea, I just saw Jace. Someone busted his head open,” she said.


    “At the hospital?” I asked quietly.


    “Yeah, his assistant was with him. He looked pretty bad,” Lena paused, then asked, “You don’t feel


    sorry for him, do you?”


    “What if I was the one who busted his head?” My response left Lena stunned into silence.


    After a few seconds, she finally asked, “Did he try to do something to you?”.


    Recalling the madness in Jace’s office just moments ago, I said, “He tried to force himself on me.”