Ew! Ew! Ew!
I pushed him away, but it was too late. I’d have to wash my mouth out with soap, like, a thousand times, to forget the slimy feel of his lips on mine.
I was about to scream at him to get out of my house, but the words lodged in my throat. Not because I wasn’t furious with Asher for kissing me, but because….
Victor. Victor was standing at the top of the stairs.
And for once, he didn’t look like a cold and removed raven.
More like an enraged dragon.
31
VICTOR
Dawn and Asher were so involved in their conversation that they didn’t notice Victor standing at the top of the stairs. White noise filled his head when he realized what they were arguing about.
Yet several words and phrases broke through the static, like horror movie serial killers, determined to mortally wound. Kissing you in front of me.… Everything I did to make sure we’d be in the same city… I want to be with you…
Along with her assurances to him that she was definitely getting a divorce.
Then Asher kissed her.
A red rage instantly replaced the white noise. In a flash, Victor was down the stairs, slamming a fist into the face of the man, who had actively tried to replace him. The man who cared nothing for the ring on his wife’s finger.
The man Dawn would be with now if not for Victor’s interference.
Asher’s glasses went flying, but the other man put up a surprisingly good fight. Phantom’s report had mentioned that he was Israeli by birth. He’d obviously done his mandatory military service. Perhaps even served in the special forces.
It took some effort on Victor’s part, but eventually, he got in a face hit that sent Asher to the floor.
As soon as he fell, Victor pounced on top of his fallen enemy. He grabbed the man who would dare to replace him by the front of his shirt and drove his fist into Asher’s face again.
“Victor! Victor! Stop, you’ve got to stop!” Dawn screamed somewhere in the background. “Please, you’ll kill him!”
Victor would not stop. His fist would be the last thing this maah lat gwai saw before he died.
He raised his arm to hit him again and again, as many times as it took until he was no longer breathing.
But Dawn grabbed the wrist of his striking arm before he could. She used all of her body weight to pull his arm in the other direction so that it could not go forward again.
“Victor, please!” she pleaded with Victor. “I don’t want anybody dying because of me.”
Dawn’s voice broke through his red haze. She was begging…
Begging for him to let go of the man she really wanted to be with after May 25th.
“I was warned about you before we began this partnership. A former Red Diamond told me that you were brilliant at crime. But stupid when it came to a girl once. So I decided to give you a woman. A beautiful one with an outstanding pedigree and background. My own daughter. But I suppose that American saying is true. ‘You can’t fix stupid.’”
Kuang regarded him from across the table of the very public and well-lit bar Victor had chosen for this conversation.
Phantom shifted in his seat. He was acting as Victor’s translator for this meeting since Han was still in Hawaii. But diplomacy wasn’t his cousin’s strong suit. He looked over at Victor, not sure how he should respond to Kuang’s insult.
Victor simply repeated to Kuang what he’d said at the beginning of their conversation, making signs that Phantom translated in real time: “I cannot go through with this marriage, but our partnership can continue to thrive without it. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that. Simply name your price, and you will have it.”
Kuang dipped his head, seeming to consider Victor’s counter offer. But then he said, “There are consequences for stupid actions. That’s something you must learn. Someone will have to teach you that lesson, once and for all.”
With that not-so-thinly-veiled threat made, Kuang then stood up and left without a further word.
“Well, that went well,” Phantom said in Kuang’s wake. “Guess The Silent Triad wasn’t so great at this buddy-buddy shit after all. Lucky for you, I still excel at fucking up bitches who to try to cross us.”
Victor smiled at his cousin’s coarse-yet-accurate summation of their current situation with Kuang.
“Thank you for your continued loyalty, Hak-kan,” he signed to his cousin with a solemn head bow.
Maybe because Victor so rarely called him by his Cantonese name, Phantom returned the bow. But then he picked up the beer he ordered and grumbled, “Hope she’s worth it.”
“She is,” Victor assured his cousin before signaling for the check.
Yes, things with Kuang would most likely become messy. But choosing Dawn again…it felt right in his chest.
That evening, he had to put some necessary extra protections in place and call Han back home from Hawaii. There was a surprising reluctance on his chosen brother’s part, but in the end, he agreed to return to Rhode Island. And the following morning, it had taken hours with their accountants to ensure that The Silent Triad’s fortunes would not be disrupted by the sudden dissolution of their ten-year partnership with Kuang.
But after Victor was done with all of that, he returned to the Providence house with alacrity. Eager to see Dawn and tell her the truth he’d been denying for over a decade.
He loved Dawn. He could finally admit that again. That was why he could forgive her for what she’d done when she was a young woman. Why he’d chosen her again. And why he always would.
Less than twenty-four hours after choosing Dawn a second time, Victor ceased hitting Asher. The man she’d held in her heart while Victor had been helplessly falling for her all over again.
Victor had thought something real had arisen out of their game of pretend. He’d given up his partnership and taken on a formidable enemy for the chance to be with her beyond May 25th. He’d assumed she had felt the same. Why else would she have asked for his forgiveness?
But the sex…the cherry blossoms…her saying that she truly had loved him the first time around…every emotion he thought he’d felt sparking between them had been a lie.
She had simply been biding her time with him until she could be with the man she truly wanted. Acting…just like she had in Japan.
A cold, weak feeling washed over Victor as he rose to his feet and took a step back.
Asher also came to a stand. His nose was bleeding, and his face was a mess of bruises.
“You’re a fucking psycho!” he yelled at Victor. “No wonder Dawn’s so desperate to get out of this marriage!”
Words. Just words. But they hit Victor the same as a punch thrown. He flinched, then raised his fists, ready to fight again.
However, Dawn got between them before he could throw another punch. With her back to Victor, she pushed at Asher urgently. “Just go, Asher. Please.”
Asher’s expression softened when he looked down at Dawn. “I’m sorry,” he wheezed through his possibly broken nose. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
“It’s okay. I just need you to go,” Dawn answered, glancing back at Victor as if he were a volcano that could erupt at any moment.
Asher had the audacity to cut his eyes at Victor as well. “Are you…. Are you safe with him? I don’t want to leave if—”
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “Victor’s angry, but he won’t hurt me. I promise. Just go.”
Asher looked between the two of them before bending down to scoop up the glasses Victor had punched off his face. “I’ll see you in school tomorrow?”
Dawn all but shoved him out the door without answering that question.
“If I don’t see you in class tomorrow, I’m calling the police!” Asher shouted on the other side of the door, after Dawn slammed it in his face.
Was that a threat? Victor stepped forward, ready to end his unworthy opponent all over again. But Dawn once again stepped between him and killing t
he man who was actively planning to be with her after her marriage to Victor was done.
“Hurting him won’t solve anything,” she said in a rush. “This is between you and me. Just us.”
His blood boiled at her words. She seemed to care nothing of herself, only of this Asher.
“You made plans!” he said, his signs coming out fast and angry. “This whole time you were with me, you were making plans to be with him!”
“I wasn’t with you!” she replied silently, her signs just as angry as his. “I’m your prisoner, you psycho! What did you expect? That I’d never imagined being with someone else? I’m sure you weren’t faithful for all 364 days between our fucked up anniversaries.
The fact that he had indeed been faithful to her this entire ten years, helplessly so, made him feel even more stupid than Kuang had accused him of being the day before.
“Why him?” he demanded. He hated himself for asking this. But he had to know. “Why would you choose him to follow me?”
“Because he was nice to me!” she screamed with her hands. “Because he treated me decently. Because he wasn’t a total monster. Because he wasn’t punishing me for ten years for something that wasn’t my fault. Because he didn’t blame me for his shitty father’s death. That’s why!”
Her words were even worse than Asher’s. They hit him like bullets, even though her only weapons were her hands. Gone was the tearful and apologetic woman who’d inspired him to end his practical engagement. Here was the real Dawn. The one who still had no remorse for her actions, even nearly ten years of punishment.
Kuang’s words echoed inside his head. “There are consequences for your stupid actions. That’s something you must learn. Someone will have to teach you that lesson, once and for all.”
Most likely, Kuang had assumed that he would be the one to teach Victor this ultimate lesson. But in the end, it was Dawn.
The woman he thought he loved.
The woman he’d given up everything for, only to be thrown aside by her.
Again.
Victor had felt certain about his actions as he left that bar on Saturday. He had believed her. Believed that they could make their relationship work this time. He’d been so sure that this was their happy ending delayed. But now…
Now, there was only one more thing he had to know.
“Do you love him?” he asked her.
This question she answered out loud, her voice quiet but hard. “No, I liked him. And from what life has shown me so far, like is way better than love.”
They stood there, that truth resonating between them as violent as a spray of bullets.
There were a thousand things he could sign in reply. A thousand punishments he could mete out right then and there.
But in the end, he strode forward toward the door.
Mistaking his intention, she immediately scrambled away. Apparently, she was not nearly as confident that he wouldn’t hurt her as she’d assured Asher.
He could no longer be surprised. The new trust they had been building up over the last few weeks—the one he’d felt as he walked out of that meeting with Kuang—had only been an illusion.
Perhaps it surprised her when he simply walked out of the house. He wouldn’t know.
Because for the first time when he left her, he didn’t look back.
Part VI
Is that…?
32
DAWN
Victor left. Without another word. Without looking back.
And, just like that, the illusion we’d created over the last few weeks had shattered.
Two more security guards arrived to supplement Wayne after he left. One was stationed at the door, and the other patrolled the neighborhood. I wasn’t sure if they were there to ensure that I didn’t get out or that no other guys—specifically Asher—got in. Either way, it was overkill. And it made me feel even more imprisoned than I had over the past nine years.
That was probably the point.
What happened wasn’t necessarily Asher’s fault. My peace with Victor had been fragile from the start of our new agreement. Any old thing could’ve torn it apart. A guy. A misunderstanding. A gust of wind.
Still, when Asher tried to talk to me the next day at school, I made my feelings perfectly clear. “I don’t want to go out with you. It doesn’t matter what’s going on between Victor and me. I don’t feel the same way. And you were out of line last night.”
“Is this you saying this or your husband?” He demanded with a combative look. As if Victor was the only one to blame for our non-start.
Victor had made me do a lot of things. But it was all me when I told Asher, “I thought you were nice, but your actions last night let me know that you really aren’t. Me saying I would be open to dating you in June didn’t give you the right to kiss me. And thanks for introducing me to the people over at Yinz Entertainment. But doing that doesn’t entitle you to me either. So even if we’re in the same city, I don’t want to date you.”
Asher was twenty-nine, just a year or two younger than me. But I don’t think he was used to rejection. The ever affable look disappeared from his face, and he said, “You sure about that? I mean, at this point, your husband will be lucky if I don’t sue him. Maybe I’ll get all his money.”
I told him the truth. More for his sake than mine. “He’ll kill you before he lets you sue him, Asher. I really wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
I guess Asher didn’t have any more comeback in him after that. He just walked away, and a few days later, he and Elizabeth Ann Margaret walked into our Thesis Production seminar holding hands.
She shot me a triumphant look as she and Asher took a seat just a few rows down from me.
I could only feel sorry for her. Asher wasn’t as big of a catch as she thought. And love wasn’t a game that could be won. Only lost. I’d found that out the hard way.
But whatever. I barely gave Asher another thought after I set him straight. I just wished I could say the same about Victor.
Everything I’d said to him was true. I had every right to invite someone to ask me out after we started divorce proceedings. He had been nothing but a monster to me for nine years when Asher approached me. Of course, I would start planning for a life beyond being his prisoner wife.
Yet, regret had immediately set in as soon as the door closed behind him. And my belly had been flip-flopping between pride and remorse ever since.
As busy as I was finalizing my thesis, I kept getting lost in daydreams of what I should have said to Victor that night.
I’d been so excited to spend time with him after the presentations. I could’ve explained things clearly to him. Instead of screaming at him that he was a monster or comparing him to some guy I didn’t even really want, I could have communicated with him like a grown-up. I could have told him how much I’d loved the surprise trip to Washington D.C., but how confusing being that intimate with him again had made me.
Maybe I could have asked if we could try again. This time like normal people. After May 25th.
But I hadn’t done that. And the weeks went by without another peep from Victor. So I threw myself into my thesis production. Until one morning, I went to take my pill and noticed that I was on Day 7 of my inactive pills.
I was on Seasonale, which meant I only opted for periods every three months. Usually, Aunt Flo hit on Day four or five of my inactive week. I’d never gotten to the end of a whole three-month pack without having to break out my tampons.
Was that usual? My next physical wasn’t due until October, but maybe I should schedule a gyno appointment at the school clinic to make sure everything looked alright—
I cut off worrying about what might show up on a pap smear when another possible explanation for my missing period popped into my head….along with the memory of the Washington D.C. trip.
I had been a little worried when Victor had said he’d forgotten my make-up bag, but not too much so. I hadn’t wanted to ruin the surprise trip’s vibe, and I’d figure
d I could pop a pill as soon as I got home on Saturday.
Only, I’d gotten upset, and no matter how much I sifted through my memory of that weekend, I couldn’t remember taking it that Saturday.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
It was May 24th, the day before our thesis presentations. And unfortunately, I had back-to-back final presentations in my Advanced Character Animation and Post Production classes.
Which meant I couldn’t make it to the campus bookstore in the student center until after my last class that day. Luckily, RhIDS didn’t have any religious affiliations. I found what I needed in the health and wellness section and rushed to the front of the store to buy the one thing I would never dare to put on one of my shopping lists for Wayne.
Unfortunately, there was a line to check out. And this wasn’t CVS. They didn’t call extra people over to help ring up purchases for fear of you calling the corporate line and complaining.
I checked my watch as the line moved at a snail’s pace. Wayne was going to be so suspicious.
I eventually got what I needed. But I didn’t have time to actually use it. The student center was all the way on the opposite end of campus. So I had to book it in order to meet Wayne in the parking circle about ten minutes after my usual time.
Still, Wayne demanded, “What took you so long?” as soon as I slipped into the back of the car.
Luckily, I already had a lie locked and loaded. “I was consulting with Jacoby about my showcase tomorrow.”
Wayne glanced at me through the rearview mirror, his expression skeptical.
It didn’t matter if he believed me, though. The point was he didn’t know my real reason. And after tomorrow, I wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.
Victor: Her Ruthless Owner: The VICTOR Trilogy Book 2 [50 Loving States, Rhode Island] (Ruthless Triad) Page 22