She seems to be enjoying herself and my heart aches fiercely to see her having so much fun with Jonathan. I made a choice to let her go and honestly, she can choose to be with whomever she wants, but I don’t like it. Not one bit. I don’t like her with anyone else. Maybe Gabe’s right and I should have told her everything before I decided to cut her off from my life. Now my stupidity has caused her grief as well. Hell! She cried because of me and now she’s here, dancing with Jonathan because I rejected her.

“Damien, you need to decide what you want with her, because Jonathan does like her and if you don’t want anything to do with her then leave her alone. She’ll be fine with Jonathan.”

His words trigger a reaction from deep within my soul because the thought of Jonathan with her is not only distasteful but terribly painful as well. I see him reach out and brush a strand of hair from her face and my fists clench, my knuckles turn white as the back of his hand lingers on her smooth cheek.

The music changes to a slow song and Jonathan pulls her closer to him. Her arms wrap around him and they look almost glued to one another. Fucking hell! My mind goes blank as red-hot fury surges through my veins.

“She is mine,” I say aloud. “I’m going to claim her and to hell with the consequences. I’m not letting her out of my sight again.”

Gabriel’s wide eyes follow me as I make my way towards Aaliya.

By the time I reach her, the music has changed and Jonathan no longer has his hands on her. I grab Aaliya by the waist and pull her to me. She turns in my arms and freezes for a moment when she sees me. She pushes against my chest, but I hold her tight.

“Go away, Damien. I’m dancing with Jonathan,” she roars.

“No, you’re coming with me now,” I tell her. She pinches my shoulder hard and I reluctantly release her. She stumbles as she walks backwards. I reach forward to grab her and she slaps my hand away.

“Why should I come with you? You told me I wasn’t good enough.” She sways as she points a finger at me. I take a step towards her and she takes one back, bumping into Jonathan who catches her waist to steady her. My teeth grind together to see his hands on her.

Aaliya continues her tirade, “You turned me down, you didn’t want to be with me. So now I can do whatever I want with whomever I want. Why do you care?”

“Look Aaliya...” I freeze when Jonathan puts his arm around her shoulder.