Fury and fear mingled together inside me. “I was never yours,” I hissed at him. “Evidenced by the fact that you don’t respect my decisions, you don’t take your hands off me when asked, and you think I’m someone to be owned.”

The tips of Nathan’s ears reddened in indignation and his lips turned down with a scowl. “You don’t mean that,” he muttered, gripping me tighter. “I just need to show you.” Then he yanked me forward, our lips crashing together, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth. A tongue that I immediately bit.

Which, thankfully, made him rear back in pain, letting go of me.

Not thinking, I turned, intent on getting as far away from Nathan as possible. Unfortunately, amidst my fight or flight response, I forgot that I had left the cabinet open, and I ran right into it.

Now I wasn’t what could be called a runner by any stretch of the imagination, but when the guy you broke up with—the guy who you’d become repulsed by—forced his way into your house then into your mouth, you became a runner. And I had installed these cabinets myself. Not to toot my own horn, but they were damn sturdy. Which was something I had been very proud of up until that moment.

If I had been subpar at cabinet building, the door would’ve likely just come off its hinges. But I wasn’t subpar. So, the door stayed firm. I, on the other hand, after slamming into it at full speed, fell right to the ground. Pain exploded in my left eye as my head slammed into my Italian stone floors.

“Nora!” the voice came from somewhere far away. It was muffled.

Then there were hands on me. Hands that I had literally ran into a cabinet door trying to escape.

“Get your hands off me,” I hissed, my own voice tight and thin from pain. I forced myself up, hating the vulnerable position on the floor with Nathan anywhere near me.

My head swam as I sat up, my face throbbing, and the vision in my left eye almost entirely obscured as I glared in Nathan’s general direction.

“Nora—”

“Get the fuck out of my fucking house,” I snarled at him, my voice unrecognizable.

Nathan paused for a split second. I doubted it was from any kind of actual concern, likely because I’d never spoken to him like that before. I’d always been delicate, agreeable, submissive. And I’d never cursed in front of him. He’d found it ‘unbecoming.’ Ugh. How in the fuck had I let this man put a ring on my finger?

“I’ll call the police if you’re not gone in the next thirty seconds,” I threatened. I really would’ve called the police if I thought I’d be able to get up and reach my purse, which I knew I couldn’t. The point was to make sure Nathan didn’t know I couldn’t.

Nathan’s self-preservation won over, and he reacted quickly, his shape moving away from me and footsteps receding as he ran from the house. I didn’t breathe easier until I heard my front door open and close. And even then, I didn’t breathe easy. On account of all the pain.