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“I’ll see you by the door.”

Monique left her coat with Helen and slipped into the restroom. It was blissfully empty.

She had to clean up. As erotic as it had been a few minutes ago, seeing Jacqueline made her feel… dirty.That should be an irrational thought. Jacqueline had nothing to do with Helen. Helen had nothing to do with Jacqueline. I should feel comforted. Yet the last thing Monique wanted right now was something sexual left on her.That woman makes me hate sex.

Not only did she clean herself up from head to toe, but she stood in front of the sink, staring at the makeup on her face and the way her hair curled across her skin. This was the face Jacqueline saw. The face that woman used to see every day. What had changed since Monique left her a year ago?

Monique had changed her hairstyle. She also wore bolder makeup when bothered. Otherwise? She looked exactly the same. No new wrinkles. No scars – aside from the ones residing inside her. With a sigh, Monique splashed some water on her face and sucked in some strength. She would need it to walk out of that place with her head held high.

In front of all those people who knew what Jacqueline had done to her.

It was never public knowledge. As far as she knew, Jacqueline had only told others that they had broken up, and that was that.Yet people talked. And she and Jacqueline had been together for about a decade. That kind of intense relationship couldn’t be swept beneath the rug. Monique heard the rumors fly around her Manoir.“Did you hear that Love was beating her? No, not in a fun way. The bad way.” “I always knew there was something off with that woman. Have to be if you’re going to bust balls like she does in the boardroom.”

Monique turned off the sink and dabbed her face dry with a paper towel. After throwing it away, she went back into Midnight, where Helen waited by the entrance.

She made it to her Mistress’s car before breaking down. Helen opened the door for her. The partition went up the moment she told the driver to take them home. Helen kept to her side, but her eyes lingered on Monique as she grasped the door handle and stared at the back of the seat in front of her.

The first sob to claim her was the crack of the iceberg.

Monique covered her face with her hands and leaned forward, elbows digging into her legs as her scalp came dangerously close to scraping against the leather seat before her.I’ll never be rid of her.As long as Jacqueline lived – as long as Monique lived – she would be lurking in the shadows, reminding her captive of the hell she had been through. The more Monique thought of that toxic smile and that bone-breaking laugh, the more she howled into her hands.

And the more she thought of that prison she was taken back to earlier that day.

Something pressed against her back. When she sat up, she saw Helen caressing her and gesturing for her to come over. Monique flung herself into Helen’s embrace, her tears wetting that silk blouse and the coat on top of it. This wasn’t like the affection she received after lovemaking earlier that day. This was the comfort she craved after going for so long without it.

“It’s all right.” Helen held her close, protective arms squeezing Monique. “I’m here.”

That only made Monique cry harder. As the car lurched through the streets toward the highway, Monique clung to her Mistress as if Helen might let go.Prove me wrong, Ms. Warner.“I’m so tired of thinking about her.”

“When else have you thought about her? Today?”

She didn’t want to say it. Yet when Helen stroked her hair, a comforting touch sending a ripple of relief through her, Monique confessed what had happened in her mind earlier that day.

“I wish you had told me,” Helen said. “I wouldn’t have done that if I had known.”

“You didn’t need to know. It’s my problem. There’s nothing wrong on your end.”

“Still, I need to know these things. I can’t go pushing boundaries I don’t know exist.”

Monique sat up, wiping her cheeks. “You’re not. You’re not that woman.”

The solemn look Monique received didn’t inspire her. “You don’t know that, do you, Princess?”

She pursed her lips. “I…” Something choked in her throat. “I have to believe that.”

“And I have to keep proving that to you. Come here.”

When they embraced again, Monique couldn’t tell who was holding who the tightest. It didn’t matter. Her soul was weary, but her heart had opened to love. That was the greatest joy tonight.

Chapter 17

What She Needs

It was the sweetest day of the year. The sun was warm, but not punishing to those enjoying its splendor. The breeze brought with it a nice chill but was not strong enough to blow over the lunch Monique laid out for her guests.

She was dining on the balcony with two of her friends. Well, if a woman like Etta Coleman could be called her friend.Ex-girlfriend. Business partner. Confidant.When Monique made her great escape from Jacqueline’s prison, it was Etta who was there for her. The same woman who once shared Monique with her former best friend before deciding the ménage life wasn’t for her.Too bad. In truth, Monique and Etta made better friends than lovers. There was mutual respect, but without the drama Jacqueline infused everywhere she went, there was little romantic passion.Just as well.Monique had her life, and Etta had hers.

Part of that life was also dining with them that early afternoon.