Page 140

CHAPTER 140

THE WRONG TARGET

MARGAUX

T he next day, I’m hanging out with Dex. He wanted to take me around the neighborhood and he’s brought me to a cute local bar.

I mention the anonymous messages to Dex casually, thinking they were nothing more than the random kindness of a stranger.

He shifts in his seat, his face turning a shade darker. For a moment, I wonder if he’s blushing.

“It was me,” he admits, his voice low, almost sheepish. “I sent the messages.”

“What?” I blink, confused. “ You sent them? Why? ”

“I was… monitoring the situation from afar,” he says carefully. “Making sure you were safe.”

My stomach drops. “What do you mean, ‘monitoring the situation’? Were you spying on me?”

He hesitates, then nods. “Well, yeah. I was worried about you. So I hacked into some of your stuff—just to keep an eye on things.”

My heart starts pounding. “You what ?”

“I didn’t mean to?—”

“Were there cameras ?” My voice is trembling now.

He glances down, guilt written all over his face. “There were cameras,” he admits quietly.

A wave of fury and embarrassment crashes over me.

My prior relationship was already a humiliating mess—the idea of someone watching it unfold, analyzing my every moment, makes my skin crawl.

On instinct, I leap out of my seat and run from the bar.

I hear footsteps behind me, and Dex grabs me gently by my arm.

“Margaux, let me explain,” he pleads.

“You broke my trust, Dex!” I scream, my voice raw with emotion. “How could you do this to me? You, of all people!”

His expression crumples, regret etched in every line of his face. “Margaux, I’m so sorry. I was trying to protect you.”

“ Protect me? You violated my privacy in the worst way imaginable! You’re a fucking stalker !”

Tears stream down my face. I can barely see him through the haze of my rage and hurt. “Get away from me!” I shriek, pointing at the door. “Get away from me and don’t come back!”

“Margaux…” he tries again, his voice pleading.

“Get away!” I scream again, my voice cracking, unwilling to meet his gaze.

He stares at me for a moment, his face a picture of devastation, before he finally turns and leaves. If heartbreak was a face, it would be his. The sound of his footsteps as he walks away feels deafening.

But I don’t have time to pity him.

He nosed around in my personal business. What the fuck was he trying to do?

He said he was trying to protect me, but now I feel a million times worse.

In his own way, Timmy loved me, but now he’s gone.

He used to do horrible things to me.

Hell, he fractured my skull after all.

But at least he didn’t pretend to be my protector—my family—and then betray me.

Well, fuck, I guess in a sense he did that too!

Jesus christ! I can’t seem to escape these horrible men!

They say they’re looking out for me, but they’re just fucking me over left and right!

How dare Dex go through all my private information, digging into police and therapy files and god knows what else.

I can’t believe this. I’m never ever going to trust another man ever again, maybe another human.

I’ve had enough. This is all too much.

Because I can’t take this pain. This betrayal.

I just want silence. I just want peace.

And it doesn’t seem like I’m going to get that. It seems like it’s not my destiny.

Instead, there’s just pain and suffering.

And Timmy will just come back for me anyway.

He’s a psycho with a history of stalking his exes. I’ve read up on his behavior, and it’s unlikely to stop.

I sink onto the sidewalk, my body wracked with sobs. A few passersby look at me awkwardly and hurry along.

My mind is a tornado of emotions—anger, betrayal, sadness, confusion.

How could Dex do this to me? How could someone I trusted so implicitly, someone who was supposed to be my safe place, violate me like this?

Timmy was awful, but at least his betrayals were blatant.

This… this is insidious.

Dex positioned himself as my protector, my anchor. And all the while, he was watching, prying, spying.

I feel like I’ve been stripped bare, my innermost thoughts laid out so vulnerably, never meant to be seen by another set of eyes.

Timmy violated me in so many ways.

And in an apparent effort to help me out of a terrible situation, Dex went and violated me, too!

Did he see the therapy notes where I admitted how broken I felt?

Did he read the journal entries where I wrote about him, the flickers of hope I had for someone like him?

A fresh wave of humiliation crashes over me.

God, how pathetic. How utterly stupid I’ve been.

Timmy destroyed my trust, and now Dex has shattered whatever fragile remnants were left.

I wipe my face, but the tears keep coming. This is my life now—an endless cycle of betrayal and heartbreak. Maybe this is all there is.

“Never again,” I whisper to myself, my voice shaking. “Never again will I let anyone in.”

I get back to the apartment and my phone rings. I know without looking that it’s Dex.

“What?” I say as I answer, my voice flat.

“Margaux, please let me explain,” he begs, his voice cracking. “I was trying to keep you as safe as possible. I was scared for you.”

“You still looked at my innermost feelings!” I scream. “You’ve been manipulating me the whole time. You’re no better than Timmy!”

There’s silence on the other end. That was a pretty big insult.

But I feel crushed. I finally thought I found someone who I think I can trust, and he turns out to be a big fake liar, just like Timmy.

Jesus Christ.

I sigh. “ I thought for once I met someone who wasn’t trying to play me.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he replies. “I never meant for you to find out”

“So you wanted to keep it a secret forever that you’ve been doing this?” My voice cracks at the end.

“No, no. I mean… I never wanted to use it for nefarious purposes. I just checked in on you the first time out of genuine concern, and then I had to keep looking. I became a little obsessed, I guess. I hated seeing you like that. I wanted to protect you. But way before that… I’ve always wanted to protect you—you must know that.”

“Oh, give me a fucking break!” My voice cracks again. “I feel so fucking betrayed—by you , of all people. You were meant to be a safe person for me. But there’s nobody safe. Nobody who wants to be in a relationship with me, anyway.”

I’m bawling now, sobs wracking through the phone.

“You can trust me,” Dex says, his voice low. “I haven’t used those things against you. I never would.”

“Well, you still looked at it,” I say, my sobs slowing as my anger intensifies. “How is this any different from Timmy eavesdropping on my therapy? Leave me alone. You’re a fucking hypocrite. Just like Timmy.”

I hang up.

He calls back, and I send him to voicemail, fresh tears cascading from my eyes.

I feel like an idiot, once again. I’m so sick of being treated this way.

Like a fucking joke. Like someone that gets played like a fiddle.

For someone who’s meant to be smart, I feel dumber than everyone else who seems to have it figured out.

The people that innately have known to set boundaries their entire life.

The people who can spot a manipulator the entire way.

Not me.

I’m so sick of being the nice one, the sweet one.

The trusting one.

When do I get to be the bad one? The one who calls the shots.

Do I get to be the manipulator, the asshole… ever?

It’s not in my nature, but maybe it should be.

By the time the tears stop, I feel hollow. Empty.

But underneath the emptiness, a new resolve begins to form.

I’m done being the victim. Done being the one who gets played and betrayed.

If Dex thought he could watch over me and play the hero, he was wrong.

From now on, I’m setting boundaries that no one will cross.

Not Timmy, not Dex, not anyone.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the only person I can truly rely on is myself. And that has to be enough.

I don’t need a hero.

I’ll save myself.