Page 38 of Like An Animal

“Heyyy, Jeremy,” she says with a big smile as she walks over, but she doesn’t even look at me, even though Jer is holding me against him. Without any warning, she grabs my arm and yanks me out of Jeremy’s arm and tries to take the spot I previously took up, putting her hand on his arm possessively.

Oh, this bitch…

“I’ve missed you,” she purrs at him, but he looks at her the same way he used to look at Missy–disgust, plain and simple.

I see Jeremy’s knife strapped to his belt and I rip it from its holster before taking a handful of the bitch’s hair in my hand. I pull it far enough back that she screeches from the pain.

She won’t be doing that for long.

I swing my hand around and stab the knife directly into her heart. Blood splatter sprays the desk and even reaches Dimitri Borza’s shirt before I drop her to the floor.

I wipe my hands against each other as if to dust them off and look at the anger across Dimitri’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry. She wasn’t important, was she? I just assumed she was a prostitute who stepped out of line. After all, where I come from, it’s very rude to throw yourself at someone else’s husband.”

I watch the realization dawn on his face as Jeremy steps over the fallen body before placing his arm back around me.

“Did you say…husband?” Dimitri mutters, practically grinding his teeth.

Jeremy grabs my hand and flashes our matching rings at him. “Bronwyn is my wife, so an engagement with anyone else would be pointless. Never once did I ever agree to marry Olga Petrov. The only woman I’ve ever wanted to marry has always been Bronwyn.”

“Jeremy, are you insane? You’ve been betrothed to Olga since she was born. It was a strategic union and instead of expanding the organization, your so-called wife just started a fucking war.”

Jeremy shrugs. “So be it. What are you expecting me to do about it?”

“Get rid of her. That’s the only thing that will absolve our business of responsibility.”

Jer looks contemplative for a moment before he says, “Fine.”

Wait. What?

“Fine?” Dimitri’s eyes widen in surprise.

“If you want Bron to leave, I’ll just pack our stuff and we’ll go. You can hand the business over to someone else, but then it wouldn’t be the Borza family anymore, would it? Then, you would’ve not just lost me and my wife, but also our daughter and any other children we’ll have.”

“Did you just say daughter?” Dimitri seems to be going through whiplash.

“Her name is Charlotte. She’s four. She’s out with Massimo and Xavi right now,” I explain before looking at Jeremy. “Shouldn’t they be back by now?”

He nods. “I’ll find out where they are.” Pulling out his phone, his fingers fly across the screen. “They’re getting some food, but they’ll be back soon. They haven’t come across any issues.”

“And, syn, how do you know this child is yours?” Dimtri asks, which I expected him to, but what I didn’t expect was for Jeremy to freeze, his finger stopping mid-type.

“Because she is. If you want a paternity test for your peace of mind, I don’t mind doing that, but it’s clear that she’s my child.”

I nod. It’s true. I don’t mind doing one either if it will put any doubts of Charlotte’s paternity to rest. It would be a shock for me if the test came back negative because Lottie doesn’t look anything like the men who raped me.

The only man who has ever touched me that she resembles at all is Jeremy.

Plus, the timing is only right for Jeremy being her father.

By my calculations, I was about two weeks post-conception when Jeremy was arrested.

At that point, he was the only one to touch me in any capacity for four years.

Yeah, he’s the only one who could’ve gotten me pregnant.

“A paternity test would solidify her place as your heir since you and her mother weren’t married when she was conceived or born.”

“It’s settled then. We’ll have a paternity test done as soon as we can,” I state. “Are you satisfied now, Dimitri?”

He frowns. “Satisfied? No. I would only be satisfied if you crawled back in whatever hole you came out of, Miss Durst.”

A growl emanates from Jeremy’s chest as his fingers dig into my waist. “Watch how you speak to my wife.”

Dimitri glances at Jeremy but doesn’t speak to him. “But, that doesn’t seem to be an option at this point. A divorce isn’t an option so I guess I’m stuck with you.”

He’s not the one stuck with me so why did he say it like that? What is his problem with me?

“As Jeremy’s wife? Yes, you are. And, now you’ve seen what happens when people piss me off, but you should’ve already known that. Kathy learned it the hard way and now so has...Olga, right?”

Even if I asked Jeremy for an annulment, I doubt he would give it to me.

Dimitri’s eyes narrow with rage, but he doesn’t move, not even when his jaw ticks. He can be mad all he wants because I’m pissed, too.

He fucking tricked me into thinking I had no choice except to tell my trauma story to a complete stranger to save Jeremy’s life. He was never in danger though. It was all a mind game.

“Charlotte will be back soon. We need to get this cleaned up.” Jeremy squeezes my side to accentuate his point before looking at Dimitri.

“If you want to stay to meet Charlotte, you’re welcome to, but I won’t stand for anyone disrespecting my wife or our daughter.

Keep those remarks to yourself or we’ll pack up and leave you to your family business. ”

Wow. I thought what he said a minute ago was just an empty threat to make his point clear, but he sounds so serious. Would he really choose me over all of this? This has been his life the entire time we’ve been apart.

I make sure to remind myself that he left me and chose to let me think he was in prison for the past five years.

No, his threat is not a romantic notion. It’s simply an obsession manifestation. Nothing more.

“Maybe some other time.” He sets down his glass on the desk before walking out of the room without a goodbye.

As soon as Jeremy’s grandfather has left, I push his hand off of me. The only reason I didn’t before was because I see Dimitri Borza for exactly what he is.

A threat.

An enemy.

You don’t show an enemy a weakness in the foundation. You wait until they retreat to uncover the cracks.

“What?” Jeremy blanches at me as I flip him off before walking to the door.

“Go fuck yourself.” I push open the door and walk out, feeling the anger buzz in my veins like a drug.

“What the hell is your problem?” he growls from behind me as he grabs my arm, but when he turns me around to face him, I slap him as hard as I can across the face.

“ You . That’s my fucking problem, you son of a bitch.

” It feels like the walls are closing in on me.

I would’ve expected to be stabbed in the back by anyone except him, but that’s exactly what happened.

Him and his grandfather played me for a fool.

“You were never really arrested, were you? You didn’t go to prison!

You were here , Jeremy.” I motion all around us and his eyes narrow, confusion across his face.

“I was arrested, but I was released after a few hours.”

I roll my eyes with a huff. “Of course. Fucking whatever.” I’m barely holding myself together, stopping myself from breaking down.

My view of the world and the people in it has been fractured by this betrayal.

“What is the issue, little ghost?”

Then, I crack.

“The issue?!” Tears fill my eyes as I look at him, my heartbreak written across my face.

“You abandoned us, Jeremy! You weren’t ripped away.

You walked away and let me think it was my fault, that I did that to you.

Do you have any idea what that did to me?

Did you even think of what would happen to me without you there? ”

He looks pensive as I huff.

“Of course, you didn’t. All I ever am to anyone is a tool or a toy and you’re no different. Just a fucking disappointment.” With that, I turn around and walk off toward the kitchen, hoping he’ll give me the space I need.

Not like that will change anything.