Page 72 of Unapologetic Obsession

“What did you do?” he asked. I thought he was talking to me before realizing the question was directed at Natasha.

My heart twisted with guilt when she broke down in sobs. In between wiping her tears and the blood, she said, “I didn’t do anything, Dr. Maxwell. She overreacted and started attacking me. She would’ve killed me if Linda hadn’t stopped her.”

“Is this true?” he breathed against my ear.

What was wrong with me?

Before today, I didn’t think I was violent. The world suddenly went black, and I couldn’t snap out of it. Had Linda not stopped me, I would have kept going.

Perhaps Caden wasn’t the monster in the room, maybe it was me. I should be committed and face the consequences of my actions.

“It’s true,” I whispered.

I’d be lying if I said I attacked her for trying to strip me. One slap would’ve sufficed for self-defense. But I attacked her like a rabid dog, and I only did it after she said…

You stupid bitch.

I lost it when she uttered those words. Before I could stop myself, my hands had flown up without my permission. The sharp crack of the slaps had echoed throughout the room, followed by Natasha’s piercing howl when I clawed at her neck and face.

I couldn’t place the source of the trigger, but I knew someone had said those words to me before. They were ingrained in my soul, and I reacted without knowing why.

Natasha lifted her head, her puffy face a mask of indignation. “See? I told you. This whole doe-eyed thing is an act. She’s crazy.”

The taut muscles on Caden’s chest tightened. “Why?” he asked me.

“I-I don’t know,” I replied truthfully.

Caden turned me to face him. Wholly ignoring Natasha, he held open my palm. “Let me see your hands.”

I lifted my head, confused. “My hands?”

Natasha needed medical attention. The scratches on her face and neck were getting worse, and one eye looked swollen shut. He was a doctor. Why wasn’t he patching her up?

He gently opened my palms to examine the reddening skin. “Fuck,” he spat. He turned to Natasha, mouth turned down. The veins in his face pulsated like a roadmap of fury. “Look at what your face did to her hands!” he snarled so loudly that I jumped.

Three jaws dropped simultaneously—mine, Linda’s, and Natasha’s.

Natasha sputtered, “B-but she hitme!”

I was thinking the same thing. I was at fault. Sure, Natasha said horrible things, but my actions were unjustifiable.

Caden was furious at Natasha’s face for hurting my hands, but he was no less angry with me. “Your hands are swollen, Rose. Do you want to spend the rest of this cruise in the medicalsuite? If you wanted to slap her, why didn’t you have Linda do it?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. I expected him to reprimand me for my unruliness, but he was angry that the viciousness of harming someone else had left me with injuries.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, smoothing a thumb over my palm.

I shook my head, flabbergasted.

His ire landed on Linda next. “Why didn’t you stop her?” he barked.

Linda straightened. “Um?—”

“She tried to stop me, but I was too fast,” I said quickly, not wanting the woman to lose her job on my account.

“I’m docking your pay for the day. It’s your first and only warning.”

Linda glared at Natasha, the woman responsible for her pay cut. She seemed seconds away from pouncing on her, too, but was careful not to direct her wrath at Caden. Instead of protesting, she apologized, “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”