Page 3 of Tears of Revenge
“Kneel,” Varos commanded, throwing Troy to the floor with minimal effort.
“Oh, this will be fun,” Marcus practically squealed, clapping his hands like a little schoolboy. Those green eyes sparkled as they rested on Troy’s quivering form.
Troy attempted to stand, only for Varos to shove him down on all fours. His movements were seamless and elegant, as if dealing with Troy was beneath him. “Crawl to her,” he commanded.
“W-what?” Troy stammered trying to fight Varos’s grip.
Varos growled. “Crawl. To. Her.”
“Fuck, no.”
Varos’s eyes darkened, and that bone-chilling smile curled his lips again. “Wrong answer.”
Troy flew through the air, crashing into the wall. His eyes rolled back and he hit the floor. Ava twitched, itching to run to him, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
“Don’t waste your energy on him,” Marcus chuckled.
Helpless, Ava watched Varos stride across the room. His face unchanged and his eyes on Troy, he crouched down before the unconscious body and tilted his head.
“Now, before all the fun starts, can I know why of all the thousands of days we’ve spent together you chose violence today?” Marcus asked, walking over to the other man and positioning himself behind him.
“It felt right.”
“What did he do to deserve it?” Marcus then turned his attention to Ava. “Let me guess, he hurt you.”
She couldn’t answer, her gaze darting between the two men. They talked so casually, as if they were discussing the weather. Her heart pounded, her mind still trying to catch up to the events.
“Ava, what binds you to him?” Varos asked. His back was still turned to her, but his voice was so gentle it felt as if he was wrapping her in a warm blanket.
“I like that name,” Marcus interrupted. “But do tell, is that your real name? Or just something he gave you?”
“A-Avalon,” she coaxed, her throat dry, everything she knew about the English language seeming to abandon her.
“What a beautiful name indeed.”
“Why haven’t you left him?” Varos repeated though his tone was still gentle.
“I…. He controls everything,” she stammered.
“Has he taken you as his wife?”
“I don’t see a ring, Varos.”
“You and I both know that means nothing nowadays,” Varos countered.
“True.” Marcus shrugged his shoulders and returned to his seat.
“No, he hasn’t,” she responded.
“But you live together?” Varos pressed.
“Yes.”
“And you work for him, which means you don’t have access to money without his permission.”
Her cheeks suddenly felt hot, shame washing through her as she heard her reality spoken out loud. It hurt to hear the truth. “I’m not stupid,” she said in an attempt to defend herself.
In a flash, Varos appeared in front of her. He gently cupped her jaw, his thumb caressing her cheek and his cool skin soothing the heat of her cheeks. “No one believes you’re stupid. You are strong for surviving so long but surviving isn’t living, Avalon.”