"Cathy, you don't mean that," Marco whispered. "Is Sean with you? If he's with you, call me a bastard, and I'll call you back later."

"He's not with me," she snapped. "Though you are a bastard, and I mean everything I said."

​​

"No," he pleaded. "Something is wrong with you. Sean has gotten to you somehow. The Cathy I know would never say something so cruel to me or use such harsh language. What happened? Is he threatening you because I swear the police are on the way? Come with me, you love me."

"You're disgusting," she said. "You're weak and manipulative and pathetic. Why would I love a man like that?"

Marco sounded slightly less confident as he said, "I know it's been hard, but you do love me. That can't just disappear."

"I'll say it one more time," she said. "I do not love you. I will not love you. I want nothing to do with you. I know you want my family's money, but you do not see a cent of it. Do you hear me? Not a single cent."

"Don't be like that," Marco said, anger rising in his voice. "What's going on? Do you like Sean now, you whore?"

"That's not of your business," she said.

His voice turned nasty, "Oh, so that's how it is. I see. Sean is richer and more powerful than me, so you're throwing yourself at him now. I always knew you were a slut, but I never thought you were that pathetic."

"You know what, he is better than you," she said. "He's a hundred times the man you are. Talking to you is a waste of my time."

"You know what, fuck you," Marco said. "You may come from a rich family, but you act like a cheap slut. And you know what, you're not even pretty? You're kind of ugly really and the stupidest bitch I've ever met."

"Goodbye, Marco," she said calmly. "I'd wish you dead, but you don't deserve a swift death. So here's wishing you a long and miserable life."

"No, wait, Cathy," Marco's voice became pleading again. "I'm sorry I shouted like that. They've been hitting me, and I'm not myself. Please reconsider. Even if you don't want to be with me, I'm offering you a chance to escape. Don't doom yourself just because you're angry with me."

Her heart hammered in her chest. What if Marco was telling the truth? What if she could escape and then leave both him and Sean behind?

"Please," Marco said. "You loved me so much before. How could you just change overnight? There has to be some way for us to work this out."

"I was blind before, but now I see who you really are," she said.

"How am I?" he asked.

"Answer me this," she said. "Imagine. You're working a job somewhere. You're underpaid and overqualified, and the work makes you miserable. One day, your fat greasy boss comes to you and offers you a slight promotion on one condition."

"What?" Marco asked. "What are you talking about?"

"He wants to sleep with me," Catherine continued. "If I spend the night with him, he'll give you the promotion. What do you do?"

"What kind of question is that?" Marco asked. "That's a crazy made-up situation. Are you okay?"

"Let me simplify for you, am I worth more than money to you?" she asked.

"Of course," he said.

"Another question, then," she said. "Let's say I gave up everything to run away with you. Surely you have to know that once I leave Sean, I'll lose everything. My family will cut me off, and I'll be even more broke than you. Now, remember, I've had a very spoiled life, so I don't know a thing about doing chores or taking care of others, and I'm used to a certain standard of living."

"They wouldn't do that," Marco said, doubt creeping into his voice. "And besides, you'd learn to economize."

She sneered, "Pathetic. Goodbye, Marco."

"Wait," Marco said.

"There's nothing more I want to hear from you," she said.

She tapped the end call button and tossed the phone onto the couch. Her hands shook, but she felt a strange sense of relief.

***

In the cold room, Marco dropped the phone into the waiting hand.

"I've done what you asked," he said. "Can you let me go now?"

"That depends on Mr. Blair," Levi said.

"You heard what she said," Marco said. "She's not in love with me and probably never was. I was just a toy for her, and now she's gotten bored and wants to throw me out."

"We'll see," Levi said.

"No, please, don't leave me here," Marco begged. "I have nothing to do with her anymore, okay? There's no point in keeping me here."

"You still dated her, didn't you?" Levi asked. "You eloped with her."

Marco groaned and closed his eyes. The door scraped open and then slammed shut, and he screamed into the air.

"Fuck you, Catherine," he shouted. "Fucking bitch!"

***

Sean slipped onto the sofa and cradled the small, sleeping figure in his arms. She sighed and settled into him, and he smiled to himself. When she was asleep, she trusted him so completely, but when she was awake, there was always a part of her that seemed tense to run or fight.

He listened to the soft, small sighs she made as she slept and closed his eyes. He never slept during the day and hadn't taken a nap since he was a child, but as soon as he'd heard her phone call with Marco, he'd felt an overwhelming urge to touch and hold her.

Of course, what he really wanted was to take her. To feel her yield beneath him, for her to finally be his in every way possible, but he knew he couldn't rush it. She was stubborn and strangely timid, and he wanted her to trust him. But it was hard to wait. Especially when she shifted in her sleep, pushing her firm ass to fight against his crotch. He groaned and tried to get distance, but the sofa was too small.

"You have no idea just how badly you make me suffer, Catherine," he whispered. "I hope it's worth it."

He thought about her phone call with Marco. He'd been in the small room listening to every word, though he wished he could have seen her face as she spoke to him. She'd repeated all the same insults she'd used before and refused to admit love or interest. But still, the last part of the call had troubled him. What had she meant by those strange hypothetical questions?

He stroked her silky hair and sighed. The soft strands smelled faintly floral, and he closed his eyes and inhaled. He wasn't one for hope—he didn't know just emotions, just logic, and facts, but he couldn't fight the hope that swelled in him. She'd said he was a hundred times the man Marco was, but what did that mean. Was she just talking about his money and power or about something else?

She shifted against him, and he looked at her pale face in the golden light. She made a humming sound in her sleep, and he pulled her even closer.