Chapter Seventeen

"I know you're listening," he says again. "There's no point in trying to hide."

Dammit. I try to creep back into the room. I take one step and the entire house creaks. I'm so close to the door. If I could only get in there and act as if I've never heard this conversation, it would be much better. If he asked the cleaning lady to send me upstairs, then I should've never heard this. For a good reason, because a lot of it involved me.

"Don't make me go up there and get you." There's an unmistakable finality in his tone. He's very well capable of dragging me downstairs and I want to avoid that at all costs. I promised myself that he would never again have the pleasure of manhandling me.

I sigh. I've been caught. There's no denying it. He knows I was listening and there are only so many places I can hide. I straighten up and start descending the stairs. He's standing in the middle of the living room with a tumbler in hand. The top buttons of his shirt are undone and his hair is dishevele