Rain hammered the penthouse windows, a cold drumming that drowned Sera's sobs as she slid in front of the door and blocked Callahan's exit.
"Cal, don't—please." Her palms flattened against his chest, urgent, trembling. "Hit me if you want. Choke me—just…don't walk away."
He stared down, immaculate in a dark tailored coat, moon-pale light sharpening the contempt on his face. "You're embarrassing yourself, Sera."
He brushes her off and storms away.
"Cal, please," Sera grabbed his coat from behind. "Don't do this. Just—just stay tonight. Just talk to me."
He didn't turn. "Get off."
"I can be better," she whispered, pressing her lips against the back of his neck. "Tell me what you want. I'll do it."
She slid her hands under his shirt, nails grazing over his chest. "Hit me. Choke me. Say what you said last time. I can take it this time. I swear."
He finally turned. And slapped her.
A sharp backhand cracked across her cheek. Sera's head jolted sideways; copper tang flooded her mouth, but she steadied herself, fingers fisting in his lapels.
The crack of it echoed across the glass walls, over the skyline lights behind her.
"Pathetic," he hissed, wiping his palm on his trousers as if she'd stained him. "Do you hear yourself? Begging. Like a stray."
"You don't get it, do you?" he said, voice cold, bored. "You're pathetic," he spat out.
"I can't even stand you anymore. Especially like this."
Her cheek burned red, but she didn't move. Just stared at him—eyes wide, wet, trembling.
"I love you." The words spilled, messy and raw. "Say what you want, but don't leave me."
Her nails bit into his coat. "I'll be better. You can hurt me as much as you want... I'll do anything."
He laughed once—short, dry. "You disgust me." He peeled her hands from his coat and dropped them. "I'm marrying Vivienne next month. She's steel, not glass." He leaned close, voice a cruel whisper. "She won't cry when I test the limits. And guess what? She actually wants it."
Her hands reached for him again, desperate, trembling. "I can do that too. Please, Cal! You can say whatever you want. Call me disgusting. Weak. I don't care. Just—don't leave, please..." She starts crying frantically.
He shoved her back. She stumbled into the glass table, caught herself.
"You know what the worst part is?" His smile curled. "I almost felt sorry for you once. But now? I just feel sick."
Sera's voice cracked. "I'll do anything."
"I'm marrying Vivienne."
Silence.
She blinked. Once. Twice. "No."
"She's everything you're not." His eyes swept over her in disgust. "Elegant. Stable. Strong. She doesn't flinch when I push her. She likes it."
Sera's knees almost buckled. "You promised—"
His hand clamped around her throat, not enough to cut air, just enough to remind her of his strength.
"Just shut the fuck up and let me go!" He tossed her aside. She crumpled to a heap on the floor.
Sera shook her head. "You said you loved me."
"I said a lot of things." He turned again, adjusting his cuff. "Vivienne doesn't cry like a child when things get real. She doesn't pretend she wants it rough, then look like a kicked dog when it actually happens."
Sera fell to her knees.
"Please—"
"You know," he said, pausing at the door, "your father was right. You're too soft. No spine. No control. Maybe that's why he never looked at you like a real heir."
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
"You want someone to put up with you? Go hire one. Maybe they'll pretend better than I can."
The door opened.
"Cal—" she whispered.
He didn't even look back.
Click.
Gone.
She stayed on the floor, knees pressed to cold marble, breath broken into small, wet sounds. Her lip trembled.
The rejection and abandonment stung hard.
She sobbed alone. And the only answer was the hum of the city outside.
=========================================================
Sera's eyes shot open to the sound of a thunderclap.
It was stormy outside, and she saw the lighting flashes through the curtain slits of her penthouse's floor to ceiling windows.
She sits up, realizing she had dreamed of that night again.
The covers felt warm against the cold of her air-conditioned room, and she snuggled back into them for comfort.
Now that he's back from his honeymoon in Europe with his wife, Callahan has been calling her nonstop.
And she's trying her best not to answer.
Not to bring back all the trauma again.
She's already begun to move on.
And In a few days... Her Dream, Inc. session will start. Ryden will be there.
Her Dream, Inc sessions, can help her forget all about Cal. Maybe she can really move on without him.
Hopeful, she convinces herself this crazy idea could work as she hugs herself to sleep in the covers.