Clarissa’s POV
The door was forced open and I was pushed backward. He forced himself inside and began to
look around angrily.
“Where is he? Where the fuck is he?!”
Lorenzo stormed into the living room and tossed all my pillows to the ground.
“I want to see where that bastard is hiding! Where the fuck is he?!”
I was in shock. I hurriedly locked my room and ran after him.
“Lorenzo!”
“Stay away from me, Clarissa! Tell me where he is now!”
He pushed past me and went to the kitchen. He looked around: under the table, behind that
door, and even out of the window. I tried to stop him before he hurt himself but I was hesitant. I
didn’t want to be the new victim of his rage.
“Where is he, Clarissa?!”
He turned to me in fury. His eyes were bearing down on me and my heart was beating rapidly in
my chest.
“I don’t…”
“Don’t you dare play dumb with me! You know exactly what I am talking about!”
He grabbed my neck and began to strangle me. My eyes stung and watered as I fought for my life.
“Lor…” cough cough.
“I am giving you a few minutes. Tell me where that bastard is hiding!”
I beat his hands. My lungs were giving out. I could feel them collapsing in on themselves from the
lack of oxygen.
“Lor, I can’t…”
He finally let go of me and I fell to the floor and was coughing in a fit. My neck was in pain and my
eyes were watery.
I saw him look around anxiously and he stormed off to check the rest of my house.
I was too tired to go after him and sat on the floor regaining my strength.
I watched him turn the pantry inside out and he laid waste to my living room.
Finally, it dawned on him and he rushed upstairs to the rooms.
I was able to get myself to my feet and waddle weakly to the fridge to get a drink of water and
open up my throat.
As I downed the water, I sat and tried to recollect my thoughts.
I had told no one about this house. How was he able to track me here? How did he find me?
My hairs on my back rose and I remembered my ride home.
Had…had he been following me?! But why?
Slowly, I returned to my normal self but I didn’t dare to head upstairs after him. I sat at the
kitchen table and continued to drink my water.
I could hear the grunts he made from upstairs and I saw a pillow come flying down the banister.
What was he looking for? Who was ‘he’?
“Damn it!” I heard him tell in frustration and I heard the sound of wood smashing.
I sat there quietly. I was still shaken. He had strangled me and nearly tried to kill me, over
something that I had no idea about.
It was a long time before he came back downstairs. He saw me at the dining table and he stared
at me. I flinched uncomfortably and felt the sweat all over my body.
My body writhed in discomfort and though I looked away from him, I could still feel his eyes all
over me.
His heavy footsteps thudded across the floor as he walked over to me.
“Where is he, Clarissa? Don’t you dare act dumb.”
His voice wasn’t a yell but was so dangerously calm that it sent shivers down my spine.
“I…I really don’t know what you mean. Who are you looking for?”
My voice was soft and full of innocence. I really had no idea what he was talking about.
I could see the frustration in him as he bit his lower lip and grabbed me again by the neck. This
time, his grip was not as strong and he made me look him in the eyes.
“I don’t know if you take me for a fool, Clarissa. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Where
is that ‘boyfriend’ of yours?”
My body tightened in fear and I saw his eyes darken even more.
“Ahhh, I see that I have finally jogged your memory. That’s good. I was out for a few days and you
decided to go ahead and live with someone else when you know that you are mine. No one else
can have you.”
His grip tightened slightly and he pulled me roughly closer to him and I gasped in fright.
“I’ll ask this again and you better answer the question. Where is …”
“I don’t have one! I lied!”
It all rolled off my tongue so fast. I had no idea how to hold it back.
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for him to hit me for lying but the slap never came.
His grip on me weakened slightly and when I peeped at him, he was still glaring at me but he was
slightly less angry than before.
“I do not take kindly to lying, Clarissa and there is no need for you to protect him either. I want to
know where he is.”
” I don’t have one, Lorenzo. I lied to Erica. I said that because I wanted to have a reason to live in
this house without her suspicion. I’m telling the truth.”
He looked at me and then looked around at the house that he had trashed in his anger.
“This isn’t your boyfriend’s house?”
I blushed hard. I had been caught so I might as well tell the full story.
“There is no boyfriend. And no, this isn’t his house. It is mine. I bought it.”
He looked at it in shock.
“You…”
“I bought it with the money you gave me and my savings. I’m not a little girl. I’m just as old as
Erica and I think I can have a house of my own. I’m not going to be…”
My tongue stopped working and my teeth clamped down on it to keep it silent.
Lorenzo was already intrigued and he made me stand up and pulled me closer. There was no
smile on his face; there was no expression at all. He simply looked at me intently as he held me
against his body.
“You were saying something and I would like you to finish it. You’re not going to be what?”
Beads of sweat dotted my forehead and I was taunt with anxiety. How could I tell him that I was
trying to be as rich as Erica so that he would finally see my worth, accept me as his mate, and
leave her?
“Clarissa?”
There was a ball stuck in my throat no matter how hard I swallowed. I couldn’t dislodge it.
I lowered my head but he made me look up at him again.
“Speak.”
Another shiver.
“I…I’m not going to be…a… a maid forever. I have my own life and I intend to do more than just
cooking and looking after the kids.”
He said nothing and pulled away from me. He grabbed my wrists, placed them together, and held
them with his hands.
He then began to drag me upstairs.
I was scared and resistant and fought to get away from him.
“Where are you taking me?!”
“Shut up and get upstairs, Clarissa…”