Anger surged through me, and I stepped forward to confront him, but Richard stopped me.

“Man, I think you should leave now,” Richard said calmly, though I could tell he was struggling to control his anger.

Austin ignored him and continued throwing hurtful words at me.

“You are such a whore, a fucking cold bitch who toys with people’s feelings. Now you’ve moved on to your next victim.”

I understood that he was hurt by how things ended between us, but that didn’t give him the right to walk into my house and insult me. I stepped forward again, ready to speak, but his next words froze me completely.

“Oh don’t try to say anything. I know your fucking excuse is that you had a nasty past because your mother abandoned you. But guess what? Your past didn’t create this cold and heartless version of you. You did that by choice.”

Tears filled my eyes as I struggled to hold them back. His words cut deeply into me. He knew my past was the most fragile part of my life, this was something I was still fucking struggling with. I tried to speak. God, I tried but no words came out. I just stared at him like an idiot, shocked by the hatred in his voice and the cruelty of his words.

Before I could gather myself, Richard stepped in front of me.

“I don’t care what happened between you two, but you don’t speak to anyone like that. It’s time for you to leave.” His voice carried authority, putting an end to Austin’s insults, but Austin only laughed mockingly.

Richard became even more irritated and was about to throw a punch when Austin suddenly hit him first. Within seconds, Richard pushed him violently in return.

Oh geez.

I knew I had to stop them before things got worse, but getting between two angry men would be a terrible idea. So I quickly rushed to where I had dropped my bag and searched for my phone.

I glanced back at them just in time to see Austin’s fist land hard against Richard’s face, drawing blood instantly. The hit only made things worse as Richard punched him repeatedly.

Shit.

I immediately called the head of my security team. Within minutes, security men rushed in and separated them, before dragging Austin out.

“On no account should I ever see him here again,” I yelled at the head of my security. “Austin must never step foot in my house again unless you want to lose your job. Do I make myself clear?”

He nodded quickly. “I’m very sorry, Ms. Lana. It won’t happen again.”

As soon as Richard and I were alone again, my mind became restless. I didn’t want to explain my past or Austin’s behavior to a stranger. Even though I enjoyed Richard’s company, he was still just a bold and mannerless stranger.

I swallowed hard and slowly turned to face him.

He stood quietly, staring at me, but his expression wasn’t demanding answers. It was pity and I fucking hated it too.

“You shouldn’t be spoken to that way, no matter what happened,” he said softly.

I barely cared about his sympathetic words. My attention was fixed on the blood dripping from his knuckles. I gently grabbed his injured hand and called one of my maids to bring the first aid kit. Only then did he notice how badly his hand was injured. I swiftly retrieved the first aid supplies from her.

"Please, sit," I instructed Richard, and he complied. As I began to apply treatment to his bruises, I couldn't help but apologize multiple times.

However, Richard gently grasped my wrist, halting my actions. "Do not ever apologize for being a victim of an abuse." he advised firmly. 

His words resonated deeply within me, stirring memories of my own tumultuous past, particularly with my second foster parent. Lost in thought, I found myself back in the past.

Thank you for reading ❤️ 

Continue Lana’s story in chapter eight.