Aubrey had two phone calls to make that day.
One easy.
One frightening.
She called Jennifer first.
“Jennifer?”
“Aubrey, how are you?”
“Not good, Jennifer, but that’s not why I called.”
“Okay,” said Jennifer. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes, but we’ll talk about that some other time. I’m going on vacation for a few weeks, but I want you to continue working on the book. What I want you to do is start querying literary agents with the letter I emailed you.”
“Okay, I’ve never done that before, but I’ll give it a go and see what happens.”
“Thanks, Jennifer,” Aubrey said, an unusual amount of relief in her voice.
“No problem. Where are you going on vacation?”
“I’m going to Martha’s Vineyard for a week or so.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Yes, I need the time off. But I’ll be back soon, and then we can really get to work.”
“Anything else?” Jennifer wanted to know what had upset Aubrey, but she didn’t push.
Aubrey said no and hung up the phone.
Now the difficult phone call. The one to Ian, where she was going to return the ring.
Aubrey hit Ian’s number in her contact list and took a deep breath.
“Aubrey?” Ian’s voice sounded neutral.
“Ian, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?” Immediate suspicion.
“I’m giving back your ring. I’m not going to marry you.”
Silence.
Then, “Where are you?”
“Home.”
“I’m coming over.”
Before Aubrey could say anything, Ian was gone.
Aubrey was frightened. She was home alone, and she wasn’t sure what Ian would do. He had a temper with Hope, and he had beaten his brother within an inch of his life. What would he do to her?
Aubrey thought of something else. Ian had never been to her home, and it felt like two different worlds colliding. Suddenly, everything became way too real.
Aubrey thought about hiding somewhere until Ian calmed down. Maybe she should meet him in a public place. But she was frozen, sitting on her sofa, waiting for a knock at the door, when she would have to face Ian in his terrible state of anger. Surely he wouldn’t hurt her physically?
Aubrey waited for what seemed like an eternity, but was in fact only twenty minutes. She could hear the tick-tock of the grandfather clock in Foster’s study, the only thing breaking the absolute quiet in the house.
Why was she hiding in her own home, quiet and timid as a church mouse?
A few moments later, there was a quiet knock at the door. Aubrey had to answer it. Her car was in the driveway. Ian knew she was there.
Aubrey walked silently to the door and opened it.
There was Ian, filling the whole doorframe, a furious look on his face and fire in his eyes.
“Did you think you could make a fool of me?”
Ian managed to capture his anger, his contempt, and his arrogance all in one sentence.
Aubrey stood there, not able to move.
“Aren’t you going to ask me in?”
Aubrey snapped to attention and opened the door so Ian could pass. She closed it behind him, checking to see if one of her nosy neighbors might be watching.
No such luck.
Ian spotted the ring box on the entryway table. He grabbed it and stormed into the living room.
“How dare you?” Ian’s voice was low, deliberate, intimidating.
Aubrey swallowed. She couldn’t answer.
“Isn’t this what you were up to? You used me and then kicked me to the curb? No one does that to Ian Henshaw III. No one.”
Aubery found a small voice inside her but only managed to stutter out some nonsense.
Ian raved on. “You took me into therapy and got inside my head to manipulate me. Don’t say you didn’t. And then you turned me against my wife and my brother with your psychological crap. Then, when you had me all to yourself, you seduced me. Made me think you loved me. Made me give you gifts.”
“I….” was all Aubrey could say.
“I, what? You stupid bitch. I notice my diamond necklace isn’t here. Neither are the clothes. Were you planning on keeping those for yourself? Do you think you earned them?”
“No, I forgot them,” Aubrey could finally talk.
“Like you forgot we were going away this weekend? I made plans for us, you conniving little slut!”
Ian raised a hand to slap Aubrey, then thought better of it.
That made Aubrey defensive and angry.
“Who do you think you are? Coming into my home and…”
“And what? Demanding what’s mine? You misleading little whore!”
Aubrey retaliated. “I am not a slut, a bitch, or a whore, you arrogant prick! I am a woman who fell in love, and you took full advantage of that.”
“I took advantage?” Ian sputtered. “How the fuck did I take advantage of you?”
Aubrey was at a loss for words. She had hoped Ian would just disappear. Find another girl to manipulate. But apparently, she had gotten under his skin.
“You were the one who asked me out after you said you were cured,” Aubrey said.
“You know it’s against all ethics to treat a patient for mental health issues and then date them, don’t you? I should make a complaint,” Ian said coolly, calculating.
“But you won’t, Ian. You were the one who ended the sessions. You were the one who said you were cured. You asked me out after that. I have records to prove it.”
“You’ve considered everything, haven’t you? And you were perfectly fine to drink my champagne, to enjoy dinners I treated you to, and to accept expensive gifts—until I asked for a commitment.
“You pressured me into that. You didn’t give me presents because you loved me. You did it to trap me.”
“Oh yeah? Weren’t you the one who said I should give my wife presents like flowers to make her feel appreciated? But flowers weren’t good enough for you, Aubrey; you had to have diamonds.” Ian was getting worked up again.
“I didn’t ask for any of those things.”
“But you kept them anyway. The only thing you’re giving back is the ring. I have the proof right here.” Ian held up the wedding ring as a gesture to prove his point.
“I’ll get the rest of the things you gave me.”
“No,” Ian said. “Keep them. I don’t want to see them again. Wear them to seduce the next guy you want to fuck.”
Aubrey was incensed. “When did you get so vulgar? Where’s the Ian who was kind and caring? The Ian who could open up about his feelings? The Ian who was tender?”
“I did that the last time we made love—after I gave you the ring. I made love to you in a gentle and caring way. You hated it. You couldn’t even hide it. You were bored out of your head. You didn’t even try to pretend to enjoy my effort to be gentle and caring, you lying bitch.”
“I wasn’t used to that from you, Ian. I promise I’ll appreciate it more if you just give me a chance.” Aubrey regretted saying it as soon as it came out of her mouth.
But there it was. In one instant, Aubrey had given all the power back to Ian by admitting, on some level, that he was right.
“There’ll be a next time, all right. You haven’t heard the last of me. I know you want me. But you want the dickhead version of me. The Ian who takes what he wants and controls everything through sheer power. That’s the man you want. You don’t want love from me. You want me to take you when I want. To fuck you hard when I want. And that’s what you got.”
Aubrey didn’t know what to say after that. He was right, in a way. Now, Aubrey regretted her fantasies about Ian. She remembered the nightmare she had about him when they first met. This was more reality than she could handle.
“I think you should go,” Aubrey said.
“No,” Ian said. “We’re going to talk about our future together.”
Aubrey felt sick from the sudden clarity of the situation.
But this was not a conversation. This was a confrontation Ian intended to win.
“No,” she said again, firmer now. “We’re not talking about a future. There isn’t one.”
Ian laughed. “You don’t get to end this. Consider this your own therapy. You made a mess, and now you have to atone for it.** Why don’t we do some role-playing? I’ll be the angry husband who yells at his wife, and you’ll be the stupid bitch who takes it?”
“This isn’t funny, Ian.”
“I’m not laughing,” Ian said.
Aubrey was backing up, trying to remember where she left her cell phone.
“Let’s pretend you’re Hope,” said Ian, “and I’m Foster. You haven’t been out of bed all day. I come home and what do you say?”
Aubrey looked at Ian, frightened.
“You say, sorry, Foster, I was too busy fucking Calder the gardener all day.”
“How did you know about that?” Aubery was in shock. “You have no right to talk about that!”
“Oh, don’t I? Because when you were fucking me, were you thinking about a younger man or was it the other way around?”
“You have no right,” Aubrey sputtered.
“I think I do,” Ian said. “And on behalf of myself, Foster and Calder, I say that you jerked us all over for your insatiable sexual appetite. Then, you have the nerve to write a book about it. Now the old me would have really let you have it. But thanks to therapy, I’m enlightened now. And I go about things more calmly.”
“That’s great,” said Aubrey, “I’m glad you got something out of it.”
“Oh, I did,” said Ian, and if you use me in any way in your book, I’m going to get a whole lot more, as in, everything you have.”
At this point, Ian was calming down; he had gotten it all out of his system.
Aubrey had relaxed, too.
She found her voice. “I think you should leave Ian, before you do something you regret.”
“I think you’re right. Wouldn’t like for you to be spending too much time down at the police station, like you had to with Foster and his little blonde playmate.”
Ian turned and left. He had gotten his last little jab in and was gone.
Aubrey immediately found her phone and put her thoughts down.
She opened a new note and typed a single line:
Chapter One: The Men Who Believe They Own You
If you have a man in your life who turns everything you do or say into something that suits them, you are in an abusive relationship. There is nothing you can do or say that will appease them, so you need to protect yourself.
Aubrey leaned back, exhaled slowly, and let herself shake.
This was a valid thought.
But Aubrey didn’t have any advice to give to herself, let alone anyone else. This hurt was too fresh, too unresolved.
Aubery was right about one thing, though. She needed a few weeks off in a quiet place. Martha’s Vineyard would be perfect.
But she wanted someone to travel with. Jennifer would be the logical choice. They could work on the book. But Aubrey thought of someone else she wanted to take; a friend who was always there for her.
Someone who had nothing to do with anything in her life. Someone who could provide some no-strings-attached company. Someone who adored her.
She knew just the right person.
She phoned Calder, her gardener.