Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 185

Forget it. She hadn't really planned on doing the video shoot anyway.

Martin replied: [Alright, we'll keep looking for the right fit. If you change your mind, you can reach out to me or Iris.]

[Okay.]

After sending the message, she scrolled down and saw that Sophie had sent her a barrage of texts.

[Willa, why does Randal have your phone?]

[Did that absolute jerk lock you up again?]

[I had my brother go check on you. Did you see him?]

[At least send me a reply! If you don't answer, I'm calling the cops!]

She quickly typed out a response: [Sophie, I'm fine. Don't bother Corbin with this anymore. It's not worth provoking Randal.]

The second she hit send, Randal walked over with a first-aid kit. He unceremoniously plucked the phone from her hand and shoved it into his pocket.

"If you're done texting, give it to me. And keep your distance from Sophie Sommers from now on."

He knelt in front of her, gently turning her wrist over. He squeezed out some ointment and carefully applied it to the red chafe marks. "Apply this every night. The marks will fade in a few days."

"Aren't you going to work?"

Randal looked up, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but swallowed it back, settling for a calm, "Not today. I'm staying here with you."

"Then can this chain come off?" She raised her arm slightly to gesture at the silver links.

Randal didn't argue. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the cuff, though he couldn't help adding, "But tomorrow, it goes back on."

"Randal, how long are you going to keep me locked up like this?"

He looked up at her, a sick, twisted desperation flooding his eyes, mingling with a pathetic vulnerability.

"Until you fall in love with me again."

Willa found him completely unreasonable. She chalked it up to his mental instability acting up again.

She turned and walked over to the closet, pulling out a dress at random before glancing back over her shoulder. "I'm changing. Get out."

Willa turned her head slowly, leaning close to his ear. She lowered her eyes to hide the painful sting of unshed tears, curving her lips into an icy smile. She intentionally aimed for maximum damage: "Yes. We did it plenty of times."

Her voice was soft, but it slammed into Randal's eardrums with devastating force.

The arm around her waist violently contracted, squeezing her so hard her bones ached, making her breath hitch in her throat.

She couldn't see his eyes, but she heard his voice shatter into a million jagged pieces. "Say that again!"

"Didn't you have me investigated five years ago? You keep asking me this over and over again—isn't this the exact answer you've been looking for?"

Willa's heart was already numb to the pain, yet she deliberately twisted the knife where it hurt them both the most. "Now I've told you. Are you satisfied?"

She used the sharpest words she could find to punish his endless suspicion, and to retaliate for the massive, insurmountable wall he had built between them over the past five years.

But exchanging vicious blows like this left them both bleeding out. She didn't feel even a fraction of vindictive pleasure. Her chest just ached with a hollow, gaping emptiness.

His lips rested against the side of her neck, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Willa tilted her head back, squeezing her eyes shut to force back her tears. "Are you done asking? If you're done, let go of me. I need to get dressed."