The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 201

Margot’s POV

I watched it happen in real time.

The shift.

The snap.

One second he was sitting beside me, tense but controlled… and the next…

He was on his feet.

All self restraint gone.

It was like watching a storm roll in without warning, his entire body tightening with rage as he dragged a hand through his hair and began pacing the small space.

Back and forth.

Once.

Twice.

The energy in the room shifted instantly, thick and sharp, pressing in on my already fragile nerves.

And yet…

I believed what he’d said.

Every word he’d said about Addison, I felt was the truth.

The way he spoke.

The way his eyes held mine.

There was no hesitation.

No flicker of guilt.

No lie.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

Because it did.

More than I expected it to.

Knowing he’d once shared something with someone else…

Something I had never shared with anyone…

Something I had always imagined would mean something more when that first time would come…

Wasn’t sex supposed to be something special?

Something… earned?

My fingers curled slightly into the duvet as I watched him pace, the slight jealousy and ache settling in my heart.

But I couldn’t be angry at him for that.

Not really…

Because it was before me.

Before us.

And truthfully…

We weren’t even an official couple, which only made everything feel more complicated.

“Coban… sit back down, please…” I said gently, hoping for the best.

It felt like approaching a wild animal that could bolt or bite at any second, and like I suspected, he didn’t listen the first time around…

Of course he didn’t.

He paced again, faster this time, his jaw clenched so tight that he could have broke his damn teeth.

“Coban, come on…” I tried again, firmer. “We’ve barely even scratched the surface of everything we’re trying to fix and you’re already angry…”

That made him stop.

Abruptly.

Turning to face me now, with his expression still burning – eyes still lit with a new fire.

“Do you blame me?!” he snapped, as I pulled the duvet up over my legs a little more, needing a distraction.

His voice wasn’t directed at me exactly – but it still made me tense.

“I won’t have that bitch filling your head with shit and threatening you!” he continued, his hands flexing out at his sides. “She needs to be told the truth – she needs to understand that I think she’s nothing more than an annoying fucking whore!”

I nodded slowly at what he was saying, letting him get it out.

Because interrupting him now? Trying to question him now? That would only make it worse.

“I don’t want more problems on top of what we already have,” I said once he paused for a breath. “Let’s fix this first… fix us first… please?”

My voice softened on that last word, ‘please’.

A quiet plea to him to listen…

And to my surprise, it actually worked.

Barely, but it done the trick…

He groaned, dragging both hands down his face like he was trying to physically wipe the anger away himself.

“Fine!” he hissed. “But I’m not letting this go – you know that? She won’t get away with threatening you.” Coban ensured, as I simply gave a small nod.

I did know that… he would never let things go… no matter how much I begged him to.

He moved back to the bed then, dropping down beside me again, the mattress dipping under him as he shifted to get as comfortable as he could.

Still tense.

Still wound tight.

But at least he was back here, and not running up the hallways in search of Addison…

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