Page 49 of Queen’s Gambit

Yulianna

Eddie was a man obsessed.

He had been consumed since he snuck out for a meeting in the early morning hours, leaving me alone in bed. I understood that Eddie felt he needed to be more powerful to marry me but this was extreme. He went to classes, but then he spent the rest of his time sitting in his SUV on the phone or doing paperwork. He left the property to take meetings and wouldn’t tell me who any of them were, which scared me.

I trusted him with every fiber of my being. But I worried that by pushing so hard, he would make a deal he regretted later, or he would sell his soul, and I never wanted that, not for him or us.

We hardly saw one another anymore, and it felt like we were wasting this opportunity. No matter how much he acquired, my father could still say no, and meanwhile, this little window of time was closing. My mind and heart were in constant turmoil as the flurry of emotions collided inside of me.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, I sighed. It was getting late, and Eddie was supposed to be back by now. I hadn’t even realized the time, and the library was empty. It was cozy enough, but the dark shadows in the corners caused shivers to race all over my body.

Gathering my things and trying not to look like a panicky idiot for no reason, I hooked my leather bag on my shoulder and walked to the exit.

The frigid air outside reminded me of home. I wrapped my arms around my torso and took a deep breath. It was a cold that I didn’t want to return to despite my family being there.

I hadn’t taken three steps when a hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed my arm, dragging me around the side of the building.

“Let go of me,” I yelled and pulled against my assailant. A grunt escaped me as my back was slammed up against the library wall.

It was so dark that I couldn’t see who had a hold of me. All I knew was that it wasn’t Eddie. Even joking, he would never treat me this way. I knew his touch as intimately as if it were my own, and the hands roughly handling me were not his.

“I said let go,” I growled, pushing against the much stronger person.

“Relax, Yuli. It’s just me,” Lawrence said.

An icy terror raced down my spine, but I stopped fighting...for now.

“What do you want, Lawrence?”

“I just wanted to talk privately,” he said.

Instead of letting me go, he stepped in closer. In the dim light, I could see his blue eyes. I’d never felt comfortable around him and made a point of steering clear unless he was with Eddie.

“Privately? And you couldn’t come into the library for this conversation? Instead you chose to wait until I come outside, yank me into the shadows and scare me?”

“I knew Edmundo would be pissed if he saw me talking to you alone. He’s possessive and jealous like that. Don’t fool yourself he wants to control you.”

I narrowed my gaze at Lawrence. Eddie trusted me, and had never once tried to control me. Was he just trying to put seeds of doubt in my mind? There was no telling what his plan was, but I played along.

“Okay, fine. What is this about?”

Despite the fear, my voice was calm like I was staring down a dangerous animal. There was something off about him. What it was exactly, I couldn’t say, but my instincts screamed to get away.

“About us.”

“Us? I don’t understand.”

The alarm bells in my head rang loud and clear. I needed to get away from him.

He pressed closer, and I wished I could meld into the cold stone of the wall.

“Don’t be like that, Yuli. I’ve seen the way you look at me.”

He released one of my arms only to put his disgusting hand on my hip. I wanted to recoil, but if I fought back too soon, the likelihood of getting out of this without him forcing himself on me was slim. Part of me didn’t really believe this was happening.

Lawrence’s friendship with Eddie had been strained since he quit the soccer team, but he still sat with us at lunch and most dinners. How could Lawrence see us together and think that I had any interest in anyone but Eddie?

“Is that so,” I said, adding a touch of flirtatiousness to my tone. He groaned, picking up on it right away. “I wondered when you would,” I said, and wanted to vomit as my stomach churned.