Free Madness or Love (Be With Me Book 1) by Selina Bodur

he asked, ignoring her suggestion.
    She hesitated. “Out.”
    “A fun girl’s night out?”
    She paused again. She had never lied to him; she
wasn’t about to start now.
    “Victoria?”
    “No,” she said weakly, fighting the guilt. “I’m having
a dinner . . . A date.”
    It was his turn to fall quiet. “Oh, I didn’t know you
. . . were dating someone.”
    Victoria felt the accusation in his voice, but she
couldn’t be sure if it was because she hadn’t told him or because she was with
another man. “It’s our first date.”
    “Have you know him a long time?” Ian sounded tense.
    “No, not really. I’ve met him once. He’s a friend of
Kim’s.”
    The silence stretched. She had never felt so
uncomfortable talking to him. “Ian — ”
    “So,” he interrupted quietly, “you’re out with a man
you know nothing about.” After a sharp intake of air, he exploded. “Are you out
of your mind?”
    It took her a few seconds to process his reaction.
“Excuse me?” She frowned at her phone.
    “Do you live in a vacuum? Don’t you read the news?
What if he’s a sadist, a serial killer, a rapist, or a pedophile, or any kind
of creep for that matter?”
    “You’re joking, right?” she asked.
    Ian felt his rage rising; the room darkened, and his
vision blurred. Damn you, Victoria , he thought. He clenched the phone
tighter. “Do I sound like I’m joking? Do you have any idea how many perverts
are out there?”
    Victoria felt torn between the warm feeling that he
cared and the anger. “This is ridiculous. Thomas is a great guy, and I actually
was having a great time . . .” She swallowed the last three words “before you
called” and bit her tongue. The sentence hung in the air, but he got the
meaning.
    Ian ignored the comment and the pain in his chest.
“Please don’t tell me you’re planning to go home with him.”
    Was that fear or disgust in his voice? Victoria opened
her mouth to protest or reassure him, to defend her actions, to tell him she’s
sorry, but in the end, her anger took over. All of the frustration and confusion
from the past few days seeped into her bitter words. “And how’s that any of
your business?”
    “V . . .” he started with a softer tone.
    “You had no problem when I went out with you the first
time.”
    “That was different,” he growled.
    She hated fighting with him and shivered
involuntarily. “And how was that different?”
    “I would never hurt you.” His words came very slowly
and quietly, almost whispered in her ear.
    She felt angry tears stinging in her eyes. “Really?
Are you sure about that?” she asked, desperately trying to control her voice.
    Ian took a breath. Fighting with Victoria wasn’t easy.
The need to comfort her, to have her in his arms, took over the anger. “V — ”
    “You know what?” she interrupted. “I’ll hang up now,
before you or I say anything we’ll regret.”
    “Victoria!” Her name lingered in the air, but she
pressed the red button. Her hands were shaking slightly. She blinked rapidly to
chase away the stinging reminder of her love. She starred at the phone—the last
and only connection she had with him. The display brightened again, lit by
Ian’s name. She turned the phone off.
    The sounds around her sprang to life again. Being with
Ian felt like a vacuum, like some great power has pressed the ‘mute’ button. No
one else mattered. She shook off the feeling of despair and remembered her date
sitting all alone in the restaurant. The man inside didn’t deserve any of her
attitude or a woman who’s heart had been taken. She stepped back into the cozy
space and headed to the table.
    Thomas smiled, but all of a sudden, his face
transformed with concern. “Is everything okay? Are you cold? You’re shaking.”
    “I’m fine,” she lied.
    He saw her empty stare and knew their date was over.
“Shall I ask for the check?”
    She nodded and looked at his concerned face. Life
could have been different for her