I stood there for what seemed like an eternity, trying to make sense of it all. In my periphery, I could see him turning around, but before Azmir could utter a word, I headed toward the bedroom. I went straight to the closet to throw on a pair of jeans. As I reached up to grab a pair off the shelf, I felt his hand snatch them from my grip. Looking up, I saw his heavy eyes.
“I don’t need this shit right now. Let me explain,” he spoke with flared nostrils and out of breath.
“Explain? Explain how you were going marry me and secretly take care of a woman who cheated on you and fucking humiliated you in front of your peers by getting pregnant by a wanna-be rapper?” Azmir’s forehead wrinkled. “You think I didn’t know? I do!”
Frustration flashed across his face. “Rayna, you don’t know all the details of this story. Let’s sit down so that I can explain them to you.”
“Fuck you, Azmir! Apparently you don’t mind allowing people like Tara and her father make a fool out of you, but I don’t take well to it being done to me at all.”
I looked up to go for my jeans, but his hand was still laying on top of them. Beyond frustrated, I peeled off my engagement ring and slammed it into his chest. “You can give this to her to pawn for more money. I’m sure it will get her enough money to buy you time to get over me because I am fucking out of here!”
He grabbed the ring and I saw the fear in his face. He shook his head, “No. You’re not running. Not over something that means nothing to me. Not right now...not ever!” his voice grew.
“Move, Azmir!” I screamed, nearly to top of my lungs, feeling my tears flooding the sockets of my eyes. “Move!” He wouldn’t budge. He just kept shaking his head.
“Move!”
“No! You’re not leaving! She doesn’t fucking matter. That money wasn’t significant. I can fucking wipe the shit from my ass with it! It won’t happen again,” he declared.
I don’t know where the audaciousness came from, perhaps from my rage, but the next I knew I had hauled off and punched Azmir in his mouth. His head swung from the unexpected blow. Fear pounded in my chest. What in the world did I just do? What is he going to do?
When he turned his face back to me, I flinched internally, in disbelief of my anger. But I was ready for more. I was eyeing the vase sitting on top of the island there in the closet. If he made one move to hit me, I would make a dive for it.
Azmir’s face was balled and his grimace was fixated on me. We were both out of breath waiting on each other’s next move.
“Got any more?” he muttered.
I was caught completely off guard by his question—his reaction. My eyes danced back and forth, trying to read his, to find his level of anger. Before I knew it, he’d lunged down at me, covering my lips with his, gripping my face to his, using his large and strong hands. He tried forcing his tongue in my mouth as I plied my mouth shut and tried to break away from his impossible clamp. I bit his lip and while he winced, Azmir didn’t let up. He was determined to have me participate in an oral embrace, but I was too angry with him. I banged my fists into his ironclad chest, trying to deter his grip, but to no avail.