“I didn’t like it, though. I could follow the lessons. I was smart enough. But I just couldn’t bring myself to like it. I tried to. For a year, I poured my heart into it but I just couldn’t be happy. I couldn’t do it. My heart wanted to be somewhere else.” I walk over to the piano, running my hands over the fallboard. “I always wanted to be a musician, a composer, a singer. Growing up, I’d sit in the barn, up a tree or by my bedroom window and sing, play my guitar or come up with songs.”
He stands next to me. “I guess you really do love music.”
“I do. I did. I worked a few odd jobs for a while just to earn money to go to Tennessee. I wanted to be a country musician, so Tennessee it was. I intended to go to Nashville but I heard there are too many good musicians there. I decided to try other cities first. Eventually, I ended up in Memphis. I started playing in bars there. I became a wedding singer, too.”
“I bet you were really good.”
I move away from the piano. “Then I met Vincent Lestair. Vince. He’s the owner of a famous recording company. A billionaire. He used to be a singer himself, too. He promised me he would make me famous. He said he was in love with me, too, and that he was going to marry me. He said he was going to make all my dreams come true. Guess what? I believed him. I believed every word he said. Well, we did sign a recording contract and he gave me a diamond ring but he never did do anything after that. All my dreams turned into just one, big nightmare.”
Randall’s hands clench into fists. “What did he do to you?”
I take a deep breath, trying not to cringe as I remember. “He just kept me at the mansion. He didn’t hurt me at first but when I realized he was just playing around with me, I tried to leave. That’s when he locked me up. He locked me up and each time I tried to escape or fight him, he’d beat me up or hit me with a whip.”
“Then the scars on your back…”
“You saw?” I nod. “Those were from the whip and my arm…” I rub my left arm. “He did that, too. I was already on the floor, trying to protect myself with my arms and he kept kicking me.”
“Fucking bastard.”
“I managed to escape one night when a drunk, horny couple stumbled into my cell in search of a place to fuck. There was a party going on, a masquerade party. It gave me the perfect chance. I just ran and ran. I didn’t have money but apparently, the gown I had on was worth a lot. I took the bus. I just traveled around. I didn’t have anywhere to go.”
“Couldn’t you go back to your family?” Randall asks.
“My aunt and uncle? No. They didn’t want me anymore, not after how I let them down. They took me in and they were so good to me, treated me like their own child even after they had children but I let them down so…” I shrug. “I don’t really have a family or a home anymore.”
Randall says nothing.
“When I ran out of money, I found myself here in Texas. I ate leftovers from restaurants. I slept in church gardens, in cemeteries, on park benches. Then Carol found me.” I smile at the memory. “She was like an angel. But then she always had a good heart. She was my classmate in middle school, you know, just for a few years. We were friends. She remembered me and she decided to help me. She’s rich now. She owns a childcare agency so she said she’d give me a job as a nanny. I thought it was perfect. I could earn some money and I could hide from Vince because I knew he was still looking for me. That’s how I came to meet you and David.”
“At the mall, before you bumped into me, you seemed like you were running away from someone. Was that Vince?”
My eyebrows furrow. He noticed?
“I don’t know. I thought it was one of Vince’s men, but I guess I was just being paranoid. Anyway, he is still looking for me. He wants me back. And now, he’s found me. His men are here in Texas. Carol said so. And they’re asking around. They probably already know I work for Stargazers. It’s only a matter of time before Vince comes here. He may already be on his way.”
“So, you’re escaping from him?”
“Yes,” I answer. “I’d rather die than let him take me back.”
Randall falls silent. He looks shocked, shaken. He asked for it, though.
“There. I’ve told you everything,” I tell him, going back to my suitcase. “I have to go.”
“No.” He grabs my wrist again.
He’s still not letting me go?
“Don’t you understand? If he finds me here, he’ll take me and–”
“I won’t let him take you,” Randall says.
What?
“Let him come. He won’t hurt you.”
“Then he’ll hurt you. Or David. I can’t risk that.”
“I won’t let him hurt any of us,” Randall says, still gripping my wrist. “I’ll protect you and David. And I can take care of myself.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Vince is a monster. I’m not going to get you involved.”
“I’m already involved. I already care about you. David does, too. I can’t just let you walk away after hearing your story. What if he’s already out there waiting for you?”
“Better out there than here.” I wrench my hand away, rubbing it. “I would never forgive myself if anything bad happened to you and–”
“I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.” He takes my hand again. “What right does this Vince have to take you back? We’ll report him to the cops.”
“No. He’s too powerful. And I have no proof, only words.”
“I don’t understand why you can’t stay here. Surely, he won’t be so bold as to come here.”
“He will,” I assure him. “He thinks I belong to him. Maybe it’s because of the recording contract I signed. Or maybe it’s because he thinks we’re still engaged.”
“Then I’ll marry you.”
I look at him with wide eyes. “What?”
Did he say what I think he said?
“I’ll marry you,” he repeats.
That’s what I thought he said.
“Why would you do that?”
“If he knows you’re mine, then he won’t take you back anymore. He’ll know that you don’t belong to him anymore.”
I shake my head. “This is crazy.”
“I know how men think. Men like him think they own women, that they can have any woman they want. He wanted you, and you were easy for him to get. He knew just which buttons to press.”
I don’t like the sound of that.
“But not anymore. He can’t have you anymore. If you marry me, you will be my wife, my woman. Then he’ll have to give up.”
“I’m not sure he’ll ever give up.”
“Men usually give up on women when they get married.”
“Vince isn’t usual.”
“He’ll back off,” Randall says confidently. “You won’t just be married. You’ll be married to me. I have wealth and connections. He won’t be able to just take you away. If he tries, if he tries to hurt even one hair of your head, I’ll see to it that he rots in jail.”
At that, my eyes grow wide, a realization dawning on me for the first time. Alone, I don’t stand a chance against Vince. He can do what he wants with me and not suffer any of the consequences. But if I’m with someone like Randall, even if he hurts me, he’ll have to pay for it. He’ll pay for his crimes.
He’ll never be able to hurt anyone again.
“Sabrina?” Randall touches my shoulder.
I don’t answer. Yes, it may be a good idea. Randall may be able to keep me safe. Still, marry him?
“You don’t have to do this,” I say to him. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“I want to protect you.” He touches my cheek. “Let me protect you, Sabrina.”
I look away, falling silent.
“Or would you rather have Vince than me?” Randall asks.