“You do seem like you could crush a boulder.”
“Yes,” Randall agrees. “A person—no, a monster—especially someone who takes advantage of innocent, young women and hurts them, would be relatively easy.”
Vince still projects an image of composure. “Careful, Mr. Brewster. Force doesn’t always get you what you want.”
“I always get what I want,” Randall says. “And I don’t have to resort to locking people up and beating them. Only cowards and sniveling little boys who haven’t grown balls yet do that.”
Vince’s jaw clenches. Ah, it seems he’s at the end of his patience.
“I will get back what is rightfully mine, Mr. Brewster,” he warns.
The words send a chill up my spine.
“Rightfully?” Randall arches an eyebrow. “Forgive me, Mr. Lestair, but I don’t see anything here that is rightfully yours, ever was or ever will be.”
Vince’s nostrils flare. “We’ll see about that.” He glares at me and then turns on his heel and leaves, heading toward the exit.
I wait until he’s out of sight, then let go of the breath I’ve been holding as well as Randall’s arm.
“Sabrina?” Randall stands in front of me. “Are you all right?”
I nod, finishing the rest of my champagne in one gulp and then setting the empty glass down on a passing waiter’s tray.
“I just…” I place a hand over my chest in an effort to slow down my still pounding heart. “I think I need to go to the restroom for a bit.”
“Go, then. I’ll go and make sure that bastard leaves.”
I go to the restroom, heading straight into an empty cubicle. After locking the door, I sit on the toilet, sucking air into my lungs as I calm myself down.
Breathe, Sabrina. It’s over.
Right. Vince is gone. Randall scared him away.
If not for Randall, I don’t know what I would have done. I probably would have bolted or collapsed.
I wasn’t sure if I was really able to face him but at least I didn’t break down and cry in front of him. I was even able to resist the urge to slap his face. I should be proud of myself.
So be proud, Sabrina.
Eventually, I feel my heart slow down, my breathing even out. I take one more deep breath and then get out of the cubicle, going over to the sink so I can check how I look in the mirror.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I jump, startled by the voice.
“What? It’s just me.” Helena stands beside me, putting her purse down near the sink and fixing her hair as she stares at her reflection in the mirror.
Another person I don’t want to see. I almost ask what she’s doing here but I realize she was probably invited, too. Or maybe her husband was. At any rate, she has more reason to be at parties like this than I do.
I should never have come. It was great at first, but now, there are just too many people.
“I have to go.” I turn to leave but she grabs my arm.
Now, what? What does she want from me?
“Randall is waiting,” I tell her.
“My brother can wait. You can always tell him that you combed your hair or retouched your makeup.” She hands me a tube of mascara from her purse. “Men won’t mind. They like their women always pretty, and they understand how long that takes.”
I look at the black tube. “No, thanks.”
“Your lashes would look better,” she says, applying a fresh layer of lipstick and smacking her lips. “And you’ll have a reason not to cry.”
I narrow my eyes suspiciously. “Why would I cry?”
“Because you’re stupid enough to fall in love with my brother. You know he doesn’t love you back, right?”
“Excuse me?” I face her squarely.
I was able to stand my ground against Vince. I can do the same with Randall’s sister.
Helena ignores me, applying her lip gloss. “He hasn’t told you he loves you, has he?”
I place a hand on my hip. “How would you know?”
She chuckles. “I know my own brother, I think.”
“No, you don’t.”
She puts her lip gloss back in her purse and picks up the mascara that I refused, applying it. “You know, when I first met you, I couldn’t understand what Randall saw in you. Then I saw your abusive ex just now and I understood.”
“My what?”
“Your abusive ex.” She turns to me. “I saw you and Randall talking to him. I saw how scared you were and how angry he was. I saw how that man looked at you. I just knew right away that he’s your abusive ex. Am I wrong?”
Unfortunately, she’s right. Even so…
“You don’t know anything, Helena, so stay out of it.”
“Ooh. Is that a warning?” She goes back to applying her mascara. “Are you feeling brave now?”
I suddenly wish I had Zombie with me.
“I know more than you do, darling.” She bends over the sink as she examines her eyelashes. “I know that Randall is just protecting you and you’re just using him.”
“I’m not using him,” I argue.
“Not anymore, but it started out that way. Sadly, you fell in love with him, mistaking his protective instinct for love.”
“It’s only normal for a person to want to protect the person he loves,” I point out.
“Yes, that’s true.” She puts her tube of mascara back in her purse. “But tell me, Sabrina, what came first? The love or the protective instinct?”
I don’t answer.
“If it’s the latter, how can you be sure that there is love and not just that instinct?”
I sigh. “You know, Helena, I’m tired. I’m leaving.”
I start walking away.
“Do you know that he didn’t love his first wife, either?”
I stop. “What?”
“Don’t you find it strange that he doesn’t talk much about her?”
I face Helena. “It’s not strange. Randall loved his wife so it hurts to talk about her. How can you say he didn’t love her when she was the mother of his child?”
She combs her hair. “Are you saying all husbands love the mother of their children?”
“No, but—”
“Did Randall tell you how he met her? How she died?”
“No, but I’m pretty sure he’ll tell me when—”
“Dinah was a chambermaid at a hotel,” Helena narrates as she continues to comb her hair. “One of the guests was trying to force himself on her and Randall rescued her. The guest was a rich man. He complained. Dinah got fired. Randall took her in. He took care of her and then he got her pregnant.”
I want to leave but my feet won’t move, my ears eager to hear the rest of the story. He told me that the story of how they met wasn’t special, I think.
“Of course, Randall married her after.”
Now I know why Helena asked me if I was pregnant.
“And they were happy for a while but, like all married couples, they started fighting. I don’t know exactly what they fought about but, when Dinah was in her final trimester, they had a really big fight. She left the house and she ended up getting hit by a car. Her baby survived but she didn’t. Randall blamed himself for her death. I think he still does.”
No. It can’t be true.