Love is just a word. She’s my everything
"You still haven't answered me, why did you do all this?" Austin asked, his jaw tight with anger. Instead of replying, Douglas leaned close to Dora, brushing his lips slowly along her neck.
"Care to explain how he found out you were here, baby?" he whispered.
Dora’s chest rose and fell in panic. She remembered his earlier warning, the madness in his eyes that had only grown over the past three months. She knew what staying quiet would cost, not just her, but Austin too.
"I... I don’t..." she stammered, shaking her head. But Douglas bit down on her shoulder, a dark warning, before cutting her off.
"Doesn’t matter now."
Austin flinched as she cried out.
"Stop fucking touching her!" he shouted.
Douglas only smirked.
"Oh, I’ve done a lot more than just touch her these last three months. Haven’t I, baby?"
Dora wanted to deny it. She wanted to scream the truth. But her lips stayed still.
What was the point? In Austin’s eyes, wasn’t she already worse than a whore? Just a plaything? Something he’d used and discarded? Why would he believe she was forced?
Why would he even try to save her? There was nothing between them anymore. So why was her heart begging her to tell him everything? Why did her conscience ache so loudly?
She didn’t understand, why had he looked for her at all? After that brutal end to their story, hadn’t he walked away without a second thought? She had left to protect him... and yet, even after everything, she still loved him. But love didn’t erase the sting of reality. The last time they spoke, he crushed her.
Douglas had forbidden her from even thinking about anyone else, but she had learned to read his face. And the way he looked at her now, that smug confidence in his eyes... it told her Austin had moved on. He’d forgotten her. What a cruel twist, two men she once trusted now stood on opposite sides. One shattered her soul. The other broke her spirit. Both were guilty. Both were fighting. But neither had protected her.
What Dora didn’t know was that Douglas had lied. He never told her the truth, that Austin had been searching for her like a madman, refusing to give up. Then Austin spoke, and his words cut through the tension like a blade:
"Even if God himself came down and swore my wife enjoyed your touch, I still wouldn’t believe it. Her morals are worth more than your filthy lies."
Dora’s eyes flew open. Douglas’s smug smile finally slipped.
"How... touching," he said with a sneer. "For a second, I almost thought you loved her."
"What do you know about love?" Austin shot back. Although Austin was the one who asked the question, one look into Douglas’s eyes told him everything. Obsession. And worse, something that looked like love. The way Douglas’s hand gently rested on Dora’s belly, it wasn’t just possessive. It was… tender. Like he’d already accepted the child as his own. Maybe that’s why the baby had survived this long.
"You love her," Austin said quietly.
Douglas gave a cold laugh.
"Love is just a word. She’s my everything."
"Her innocence... her kindness... the way she cares," Douglas continued, his eyes never leaving Dora. "She doesn't belong in this cruel world. She's an angel. My angel. My queen."
Then his smile turned sharp. "And she definitely doesn’t belong to a heartless bastard like you."
He stepped forward.
"How dare you call her a whore?"
Austin was too stunned to respond. The next second, a punch slammed into his stomach, knocking the air out of him. Before he could react, another one struck his nose. Pain exploded through his face, and he stumbled back, crashing to the floor.
Then came the kicks, hard and fast, one after another, slamming into his ribs. He tried to cover himself, but Douglas didn’t stop. Not until Dora screamed loud enough to pierce through the fury.
Already injured from his earlier fight with Daniel, Austin could barely move. Douglas’s blows had only made things worse. Leaving Austin gasping on the ground, Douglas turned back to the trembling Dora and helped her into a chair.
"This will take a while, baby," he said softly, like nothing had happened. "You don’t need to worry yourself."
Dora’s hands shook. Tears ran down her face.
"Please… stop hurting people," she begged, choosing her words carefully. One wrong word might set him off again.
Douglas crouched in front of her, wiping her tears.
"He has to pay for what he did," he said calmly. "Once he’s gone, there’ll be no more obstacles. Just us, forever."
"Please don’t..." she sobbed, shaking her head.
He placed a finger on her lips to silence her.
"Shh. Did you forget how he hurt you? I’m just getting revenge for you."
Dora opened her mouth to protest, but then she heard a low chuckle. She turned toward Austin, who was lying on the ground, blood dripping from his nose.
He was laughing. It wasn’t madness. It was ironic. Douglas, avenging Dora’s pain? If that was true, he should be the first one on the list. The look on Douglas’s face shifted the moment he turned away from Dora and back to Austin, who was now slowly dragging himself upright.
"Keep your filthy hands away from my wife," Austin growled through clenched teeth.
Douglas scoffed.
"I should’ve broken your hands the night you dragged her out of that club. You don’t even know how close I was to killing you outside your apartment."
Austin winced, limping. That’s when he noticed something. Douglas’s pistol, it was gone. The two men circled each other slowly now, eyes locked. Like wild animals about to strike.
"So you were following her that night," Austin said. "It wasn’t luck that you saw her at my place. You were watching her. And you took her."
"If I’d known what you planned to do to her, I wouldn’t have waited. I would’ve killed you that night," Douglas snapped, fists clenched. "And by now, Dora would be my wife."
He glared at Austin.
"You took her from me twice. The first time, I let her go. But when I saw her again in court... I swore I’d never lose her again."
Something clicked in Austin’s mind. A memory. A party.
"Don’t tell me..." he began. "You were at Daniel’s New Year’s party?"
Douglas’s smirk returned.
"You’re not as stupid as I thought."
"That’s why you looked familiar," Austin muttered, narrowing his eyes. He began circling again, trying to think, trying to stay calm. He should’ve made the connection sooner. Douglas and Daniel had worked together. And Daniel, being the friendly type, probably invited him to one of those parties.
"I thought you saw me first the night I took Dora to that lodge," Douglas said, watching Austin’s every move.
Both men circled one another now, tension thick in the air, danger in every step.
“That was part of your plan too? To mess things up between us?” Austin clutched his side, wincing as the pain from Douglas’s earlier blow burned in his ribs.
“I didn’t have to do much,” Douglas replied coolly, his eyes tracking Austin’s every step. “You’re a possessive, arrogant bastard. You never knew what you had. She’s an angel… and you crushed her.”
“Then why pretend to date Sienna?” Austin snapped, anger lacing every word. The thought that Douglas used not just Dora, but Sienna too, cut deeper than any wound.
He needed answers. How did he miss the truth when it was all happening right under his nose?
Of all people, Douglas was the last person he’d suspect, the same man who once stood in the hospital and called Dora his sister. Not his mother. Not Paulina.
It was Douglas all along. And the worst part? They’d all been pawns in his twisted game.
But for what?
Was it an obsession? Was it all for Dora?
“Sienna was just a way to stay close to Dora,” Douglas admitted, with no guilt in his voice. “I knew how blindly loyal she was to a jerk like you.”
“Take one to know one,” Austin bit back.
“At least I never humiliated her in public like you did,” Douglas shot back, his voice rising. “Even when that annoying woman tested my patience, I kept my cool. But it doesn’t matter now. Everything is falling into place.”
Austin’s breath caught. His stomach turned.
“You were behind Dora’s accident?” he asked, stunned.
Every time he thought Douglas couldn’t get any worse, he found a new low. From her seat, Dora’s eyes widened. The mention of Sienna pulled her back to the present, but with Douglas’s constant threats, her mind had become numb to everything except surviving.
“Don’t worry,” Douglas said, his voice ice-cold. “Once I’m done with you, she’s next.”
Dora's lips parted in horror, but Austin spoke first.
“You’re insane,” he growled. “You’d hurt anyone, ruin lives, just because you couldn’t have her.”
Douglas’s expression darkened, but his voice remained calm, almost haunting.
“Four years ago, I saw her. Dora. Standing alone in Daniel’s garden. She looked so pure, like she didn’t belong in this broken world. I fell for her that night. But when I stepped forward, you showed up and took her away. Daniel later told me you were married. So I backed off.”
He scoffed bitterly.
“Back then, I listened to my conscience, my mother’s stupid voice in my head telling me right from wrong. But now?”
A twisted smile curved on his lips.
“Now, I don’t care.”
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