Hurt Love

"What do you want?" The question he asked kept ringing in her head as memories of the last time they were together flashed through her mind. He had whipped her, kissed her, and taken her to the highest peak of pleasure with promises of forever and then he disappeared.

Thinking about it now she did not particularly expect him to reply her warmly. It was obvious that he was damaged, that he did not feel emotions like love the way normal people felt it, but the way he asked that question, that tone, it was not just lacking in affection, it was demeaning. it was full of imagery and she could see him in her mind's eye looking down on her.

It's been a year since "the unfortunate incident" as she had taken to call her experience with

Rydan and she could still feel the condescending aura he exuded through the phone almost like he was towering over her making her feel less than the dirt beneath his expensive designer boots.

He made her want to shrink back into the darkest corners of existence just to escape his formidably demeaning presence. Tara hadn't seen him or heard from him since that unfortunate phone call and the last she heard he left town to god knows where, not that she was interested in knowing. At least that is what she tells herself.

Tara's life wasn't stagnant over the year that passed since

Rydan disappearance. She didn't have the time to dwell on what happened between herself and

Rydan. A week after Rydan left Dunsmuir, Tara's Mother's health, which was already bad took a turn for the worse and she had to be admitted to the local hospital.

It happened so fast that Tara didn't even have time to breathe. Her mom, Deirdre was having one of her good days which was rare so she and Tara went for a walk, not even twenty minutes into the walk Deidre collapsed and hit her head hard on the concrete floor of the sidewalk before Tara or any of the passers-by could reach her. She was rushed to the hospital and even worse news was delivered to Tara after her mom was attended to. Martha was put into a medically induced coma since her illness was getting worse and her fall has worsened her case. She needs expensive surgery urgently or she might not make it.

Tara and her mom were barely getting by on the meager income she brought home so Tara took on three more jobs along with the job she had at the local bar, working herself to the bone she save every penny she could for her mother's surgery leaving little to nothing for herself. She didn't even have time to think about herself but somehow even within the chaos that was her life thoughts of

Rydan found its way into her mind more often than she cared to admit.

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"Cancel all my meetings for the rest of the Clare, I'll be leaving work early today"

Rydan said to his secretary as he walked out of his office heading straight to the elevator.

"But..... Sir...... t.. the investors fro.... from Shanghai..... insist on meeting with you today t.....to finalize and sign the contract to commence the construction of the mall in the trading district" She said as she raced after him on her short legs trying to catch up with him before he got on the elevator.

"Tell them I can't today and schedule another meeting for early tomorrow morning"

Rydan replied not breaking his stride, he got on the elevator and was on his way down before Erin could protest.

Rydan hadn't been the same since he left Dunsmuir. Since he left Tara. He normally didn't care about the women he hooks up with. To him women were simply objects of amusement and pleasure solely for passing time. Never has a woman had such an effect on him that even a year after leaving her behind thought of her still filled his mind every second of everyday but he had no choice but to leave her at the time that he did.

He preferred to be apart from her than for her to be put in harms way. The mere thought of her being in danger no matter how minuscule drove him mad with rage but it was just as maddening being away from her.

His every thought was filled with thought of her and the explosive night they had together. The sounds of her moan and screams as she took every smack of his palm as he spanked her pale behind which she presented to him on a platter. His mind was filled with her sweet cries of encouragement as she took lashes of his belt with her skin turning the prettiest shade of pink he's ever had the pleasure of seeing and the thought never seeing her again almost drove him to break his vow to stay away from her every time. He even missed her klutzy tendencies, how she was so shy and nervous when she was embarrassed.

Rydan left the office premises and drove towards his father's house, which is an understatement, since the so called house was nothing short of fortress at the top of a hill on the outskirt of the city that he resided in which was also coincidentally on the outskirts of Dunsmuir, the town he can never return to but desperately wanted to.

Earlier that day, his father asked him to come to his house to address some urgent matter and a feeling of dread and foreboding came upon Rian, the feeling intensified the closer he got to his father's house.

Whatever his father wanted to talk to him about it wasn't going to be good.