Chapter 10

I snuggled up on the couch, making sure my heels weren’t touching anything and enjoyed my treat. I was deep in a marathon of puppy videos when I got a text.

H: How are your feet?

Me: Sore but not that bad.

H: Send me a picture.

I looked at the message and I don’t know why, but it made me feel better.

Me: I won’t send you a picture of my feet. You could be some sort of pervert for all I know.

H: I’m not playing games with you, sweetness. I need to see how bad it is.

I reread the message several times. Should I be worried that I thought it was sweet? Should I set clear boundaries and tell him I was uncomfortable when he got too controlling? The thing was that I didn’t feel uncomfortable. I should have. I had always felt uncomfortable when Simon showed that side of himself. In the beginning he had only done it once in a while, and I had been able to brush it aside, ignoring my own discomfort. But after we got married, it became an everyday thing. By that time I didn’t feel like I had a way out and I had become used to ignoring my own warnings. So I should have red flags waving all over the place. But I didn’t get the uncomfortable feeling when Hunter took control. I needed to figure out why. But not today, today I was too tired. I twisted myself to be able to take pictures of my heels, knowing he would see I hadn’t been completely honest with him.

Me: Last chance, it’s not for the weak hearted.

H: Send me the pictures.

I sent them and waited for a reply.

H: Fuck!

H: Sorry. Do you need something?

H: Do you need to go to the hospital?

I smiled at the messages that popped up one at a time.

Me: It looks worse than it is. I’ll just put some dressings on it and it will be fine.

H: Do you have what you need? I could run to the pharmacy if you need something.

Me: I’m used to this, I have a supply on hand just in case. But thank you.

H: Ok. But stay off your feet and let me know if you need anything.

Me: Thank you. I will.

I sighed and realised I needed to take care of my feet. Strangely enough I felt obligated to do so as I had promised Hunter I would. After making sure my heels were taken care of I got to work with planning my new future. I made sure the money Simon had given me was still in my savings account. I cursed my ex-husband as I looked at the money. I hated the fact he had found a way to ruin my carefully made plan and I wished I knew a way to pay him back his kindness. It led me down a dark rabbit hole and it was late in the night when I finally felt tired enough to sleep.

I woke up the next day to my phone ringing. I looked at it and tried to get my brain to work to decipher what the caller-id told me. I perked up as I saw it was my landlord calling. While answering I tried to remember what I could have done wrong. Rent wasn’t due for another week.

“Hi, Mr Green,” I answered.

“Hello Miss Bishop. I just wanted to call and say thank you and let you know the transfer has come though. It’s not often I get tenants as reliable as you,” my landlord said. This didn’t make me any less confused.

“I’m happy to hear it. But could you please let me know what transfer you are talking about?” I asked.

“Oh, certainly. The payment of your rent until the end of your lease. It’s very rare to have a tenant pay up in one go. But it is appreciated,” he said.

“Right, so I have paid my entire rent for the next eight months?” I asked, trying to understand.

“That’s correct. The money was deposited into my account this morning and I wanted to make sure you knew it had arrived, as it is quite a large sum.”

“That was nice of you. Thank you.”

“Not at all. I hope you have a nice day, Miss Bishop,” he said.

“You too, Mr Green,” I said and we hung up. Fear gripped me. Was this another one of Simon’s games? Had he used more of the mafia's money to pay my rent? Or was it the mafia? Did they pay my rent to show they could control me? As my thoughts got more panicked there was only one thing I could think of. I sent a message to Hunter.

Me: I think I’m in trouble.

His reply was almost instant.

H: Are you safe?

Me: I think so, but someone has paid off my rent for the coming eight months.

It took a while before I got a reply. Was he trying to figure out who had done it?

H: Don’t worry about it.

I stared at the message. Was he kidding me? This was the same man that had given me a taser and put a bolt on my door, just in case.

Me: What do you mean? What if it’s the mafia, or someone else.

I didn’t want to write Simon’s name, he was Hunter’s son after all.

H: It’s okay. Let it go and focus on resting those feet of yours.

I wrinkled my nose at the mention of my feet, they still throbbed despite being wrapped up. But I wouldn’t let him distract me. Something was going on, my senses were telling me he was avoiding answering my questions. That triggered my red flag warning system. I had never listened to it my first year with Simon. Always making excuses for him, ignoring all the warning bells in my head. Until one day reality hit me in the face so hard I couldn’t close my eyes to it. I may have been naive and stupid when I was younger, but I was smart enough to learn from my mistakes. My gut told me that I could trust Hunter, but everything else warned me something wasn’t right. I needed to talk to him, see him, to try and read what it was that felt off. I face timed him. It wasn’t until I had hit the call button that I realised he might be working and wouldn’t have time for my call. He picked up at once. As his face appeared on my phone he had a slight frown on his face but otherwise he looked every bit as sexy as always, dressed in a shirt with a tie. That’s when I saw the little square with my image in it. I had been so upset I had forgotten I had been asleep fifteen minutes ago. My black hair was still in the braid I usually sleep in but strands had escaped and were everywhere. I was just lucky I had pulled my comforter up to cover me out of habit or else I would have been naked. My face turned bright red as an amused smile replaced the frown on Hunter’s face.

“Hana, is everything okay?” he asked.

“Hi, yes, no. Sorry. I needed you to explain why I shouldn’t worry about someone paying my rent,” I told him. A quick shadow passed over his face, but then he shook his head and smiled.

“I told you, there is nothing to worry about.” It was my turn to frown.

“You are hiding something from me, or avoiding the question. Either way it makes me uncomfortable,” I said. I could see him sitting up straighter and looking at me with his intense eyes. Then he sighed and ran his free hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry, Hana. It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable. Please forgive me,” he started. I nodded and waited. “The rent was paid by me,” he then confessed. I couldn’t have been more surprised if he had told me it was little grey men from Plutos that had paid for it.

“You?” I managed to say. He nodded.

“I thought it would give you a chance to land in all of this and don’t need to rush into finding a job,” he explained. I nodded again. It was sweet and kind and I understood his reasoning.

“It’s more than generous of you, and I will pay you back. But I’m not a kept woman. I can work for my money,” I told him. He smiled a sad smile.

“It’s not a loan, it’s a gift. I won’t let you refuse. And this is not me trying to make you indebted to me, Hana. It’s a gift because I wanted to give it to you and you deserve to be safe,” he said. I smiled at him.

“That is sweet of you to say and do. But I need to take care of myself, make my own money. I need…” I didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

“You need your freedom,” Hunter finished it for me. I nodded. “I get it. I have a former client that I keep in touch with. He told me recently he is looking for people for his company’s internal helpline. The work is done remotely from home and Tom is a good employer, he pays decent wages with benefits. Do you mind if I recommend you?” Hunter asked. I looked at him. Would he ever stop surprising me?

“N-no. Thank you, I would appreciate it,” I told him. He nodded. “About the rent money,” I tried again.

“Now you listen to me, sweetness. That was a gift and it will remain a gift from me to you. I won’t hear anything about it from you.” he told me, there was a demand in his voice and I knew there was no use for me to argue with him.

“Thank you,” I said.