Page 146 of The Monster and the Masochist

I settled back down on the couch and forced myself to give her one of my practiced smiles.

I’d never masked in front of Theo before, but it was necessary in that moment.

She couldn’t know just how serious things had become.

I’d agreed to her conditions around pursuing legal action against her abuser if she told me the truth, but… there would be nothing legal about how I was going to deal with this.

I’d tell her once I had a plan in place, but now was not the time. Right now, she needed to feel supported and safe.

She couldn’t regret confiding in me, and if I immediately went into ‘fix it’ mode, I would lose the delicate trust she’d gifted me.

“It was meant to be a late wedding gift,” I replied, handing her the box. “Open it.”

Theo took the little blue package with trembling fingers, and I watched intently as she lifted the lid.

Her mouth parted in surprise as she pulled out the silver Q-Tip. Her fingers slid over the long, liquid chain with a level of reverence I’d only ever seen her give to her boxing equipment.

“Cass… Wh-what?” she croaked, and I slid closer to her, wrapping my hand around the back of her throat and brushing my thumb along her jawbone.

I just wanted to be touching her in some way, so she knew she wasn’t alone.

She’d never have to fight this alone again.

“I asked your mom about the Q-Tips at the wedding. She explained something similar to what you just told me. But she also said that regular cotton swabs might not be a strong enough talisman for whatever it is you’ve been battling. She said silver was better.”

Theo choked on a laugh, looking up from her new charm to smile at me with tear-stained cheeks.

“Sounds like something Iris would say.”

I gave Theo a sad smile and nodded.

“Yeah. I don’t know much about talismans or magic wands, but I know about high-quality jewelry. If you need something stronger to help you, I want you to have the absolute best.”

Theo was staring at me like she’d never seen me before.

“You… you really had this made for me? You don’t think it’s… stupid that I’m a grown ass woman using Q-Tips as magic wands?”

I rolled my eyes, irritated that she still seemed to think I thought so little of her, despite how much we’d been through together.

I tugged the necklace out of her hands and reached over her head, sliding the chain around her neck and admiring how the silver pendant hung down to her navel, just the way I’d designed it.

“You are a lot of things, Theodora Fairview, but stupid is not one of them.”

“Cass…”

I smiled at her and leaned forward, catching her lips in mine while being mindful not to press too hard on her bruised mouth.

“Now, next time he comes for you and you feel like you need to drink the pain away, I want you to hold this…” I took her hand and closed her fist around the thin silver rod of the charm. “And remember that you don’t need to fight him alone. You will call me, and I will drop everything, and we will think of three good things together.”

Theo’s breathing was erratic, and I knew she was seconds away from fully breaking down into tears, but I wasn’t finished.

“This is a direct link to me. Every time you hold it, you’ll remember that you have me now, and I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not even the memories in your head. Do you hear me?”

“Cass…” Her voice was wrecked with emotion, and she was looking at me like I was her whole world, and I realized in that moment that I would raze the entire fucking planet if that’s what I had to do to make sure she always looked at me like that.

“Tell me you understand, Theodora,” I whispered, and she nodded, her bruised but beautiful face shining with adoration and tears.

“I understand.”