Chapter 17

I quickly release my hands from his hold by yanking them away.

He flickers on the switch and the room bathes in light to reveal Matthew. He stands there with his condescending eyes which are staring down at me and although my body wants to shrivel away in fear, I stand poised as ever and meet his glare with my very own.

"There's absolutely nothing I have to say to you." I tell him, already vexed by his presence.

"You don't? Well I have a lot, starting with the fact how you are whoring my brother!" His blue eyes are filled with anger, but there's something else lurking there behind the orbit, something unfamiliar as his gaze shifts to my lips.

I wretch my hand away from his hold, feeling my stomach twist in revolt.

"You can start by getting your facts right. And the relationship between me and your brother is none of your business." I glare at him.

"So you don't deny it? And it is my business when my idiotic brother spends his money on some cheap slut!"

Don't let the words affect you. He doesn't know anything.

"Wherever this is coming from, be sure to confront Jeremy himself on this account and get his better judgement because as your say that I am slut why would you want my take on this."

I try to side-track him but he traps me to the corner.

"You think you're so smart don't you. Quite ironic for a girl from the streets, No wonder, Jeremy has his head worshiping at your feet. You're deceitful."

"I am not deceitful. Stop accusing me. Look I haven't clue what your problem with me is but if I ever done you wrong then I apologies, so please leave me be, let me go!"

I try to manoeuvre away from him but his hands grab my arm and he pins me back on the wall.

His blue eyes glisten with hatred and also something else within that hatred. "You want to know what my problem with you is."

I am ready to say, No, but he beats me to it.

"My problem with you is that you are cockteasing bîtch!"

"I am not cockteasing," I shift away when he gets closer to me.

"You fucking are!" He smirks his coldly smirk and reaching out he places his hand on my waist. I cringe away from him.

"Matthew, let me go!" My face scrunches up in disgust, his hands on me, make me shiver in a not-so-warm way.

You mustn't show him fear, you mustn't show him fear. I repeat this mantra on head.

"But you don't want me to let go you do you." He stares at me his eyes hinting something dangerous. I plead through my eyes for hin not do what he's thinking of doing.

"You are delusional!" I glare panicky at him.

"Fück it!" He growls suddenly as he pulls me towards him and before my brain can even process what's happening, his mouth his against mine in a rough kiss.

My whole body shakes in revulsion. This is so wrong. This is so very wrong!

He tries parting my lips with his lips so he can deepen this kiss but my mouth clumps up together refusing sorely to give him the satisfaction. I try yanking myself away from his iron grip hold, but my attempts are thrown out of the window when he doesn't budge.

He groans in frustration suddenly as he pushes me roughly to the wall, pinning me with his hard body. The sudden impact has me gasping and he takes this to an advantage when he enters his tongue in my mouth.

I whimper in fear and disgust.

Jeremy please where are you!

I watch his closed eyes and hatred slowly sips upon me, adrenalin spikes up in my veins and my fisted hand on his chest suddenly launches itself upon his hard jaw and at the same my teeth clump on his lips.

He releases me, instantly taking a step back.

"You fûcking bit me!" He groans, his fingers brushing on his lip that is now brimming with blood.

At least one of my advances resulted in an impact, because I know he doesn't feel my attempted punch due to his freaking hard cheek bone. No, he doesn't feel it but I now do.

But this doesn't stop me from hauling my hand again, this time slapping him.

"Don't ever touch me again! I am not Cassie or the whore you proclaim I am!" I scream at him, my anger reaching its optimum. I roughly remove myself from the corner and I am running towards the exit door when I feel my hand being yanked back.

He stares angrily at me for a moment, his blue eyes searching mines for something. I glare back at him, my anger never faltering; however it's within seconds of staring at me that his anger gives away.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." He declares in a mutter that is so low, I barely hear it.

I think I might've have heard him wrong. Did he just say he's sorry? What?

I frown at him in incredulity. "You are sorry?"

His jaw clenches, "Yes. I know I'm being immature and unthinking with my words but that's always the case when you're within my radius."

What? Is he accusing me of making him immature?

"You being immature is none of my doing!" I spit in anger.

For a moment, his eyes flare with anger too but then he quickly looks away from me and shakes his head.

"I shouldn--"

And that's when the door bangs open cutting him off his sentence.

I turn around to meet an angry Jeremy, but his anger isn't directed at me.

Jeremy takes one look at my agitated face and in three strides he's right at Matthew's face.

"What did you do to her?"

Matthew's eyes for the whole while haven't left mine and now as he stares at Jeremy he frowns to himself and presses his lips.

Why am I feeling sorry for him? Because that's what I'm doing at this moment, feeling sorry for Matthew. Jeremy's wrath is unpredictable and at this moment I hoped to the all the goodness out there, that they wouldn't start a fight.

"Nothing." He says.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me," Jeremy's eyes are in slits as he glares at Matthew.

"Matt, I swear if you've hurt her and if you so by slightest have touched her--"

"Jerry, you should know by now that I never take your threats seriously." Matthew cuts him off, folding his arms across his chest and a smirk playing on his lips.

Jeremy makes a hissing noise at the back of his throat, he fists his hands, his jaw clenching and un-clenching and his stance tells me that he's about to punch him. Seconds tick by and the brothers still have their glaring contests.

"I know you wanna hit me, Jerry. Go ahead."

And at that, Jeremy closes his eyes and turns away from him. His eyes re-open to meet mine.

He touches my hand at first while the other hand tilts my chin to look up at him.

"Did he hurt you, Leyla? What did he do to you?" His eyes hold an emotion that is difficult for me to comprehend.

I swallow a lump in my throat as the words leave me. I want to tell him but something has me stopping. I don't want them fighting and I don't want to give Jeremy a more reason to hate Matthew, no matter how much hate he deserves at the moment.

I take one look at the pompous àss himself and he has that mighty cunning smirk of his as he sneers back at me.

"Nothing," I tell Jeremy even though he is not who I am looking at.

That instantly wipes the smirk of Matthew's face as he glares at me and that glare turns into a wavering frown.

I turn my eyes back to Jeremy. He doesn't look convinced and his eyebrows have scrunched up in suspicion.

Please let it go! I hate lying to him but I just don't want to be an instigator to their fighting.

"You sure Leyla? You don't have to lie for him." Jeremy asks me.

I nod and avoid his eyes.

"You heard her I did nothing to her." Matthew speaks a cold smirk on his face.

Jeremy turns back to Matthew. "I swear if you so lay a finger upon her head, just be warned."

"And I told you Jerry, your threats are feeble."

"I'm serious Matthew, she is not Cassie."

Matthew rolls his eyes. "What do you think I'm going to do, snatch her away from you?"

Jeremy clenches his jaw, "Matthew that thought implies that you want to do exactly that."

His cold smirk increases, "You got me." he says sarcastically. "Please, street girls who would do anything to strive for a higher status even if it means selling their bodies, have never been my type!"

I stare at him in disbelief and I know I should feel offended but I feel nothing but remorse at him.

Jeremy is taken aback for a second and I think I am too.

"You see." Matthew says addressing to me, "I know a lot more about you than you think."

"Who the fück have you been questioning?" Jeremy growls.

"I have my sources. But, seriously, Jerry, how did you ever stoop so low as to date a whore?"

Jeremy takes two quick strides and seconds later he has both of his hands cinched at Matthew's collar.

"She. Is. Not. A. fücking. Whore!" He hisses in each word.

Matthew only smiles snidely, "Of course she isn't, and Cassie isn't hooker-escort either." He says sarcastically.

"Leyla is my girlfriend and I care about her a lot. Yes, Cassie is hooker so what, you proved enough that she wasn't cut out to be loyal. But, if you ever so threaten Leyla again, I mean it Matthew I'll make sure your bare ass is rubbing on the next railway track while the train drags your lifeless body!"

This makes Matthew laugh. "Wow, Jerry. This is a first. You must love her."

Jeremy swallows. "And what if I do?"

My heart stops for two seconds and then picks up hammering pace on the next beat.

Did he? No. I must have heard wrong.

Matthew's laugh is wiped out of his face. He wrenches himself off Jeremy's hold.

"You are not serious are you?"

Jeremy doesn't say anything.

"Jeremy she's a street girl, she's nothing. What will mom say when you bring an uneducated girl you picked from the street? No scratch that, what will the press say? She won't even meet up your high life. You've really stumped so low, little bro."

"Nice to know you care about me big bro. And as for your irrelevant statement, might I just say that you are the one who've stumped so low, in fact you stumped the lowest the moment you decided to live like this." He presses his lips.

"I'm surprised you say Leyla is nothing and uneducated despite your attempts to get her into a room with you, don't think I'm daft Matt. I know you too well." He smiles.

"And I cannot believe you will bring the press into this, you should know by now I don't give two shits about what the press has to say and as for mom, well she's been dying to meet Leyla since I mentioned my relationship to her."

Matthew only narrows his eyes at him and then as he shifts his gaze towards me, his scowl deepens.

Jeremy returns to me, takes my face in his hands and strokes my cheek. "Are you okay?"

I'm not entirely sure if I am. I don't know what to make of their fight. I don't know what to do as it is beyond my control. I know that I hate seeing them like this, because even though I don't have sibling or any family for that matter, I know Jeremy needs his brother despite their years of conflict.

"I'm fine." I tell him giving him a small smile. "But are you okay?"

He smirks, "I'll be better if we get out of here." He tells me and I agree.

I let him lead me out of the door and I can't help but let my eyes look back towards Matthew. His expression is grim as he stares at our retreating figures. I sigh inwardly.

I know I should be worried about their relationship, I am. But all that's on my mind from their earlier fight is Jeremy's words.

What if I am?

Had he really meant it? My heart is still beating rapidly at the possibility of him in love with me. I know how a low of a person this makes me, but I cannot help but rejoice over this revelation.

However there's small part of me, a minor part that's warning me not to get my hopes up in case he'd been saying it for the sake of downgrading Matthew.

As he leads us out of the building, I catch sight of Jack and Nicole entering a car, looking all cosy with each other. I smile at their happiness.

Jeremy opens the back door of his car for me. I go in and he follows after, as soon as we are both inside, Hails begin the ignition and we drive off.

I can tell Jeremy is still in state of anger with his hooded face and brooding expression. I look out of the window for some solace and try not to think of Matthew's words. However I fail.

What if he's right? What if I cannot live up to the high life Jeremy has introduced me into? What if I'm degrading Jeremy's status by just being with him? Who's to say that whoever filled him with the information of how we met won't report to the public. And then I will be known as a whore by the whole city.

That's not what's worrying me, however. I don't really care about what people think of me, I have always been looked down upon in my entire life, so people can say whatever they want. As long as the man I loved thought otherwise, the rest can drown for all I care.

No, what's worrying me is Matthew. At this moment, I am confused by the man, one moment he's telling me he' sorry and then he's back to being vulgar towards me. But what's clear is his hatred towards my relationship with Jeremy.

The man is infuriating, quite hard to empathise with.

It's the fact that he is Jeremy's brother that's making me somewhat docile, even though their relationship has some really oppressing issues. Otherwise I will be throwing his words back at him with my own profanities.

I am not going to go around loving the fact that they were not in agreeing terms even though I despise the man. No, my love for Jeremy has me seeing more to that. I know despite Jeremy's façade that he loves Matthew and that he wishes their relationship were more stable, even if he won't admit it to himself.

"Earth to Leyla," Jeremy takes my face with his hand and turns it to face him.

"You okay?"

I nod at him.

He presses his lips together. "Leyla, I know you're not. Tell me what's going in that lovely head of yours?"

My eyes search his, they are worried.

"Please?" He pleads, feebly.

That compels me to tell him. "Okay...I-I don't like seeing you and brother fight."

I watch as the grey in his eyes overtakes the blue, telling me of his resurfacing anger.

"Leyla, this is the way we are, the way we've always been."

"I know, you told me. But it's quite a package" I smile trying to lighten up his mood.

The corner of his lips crinkles into a reluctant smile but just as the smile comes, it quickly goes away.

I take my hand to his caress his cheek. "And I also know that it's killing you inside to fight with him."

His eyes spring to mine and I watch as the wall crumbles. For that moment, within that depth of blue-grey, all of his fears are revealed to me. I gasp momentarily as I gaze into his overflowing soul.

"You are quite perceptive." He says in a raspy whisper.

I shift to hug him. He meets me halfway as he draws me to his lap and I sit sideways on his my legs, my head near his neck. He buries his face in my hair and breathes in a long breath.

"Tell me about it?" I ask him, moving my hand to his face and titling my head back to see his face.

He smiles sadly at me and shakes his head, "Not today."

"Okay." I bury my head back into his neck and close my eyes.

We stay like this for a while, just hugging each, giving each other some sort of comfort.

"Tell me, what he did to you before I came?" He asks suddenly. "And don't say "nothing" because I know Matthew."

I shake my head knowing it won't really help.

"Leyla, tell me," he commands.

I close my eyes.

"Please."

I can never refuse that voice.

Still closing my eyes I tell him every word Matthew uttered before Jeremy came and I tell him about his forceful kiss and that I defended myself by punching him and slapping him after.

His breathing rate has changed and he his arms around me now hold me tightly against his chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He apologises.

I look up at him, frowning. Why is he apologising?

I meet his eyes and their filled with anger, sorrow but also tenderness for me.

"Jeremy you don't have to apologies for your brother's actions."

He presses his lips, "I know. You don't understand."

I frown.

"Matthew has always had a habit to sleep with the women I'm always with."

I gasp. "You mean Cassie has not been the only one?"

He closes his eyes and nods.

"But why? Why would he do that?"

He opens his eyes again and now the grey and blue are meeting each other halfway.

"I don't know, to piss me off maybe."

I swallow. "It worked?"

He cocks his head to one side in a what-do-you-think kind of gesture.

"I'm sorry." I tell him because I don't know what else to tell him.

He shakes his head.

"Leyla I just... I just don't want him to do the same to you, I don't want him to take you away from me." His body shakes on the last sentence.

"He won't... It's only you... no one else... I-I... I don't like him." My words jumble up because there are so much I want to say to him, to reassure him.

"Good." He says and I huddle up closer to him, only glad that his domineering self is back.

I hate to see Jeremy fearful of me cheating on him. He should know by now that he's the only one for me and that I love him. I want so much to reassure him how much I love him but the words just won't form in my mouth.

We stay this way until we exit the town heading to the out coast where his house is.

When Hails parks outside the front garage, Jeremy drags me to the house and upstairs. And I know that he needs more than the words I told him to reassure him. The only thing he doesn't know is that I need him just as much and I want him just as much.

Later when the sweat on our bodies is cooling, I lay on top him, half of my body draped on him and he holds me tightly cooing me to sleep.

"I have to go to New York tomorrow." He murmurs while his hand works magic on my back.

I look up at him instantly, "What? Why?"

He smiles at my perfect recollection. "I have to go tomorrow to open up another firm."

I frown, hating this fact. "How long will you be gone?"

"Four days." He tells me.

My eyes blaze wide open." F-Four days?"

"Yes."

I swallow. What will I do without him for four days?

"Hey." He shifts our bodies and I end up on my back and him on top. He drawse closer to my face and kisses my nose.

"I wish you'd come with me but I know you won't want miss your work."

I smile at that, however my smile is isn't full. He's correct and part of me loves him for this perception.

"I'm gonna miss you." I tell him truthfully.

"I think I'll be the one missing you the most, especially at times like these," he tilts his pelvis up down for emphasis and I feel his growing member hitting at my inner thigh.

I gasp and then I giggle involuntarily.

"I'll miss that laugh too." He kisses my cheek.

"And this mouth." He trials his kiss to my mouth.

"And this chin...basically this whole face."

I giggle some more.

"And this neck." He trails kisses to my neck. And I burn.

"And these lovely ladies." He buries his head on my chest and takes a long breath.

I smile and laugh, however I stop my laugh when I feel tears threatening to unleash themselves. I really love him so very much, I feel as if my chest will burst any moment from these