At first, all I could do was stare at him, thinking he was an illusion and wasn’t actually here. And then his appearance sunk in. His clothes looked like they had seen better days—all creased—and his beard was weeks old. But what made my skin crawl were his bloodshot blue eyes that had a crazy glint in them. He was reeking of alcohol, swaying, which told me he’d had too many drinks.

I shuddered in terror, alarms activating in my head. He was here. He came to my place.

“Glen, what are you doing here?” I asked, but I immediately regretted it because I realized a second too late that I should’ve just slammed the door in his face and locked it. He barged inside, his body pushing mine aside too easily, and my fear reached an all-time high.

“Glen?! Get out of my place! Now.”

He didn’t even listen to me, going straight to my living room, and I deeply regretted not looking through the peephole first. I was such a fool. I scurried after him, beside myself with fright.

“Get out!”

He turned to face me, unfazed by my screaming. “Who’s that guy who drove you home?”

I was rooted to my spot, horror chilling me from the inside out. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb!” I flinched at the sudden increase in his tone. “Who the fuck is the guy who drove you home?!” I staggered and had to catch myself against the back of the couch.

I was shocked that he’d been standing out there in the dark, waiting for me like some stalker. It was a hard pill to swallow.

“What were you doing in front of my building? Are you spying on me?”

“Answer me!”

I dug my fingers into the material of the couch, shaking like a leaf. “You have no right to ask me that, and you also have no right to be here.”

He approached me in two menacing strides, and only the couch separated us. I whimpered and took a few quick steps back, fully realizing how dangerous he was. He could hurt me easily if he wanted to.

“Tell me the goddamn truth, Lindsey. If not, I swear I’ll make you regret it.”

For the first time ever, I was afraid he was going to hit me or worse. Yes, he’d always been an aggressive guy, but I was never at the receiving end. But now… Now there was something in his eyes that wasn’t there before, and all my instincts screamed at me to run.

I headed for my purse on the other side of the room, where my phone was. “I’ll call the police if you don’t leave right away.”

I didn’t even manage to reach my purse, because before I knew it, he grabbed my upper arm and pushed me against the wall. I screamed, trying to get my arm out from his grip, but it was futile. His foul smell hit me, and I scrunched my nose up in disgust.

“Let go of me!”

“You’re mine, Lindsey. Mine. And I won’t let you be with anyone else.”

“Jesus, you can’t be serious. What the hell is wrong with you? We’re history, Glen. We’re done. I can’t believe you’re doing this now.”

“No!” He shook me, his fingers gripping my arms hard, and I was sure it was going to leave bruises. “We’re not done. We’re far from done. Can’t you see? We’re perfect together. We’re meant for each other.”

I frowned at him, unable to believe his words. For the last three years he had manipulated and used me, never showing me real love. He was sweet to me only when it was convenient for him or when he fucked something up, and now he was telling me we were perfect together?

“If you thought that way, you should’ve fought for us. You should’ve changed. But you didn’t.”

“Oh, but sweetie, I’m changed now. I know how wrong I was. I know that very well. I’ve changed, and I swear to you, I’ll treat you a million times better than before. Just give me a chance.”

“What part about no don’t you understand? I already told you it doesn’t matter. I don’t love you anymore.”

His eyes widened, and he pushed into me, his gaze darting between my lips and my eyes.

“No, no, sweetie. Please. Listen to me. Just listen. You’re wrong. You think you don’t love me, but that’s just your anger talking. I understand that. I understand because I was angry too when you broke up with me and I thought you were a bitch. I thought I hated you. But that was only because of my anger. I love you. And you’ll see that I’m the best thing that has ever happened to you.”

Oh my god. He was totally deranged. It was hard for me to comprehend that this was the same man I had once wanted to be my husband. The same man that I loved more than I’d loved anyone before. I’d been ready to spend my whole life with him. He was destroying everything, hurting me on so many levels, and I wanted to cry at how unfair it was. I didn’t deserve this.

“I don’t care. Please, leave. I can’t and I won’t be with you.”

His pleading look was gone in a fleeting second, replaced by sheer fury. “I refuse to accept no for an answer!”

He buried his face into my neck and pressed me further against the wall, caging me with no means of escape. Panic rose up in me, threatening to suffocate me, and I screamed.

“Get off me! Get off me, you bastard!” I kicked and tried to push against him, fearing that he would actually rape me, but he held my arms too tightly. His lips on my neck were rough, stripping me of all dignity, and my heart threatened to burst. Weren’t the neighbors able to hear this? Why didn’t anyone come inside already or call the police?

“Let go of me,” I screamed the loudest I could and kneed him in the groin, hoping all those times I saw this move in the movies could prove useful.

He cried out and grabbed his groin, falling down on the floor. I didn’t waste time. I rushed to my purse and snatched my phone out of it. My hands were shaking terribly, so I missed the numbers several times before I managed to make a call.

“911, how can I help you?”

I let out a barrage of words, backing to the front door, ready to bolt outside if needed. Glen was still lying hunched on the floor. The dispatcher assured me they would have someone on their way ASAP and not to panic. He also told me to get out of the place if I could, keeping me on the line.

I didn’t need a further encouragement to do exactly what I’d been told. I rushed out of my place, hoping the police would come soon.

The police arrived quickly, and I took them upstairs to my place, describing them the situation, but by the time we entered my place, Glen was already gone.