“I’m not letting you do this to me anymore. You barely tolerate me, and I hate you. We can’t get married. I won’t marry you.” My voice rises, and he slams his hands into my shoulders, sailing me back into the wall behind me. My back hits the towel dispenser.
“I’ve had enough of your attitude tonight.” His hand waves up and down my body. “I told you how important this evening was, and you show up in that awful outfit.”
“I designed this,” I sob as I hunch over, my back and face hurting from him hitting me.
“That’s enough. I’ll be picking out your clothes from now on, or my mother will. You will be marrying me come May. You have until then to straighten yourself out. That means getting on board with my commands. That also means you’ll be quitting school and coming to live with me in Providence.”
“No!” I stand up to him.
He turns away from me, so I think he’s finally giving in, but he hauls back and smacks me open-handed against the side of my head. My ear pops, everything goes muffled, and tears stream down my face as my skull explodes in pain. I cry out and hold my face.
“You will not tell me no, anymore, bitch.” He grasps my hair and yanks me close to his face, his other hand gripping my chin. “I mean no on everything. I’ll be ending this standoff with this precious cherry of yours. Probably tonight you’ll give it to me.”
“That will be rape. I don’t consent,” I sob, the words garbled, as he squeezes my face.
“It’s not rape when you are as fat and ugly as you are. You should feel blessed that I’m willing to put up with you.”
“Please don’t, Justin. You once cared about me. Don’t do this.”
He slams me against the towel machine again, my jacket tears, and I bite my tongue to keep from crying out. He continues bashing me against it repeatedly. My body’s ravaged by pain as my head whips back, cracking into the wall behind me.
“You listen here, fat bitch. I’m done playing games with you. I’m going back out there and telling everyone how you aren’t feeling well. I might insinuate that you’re pregnant with my child. You”—he slams me back again—“are going straight home. No stops. No phone calls. I heard you are trying to talk your parents into going to Greece for the holiday. If you fuck with my plans, your precious grandma is the first to go.”
“No! Please don’t!”
I’m yanked around and slammed to the ground. My outfit tears, and my head drops down. Blood drips from the side of my head, my nose, where he backhanded me, and my back, which is now cut from the towel dispenser. He walks out the door, and I hear him tell someone not to disturb me.
I’m all alone here.
Sitting on the floor for a few more moments, feeling bad for myself, I finally carefully stand and clean my face by splashing it with water. When I step out of the bathroom, I turn away from the banquet area and slowly make my way back to the kitchen. Servers and cooks stare as I hobble through to the service entrance. The cool night air hits my face, and I limp to my Audi before climbing in and going home. My head is dizzy, my vision blurs a few times, but I don’t pull over. Getting away is all that matters.
Who knows how long he’ll be at that party before seeking me out? Not only has he already beaten me, but then I’ll have to suffer his sexual assault. I’ve saved my virginity for someone who makes me weak in the knees, not weak from a beating but from emotion.
For a moment, my mind flashes to Lucian. I’ve thought of him repeatedly over the last few months. I wonder what it would be like to be loved by a man like him.
The entire drive from Providence to Eastport, all I can think about is how trapped I feel. My lack of choices. Maybe if I weren’t here, he wouldn’t hurt my family, and they’d be safe. It’s a sick thought, but it’s all I have left. It’s my only escape.
I text Ruby and ask her to come get Cassini tomorrow. Justin said I couldn’t talk to anyone, but I need to ensure my precious kitten is taken care of. I won’t be raped.
Before pulling into my apartment complex, I have everything planned out. I’ve considered this before. When I was a teenager, I had counseling because I seriously thought about ending my life. Paris and her friends bullied me so much back then that I felt trapped, just like I do now.
Opening my car door, I climb out and hobble toward the staircase to my third-floor apartment. Every noise remains muffled, and I think I hear someone hollering my name, but I ignore it, ready to end this. If I stop to think about it, I will chicken out. This is me saving my family, the only way I know how.
When I get through my front door and push it closed, uncaring whether it’s locked or not, I continue through the apartment, only stopping in the kitchen to grab a sharp knife, then to slip my fingers through the kennel to pet Cassini. I’d love to take him out, but then I won’t have the strength to do what needs to be done. He meows to be released, and I pull my fingers out.
“I can’t, baby. Mommy has to go, but I have a friend who will take care of you like you deserve.”
Turning my back on him, I continue my sluggish progress to the bathroom, where I don’t even look in the mirror as I open the cupboard, removing a bottle of pills. They are pain meds I was given last Spring for a practice injury.
I fill the glass I use to brush my teeth with water and finally look in the mirror. The damage is far worse now due to the swelling.
“Don’t I look beautiful?” I scoff while opening the pill bottle. Glimpsing back into the mirror, I scream and drop everything in my hands when I see someone standing behind me.
Lucian looms large. His jaw tight, his forehead vein pulsing. His dirty blond hair sticks up on top from running his hands through it. But it’s his sky-colored eyes that darken as if a storm’s about to blow in that get me, as he takes in what I’m about to do.
“What are you doing here?” I squeal as I faintly hear the pills hit the floor, and water splashes all over my legs. I pick up the knife from the sink’s edge and turn around to face him.
“Better question is what the fuck do you think you’re doing, sweet cheeks?” He looks at the knife in my hand and reaches for it. I yank it back toward me.
