Chapter Fifteen
Several weeks passed.Victoria noted that things hadn’t really changed.He’d taken her out a few times, but it was for quick dinners in town.After the meal, there was a rush to get back home to bed.She tried to stay positive and hoped that eventually, he’d come to really care for her.He still hadn’t taken her to his house or started a conversation about the future.
Victoria pulled up outside the feed store when she caught sight of Cole’s truck.She parked her truck and got out.She straightened her clothes, smiled, and opened the store door.Right away, she could hear Cole’s deep voice mixed with Brownie’s.
A feeling of disbelief, then despair, hit her and took her breath away when she got close enough to hear their words.
“So, I heard you got her?”Brownie said and chuckled.
“Yeah, it took some maneuvering, but I did it,” Cole said.
“You said you’d have her even if you had to lie, beg, or steal.”
“When I want something, there’s very little I won’t do to get it.She’s not much to look at, but I think she’ll make strong babies.”
A wave of pain, unlike any she’d ever felt, swept through her, ripping her soul apart.His words made it next to impossible to breathe and had slowly annihilated her.She could find no relief from the crushing emotions inside her.
Victoria turned and slowly made her way out the door.She was in her truck and halfway home before she could take a full breath.She bit down on her tongue to stop the noise that slid from her, which sounded like a wounded animal dying.
She somehow made it home, slowly trudged up the stairs into her bedroom, and sat on the mattress staring at the wall.She had some hard decisions to make, but at that moment, all she could do was concentrate on breathing.
Cole found her an hour later in the same spot.He crouched down beside her and took her cold hand.“What’s going on?”
Victoria swallowed.She knew a buildup of pain would eventually be impossible to hold back, but she just wanted to be left alone to make the decisions that needed to be made.
“Victoria, you’re scaring me.What’s going on?”
Victoria looked down at him vacantly, then tore her gaze away.“I’m leaving.You’ve finally got what you wanted.”
“Leaving?Where?Why?”Cole asked in alarm.
“Because no matter what, it’s been beaten into me emotionally, and I have finally come to the absolute conclusion that I’m nothing and I don’t deserve a home.I still have people telling me how ugly, stupid, or weak I am, and I had enough of that growing up.I’m not going to put myself through it anymore.I’d rather be alone in a small apartment in the middle of the city than be hurt anymore.”
His thoughts were so scattered, he couldn’t talk.The only thing that mattered right now was to prevent her from leaving.
“What the hell happened?”
“I’ve just had enough.I’m tired.”
“I thought you were tougher than that.”
