“That fucking prick, I ought to take a flight over there and smash his goddamn face in.”
“Jude, you are bigger than that. Just let that shit go. I told you because I didn’t want you hearing it from anyone else.”
“How canhedo this? I get that bitch. But him?
Ben placed a hand on my shoulder. “Because he is a fucking piece of shit and always has been.”
I sat down, my elbows resting on my knees.
One yearago
The blue boxwas burning a hole in my pants as I made my way up to her apartment. She had no idea I was coming since we were supposed to be meeting at the restaurant later. I opened the door and shut it quietly, hearing shuffling and noises coming from her bedroom. I placed my keys on the side table and made my way toward her room. We'd been together for two years, and that was long enough. It was time to take the next step. The moment my hand rested on the doorknob, I knew something was off, and when I finally shoved it open, I simply stared at the sight before me. My girlfriend, the woman I was about to ask to marry me, was fucking another man. When he turned to face me, I felt as if something in me cracked.
“Dad?”
“Oh God,” she was saying while covering herself up. He simply sat up next to her with a look of amusement on his face.
I reached into my pocket, retrieving the box, tossing it on the bed. And then I left, walked to a pub, and got so wasted Ben had to be called to come get me.
Chapter 15
Tara
Twenty-six-years-old
It started in much the same way that all these things do. A bad day at the office meant that I would be on the receiving end of his bad mood and tongue lashing. He hated having to work a nine- to- five job, mainly because he worked for his father. It was no secret that they didn't get along, but having a family meant that he had to suck it up. Every time he looked at me, I could feel his hatred and knew that he blamed me. I took away his freedom, and now he was forced into being a family man.
I started a job as a freelance editor because he wouldn't hear of putting his daughter in day-care. I was grateful to have more time with Becca but not with the guilt of staying home while he worked hanging around my neck like a noose. Reid never stopped reminding me that he had to work so hard because of me.
Becca was growing beautifully, and she was the main reason I had to put up with him for as long as I did. He warned me that if I tried to take his daughter from him, I’d lose. Becca loved her father, and he was a good father to her.
I looked at myself in the mirror as I rubbed a layer of concealer on my cheeks to hide the bruises. The moods and shouting became pushes and a shove, slamming of doors, and then one day my face got in the way. I should have known that it would only get worse, and I should have run for the hills, but I didn't. Not even after he kicked me down a flight of stairs.
I continued to rub the concealer in small circles. We were having dinner with his father and his father’s wife today I always hated these get-togethers. It meant that Reid would be in a worse mood than ever. I touched up my makeup, and when I felt I looked presentable enough, I walked out into the bedroom where he stood at the mirror, adjusting his tie.
He looked the same but different. He didn't speak to me the way he used to, he was a changed man The man I loved was lost, and in his place was this - this monster who was controlling, rude, and abusive. He turned around and looked at me, sneering.
"You look decent" He sneered. That was not the man I knew. He used to be kind and sweet, complimenting me every chance he got The first two years of our lives together were the best year of my life.
But more bills started coming in, and the stresses of life became too much for him to bare. But this, this was the worst he had ever been. I could hear Becca running around in her room down the hall, and I made to leave the room, but he gripped my hands.
"I need a bit of help with something before you go," he said, pressing my hands against his erection.
I felt the bile rising in my throat. How dare he expect that from me after last night? He hadn’t liked the dinner I made which earned me a few slaps across my face. I hated how vile and crude he'd become. I could smell the whiskey on his breath and knew that his brashness was a result of it.
“I have to go get Becca ready,” I said, backing up against the door, trying and failing to get away from him.
"I didn't ask," he looked at me cruelly, and it made me want to smash his face in Maybe one day I would. Maybe one day, I would end him.
“On your knees,” he growled as he placed a hand above my head, pushing me down to my knees. He unzipped his pants, and seeing him bared in front of me made me want to throw up.
Reid and I had not been intimate for at least a year. He was keeping himself entertained with the women at the office, and when we did have sex, it was one-sided, cruel, and angry, much like him. Sometimes I felt like he'd lost his mind, that the responsibility of having me and Becca to care for had become too much for him and he’d cracked.
He gripped my chin and forced me to look up at him. “Do as you’re told Tara and it won’t be as bad.” He said through gritted teeth, his degrading of me obviously turning him on. He shoved his cock into my mouth all the way, causing me to gag. He gripped my hair and started thrusting into my mouth, grunting as he did. Tears ran down my cheeks and when he looked at me he chuckled ad fucked my mouth faster.
“You’ll swallow, or I’ll mess that pretty face.” He grunted, his cock hitting the back of my throat. He was close, I could feel his cock pulsing, and when he released, I did as I was told and swallowed, gagging. I stood up and rushed into the bathroom getting on my knees in front of the toilet, emptying the contents of my stomach. I hated the way he made me feel so worthless. This was not the kind of life I’d wanted for myself or the future I’d envisioned. This is not the man who walked into that bar years ago. He wasn't the man who promised me forever. The monster outside the bathroom was someone else. I hated how weak I'd become. I hated Sarah for the choices she made, but here I was doing the exact same thing.
How was I any better than her?
