BEVERLY’S POVA bleak world greets my eyes the moment they open, followed by an onslaught of pain in every part of my body. A groan follows the realization that I can’t move any of my limbs as it seems like they have been forced tightly together by the force of a rope that can break through skin to
He crouches in front of me and lets his fingers graze the skin at my ankles that is all red and angry from the rope tightened around it. I shiver at his touch, whimpering at the memory of the terrible things it has done to me in the past. He sighs. The psychopath fucking sighs like he empathizes wi
LESLIE'S POVHeartbreak doesn’t begin to describe this feeling inside of me. No, it is not enough to quantify the depths of the pain I am going through. It hurts, badly. Not the false sense of security I was lulled into; not the lies told to my face and the secrets kept from me. It is how weak my
LESLIE’S POVOf all the things that already don’t make sense, this very one tops the charts and breaks the scale–this one where I am being told I am siblings with a man I have never seen in my life. A man that looks nothing like the one lying unconscious on that bed, save for the color of his eyes.
“Excuse me?” My eyes snap to his.He shrugs, “Did he really look around the entire country and beyond for you?” “He did and then he found me and–” “Correction, you found,” he points to me and then to my unconscious father, “Him.” This man is getting in my head and I can’t even stop him. “What d
BEVERLY'S POV(TRIGGER WARNING: ABUSE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT)I must have blacked out again. Because when I wake up this time, it’s in the trunk of a car so small my entire body is curled into a ball to fit into it. The acute pain on one side of my head signifies that my abductors didn’t consider druggi
“Stupid bitch.” He grunts. He doesn’t stop. Roman hits me over and over again, until my lips burst and my mouth bleeds. “You’re not going to beg for your life? You are not going to fall to your knees and ask me to spare your life?” He asks after dealing me another blow to the face. “Just…kill…me.
LESLIE'S POVIn just a matter of hours, my entire life was turned upside down. Life as I knew it suddenly changed and a man I had never met until yesterday is at the center of it all–with a signed document that I still can’t bring my brain to comprehend its existence. It was just yesterday but it f
CHAPTER 72 [The Golden Boy ] ~ELAINE~ (2) Trigger Warning: This chapter contains depictions of abuse that may be distressing to some readers. ONE YEAR AGO The house was silent, as it always was when Jac orchestrated his games. No stepmother barking orders, no father pacing the halls. Not even t
CHAPTER 71 [My Tormentor ] ~ELAINE~ (1) Somebody save me. The words echoed in my head as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My fingers tightened around my phone, the edges biting into my skin as if the pain could pull me out of the suffocating misery that hung over me heavily My hair, once
CHAPTER 70 [ Hearts-to-Hearts ] ~SOPHIE~ If you had asked me when I was ten years old what my greatest wish was, I would’ve said it was to live alone with my father. No stepmother finding new ways to torment me, no stepbrother hovering like a vulture—just me and my dad. I even prayed about it, e
CHAPTER 69 [ His Morals ] ~JUSTIN~ (1) I’ve never been anyone’s first choice. . No matter how hard I tried, Jac always had the spotlight. He was the golden boy, the prodigy, the one with all the medals and accolades. Meanwhile, I was the kid bringing home crayon sketches and piano recitals that
CHAPTER 68 [Welcome Home ] ~SOPHIE~ “Please tell me you two didn’t fuck in here.” Celeste’s voice cut through the quiet like a whip, sharp and full of disbelief. I glanced over my shoulder, pausing mid-fold as I stuffed another sweater into my bag. She was standing above me, her arms crossed, a
CHAPTER 67 [ Whenever, wherever ] ~TRAVIS~ Having fallen for Sophie’s schemes more than once, I guess it was normal for my brain to process every unusual thing she does as a trick to lure me in. Perhaps, that was why I imagined her smirking when in truth, she was just as stunned as I was to fi
CHAPTER 66 [ In The Flesh ] ~TRAVIS~ They were still under the harsh glare of my headlights. While Justin didn’t exactly look his best, Sophie was…worse. An ugly sweater hung loosely over her upper frame, her hair was in a messy bun and was close to tumbling all over her face as she took Justin by
CHAPTER 65 [ The Real Deal ] ~TRAVIS~ The past week has been nothing short of exhausting. I had barely stepped foot into my office before I was bombarded with calls and meetings, my inbox flooded with contracts and reports that had piled up during the engagement trip. If it wasn’t work, it was
CHAPTER 64 [ Caged, Not Sheltered ] ~SOPHIE~ There were many questions; like how on earth she was in a place that was at least an hour's drive from her family’s mansion, and why she was chugging down cheap beer when I have only ever seen her enjoy the finest wine. The longer we stood there, wo