Share

• THREE • The Grimm Descent

Penulis: Lorea Ashe
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-02-26 07:22:07

After the wedding, Richard convinced her that he needed her with him for dinners and functions to socialize with current and prospective clients. It began to feel like their marriage was displayed as a model for financial success and happiness. The clients appreciated the stability a happily married couple exuded.

Richard began having Samantha schedule, organize, and set up the meetings and events, and before long, brought her on as an Event Specialist for the company. It didn't exactly pertain to her degree, but it was similar and allowed her to express her creativity, so she didn't mind too much, even though she could have been making much more on her own. It left her with a decent salary, and it allowed her to tailor her schedule to fit around Richard’s, maximizing their time together. It seemed like the perfect arrangement.

She doesn't know when the distance between them started. After the first three years of being so in sync and tuned to each other, a slow descent into a stale and stagnant marriage mysteriously began. He started coming home later, dinners together became less frequent, and eventually, he stopped coming home for them altogether. He never even noticed the nights she didn't eat; he didn't see her anymore.

She knew Elevated Financials was a burgeoning success and that Richard planned to buy out his uncle Edward when Edward was ready to retire within ten to fifteen years. But Uncle Eddie wound up not waiting that long. Four months ago, Edward and his partner Mauricio decided to sell the company to a mysterious buyer out of state, without warning or consulting Richard beforehand. But that wasn’t to blame, because Richard had already begun shutting down in their marriage two years prior. His outbursts had been steadily becoming more frequent and brutal, and were now almost a daily battle.

Samantha was left feeling increasingly heartbroken and confused during this time. She was desperate to understand why she was being made to feel everything she was doing wrong; why he made her feel like a burden. She eventually learned to stop advocating for herself, becoming quieter and withdrawn.

But Richard always had time for his friends. He expected her to attend every invitation he accepted without talking to her. In the spring of the fifth year of marriage, feeling like her marriage was disintegrating, she begged him to take her to the beach for a romantic getaway weekend to reconnect. He made excuses, saying work was too busy, he couldn’t possibly step away. Within a week of that conversation, she felt the foundation of her world fall away with a simple statement of wishful thinking.

They were eating dinner at Nate and Mari’s house. Nate was his best friend from high school. He’d known them both for years before she met him, and always viewed them as his friends.

"Any big plans this summer?" Mari asked Samantha as she opened a bottle of Riesling to go with dessert. "Nate wants to take a fishing trip up in the mountains, but I want to go to the beach." She looked playfully disappointed at her husband.

"We don't have any plans yet," Samantha answered quietly, feeling sensitive about the subject. She looked down at her lemon cheesecake and missed Richard's pointed look at Mari.

In the morning, Richard booked a suite large enough for both couples at the beach for the next weekend. Samantha was livid. She begged him for the trip, but he only booked it to satisfy another woman’s desire. He snapped.

"What's the problem?" His question was sharp and condescending. "You've been up my ass about wanting to go, and we're going! Nothing I do for you is ever good enough! You complain if I don't do it. You complain if I do."

“But you didn’t do it for me, because I asked. I begged. You did it for someone else.” She was frustrated at his failure to see the core of the problem, why it was wrong.

"Are we going or not?" he snarled. "What more do you want from me, Samantha?"

What she wanted. She wanted to be more than a footnote in her own life, to feel seen and valued. The tension from the outcome of that dinner, and the resulting beach trip, coated their marriage in a toxic film, impossible to wash away.

In the fall of that same year, Samantha was involved in a serious car accident. The ER ran a CT Scan to check for internal injuries, and while the results came back with no internal damage or injury, the nurse pulled her aside.

"Mrs. Covington?" The nurse unsuccessfully tried to keep a worried look off her face, causing Samantha to become alarmed. "I'm not supposed to relay this information to you, since I’m not the doctor, but I recommend you book an appointment with a gynecologist right away."

"What's wrong?" Samantha asked. "I can't be pregnant." She had been on birth control for several years now, waiting for the company to become more self-sufficient before having children.

The nurse pressed her lips together. "No. You're not pregnant, but you have some... abnormalities that you should have a professional look over."

Samantha took the woman's advice and booked the first available appointment. The results came back with complications to her uterus, and an immediate removal was recommended. The news devastated her, but she agreed to the surgery. Her dream of having children with Richard was now ruthlessly ripped from her. Richard never understood when the grief would overwhelm her.

He took three days off work after her surgery. And spent every minute of those days locked in his study, leaving her to fend for herself. Less than a month later, he was back to dragging her out to events and dinners with clients and his friends.

Then came New Year's Eve. She was tired and in pain, mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. When he came into the bedroom that night, he noticed she was still in her robe.

"What are you doing?" He questioned her angrily. "We need to leave in twenty minutes, and you haven't even started getting ready."

"I'm not going," she firmly told him.

"What do you mean, not going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't feel good, I hurt, Richard," Samantha answered. "I'm not going."

"What the fuck, Sam?" Richard exploded. "We promised everyone we would be there tonight! Quit being difficult, you're going."

"No, I'm not," Sam said obstinately. "You promised them, not I, so go if you want, but I'm staying home."

"Like hell!" Richard yelled and threw his cologne at her stand-up mirror, causing shards of glass and mirror to scatter across the floor, and the overpowering stench of the broken bottle permeated the air.

Her heart pounded, and all she could hear was a ringing in her ears as the world grayed. Why was he acting like this? As if from a distance, she heard Richard storm out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

And that was when she saw it wasn’t a rough patch. Things were spiralling out of control.

Lorea Ashe

Here we see the consequences of Samantha's history of blind selflessness. Richard's temper tantrum is a classic move when someone is using you, and realizes they can't make you do what they want. This is common to see in Narcissistic, Manipulative Abuse. What would you do after the childish fit?

| 4
Lanjutkan membaca buku ini secara gratis
Pindai kode untuk mengunduh Aplikasi

Bab terkait

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • FOUR • The Wolf in the Henhouse

    "Daniel," the sandy-haired man called out as he entered the brightly lit office without knocking. He handed a few files to the dark-eyed man behind the massive, well-polished mahogany desk that left faint traces of citrus in the air."Lucas," Daniel acknowledged. "What are we looking at?""The top folder contains the files for the main agents," Lucas said as he took a seat and leaned back, crossing his legs and putting his hands behind his head. Daniel may be the big dog, but they had been friends since childhood. "The second is the list to let go."Daniel scanned each folder briefly, starting with the second one. Fifteen employees, most of them in secretarial or data entry positions. They wouldn't need this many with the new systems he was installing."These are fine. Pick the five strongest people, if they're worth a damn, they should be able to handle the workload of the whole fifteen. Make sure the ones being let go get a decent severance and a ninety-day stipend.""Ninety days?" L

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-26
  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • FIVE • A Taste of Indulgence

    Samantha examined her face in the mirror. Her left eye was bruised, and her face was swollen. She covered it the best she could with makeup and then, unsatisfied and exasperated, snagged the largest pair of sunglasses she owned. She eyed a scarf hanging on the wall, then dismissed it, afraid that in the effort of trying not to draw attention to herself, she would inadvertently draw even more.Richard never came back home last night. No call, no text, no apology, just silence. A pit had settled in her stomach from his absence, but she was also relieved because she didn't want to see him right now. She was afraid to ask him to leave, unsure how he would react.It left her feeling restless and fighting the need to get out of here against the urge to curl into a miserable ball and disappear. Thoughts of going to sleep and never waking up teased the peripheral of her consciousness, but she refused to let them settle.Unsure where to go, after driving aimlessly for almost an hour, she found

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-26
  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • SIX • We See You, the Demon Corrected

    Daniel's nostrils flared. He had felt something tickling his consciousness, off and on. It was the feeling he had when he was being watched, a feeling that hinted at danger, but each time it came today, it was brief.This feeling was frustratingly normal any time he came to a large city such as this one, which was one of the main reasons he hated to do it. It left him feeling exposed and always on alert, never able to relax or let down his guard.He had a brief meeting over lunch with Lucas and Thomas, his CFO. Thomas was just as thrilled as Lucas about the ninety-day stipend for terminated employees, but Daniel had already factored it into the cost of acquiring Elevated Financials. He showed them where he negotiated it into the price of the acquisition. He expected to lose more people initially, so as for right now, they were still in the black of projected expenses.He understood numbers and math, but they bored him. He knew Lucas was the same way, but Lucas didn't wholly approve of

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-27
  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • SEVEN • Penchant for Protection

    You need to go to her right now, the demon urged.No, Daniel argued patiently. That will scare her.Yes. It insisted. She is already scared and hurt. Let me kill whoever did it.That's not how it works, Daniel groaned. You know this. I thought we tempered your bloodlust a long time ago.YOU tempered the bloodlust. Daniel had an image of jaws snapping, running red with blood, flashing through his mind, followed by a wolfish grin. I didn't necessarily agree to it.Daniel began to sweat with the effort of sitting in his chair and quarreling with the demon. He picked up his phone and pretended to scroll so he wouldn't be confused with a madman, muttering to himself while he stared at nothing.Enough! Daniel ordered sternly and heard a protesting growl in response. She is timid, and I'm going to bet it was a man, probably her husband, that did that to her. Didn’t you see the ring? It means she already has a mate, and she's not going to appreciate some strange, random man walking up to her.

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-11
  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • EIGHT • The Cost of Compassion

    Daniel shifted in his chair. Killing was necessary sometimes, the werewolves were no strangers to death. But killing innocent families, especially children, was inexcusable. Any rogue wolf guilty of killing the innocent was hunted down and dispatched.They were all human, once. Every werewolf in existence had been turned by another through virtue or malfeasance throughout the years. Rogue wolves on killing sprees could create irreparable chaos, like they did for centuries in Europe during the Renaissance and Reformation. Alphas were responsible for keeping their packs in line, and those who couldn't were dealt with by another, higher power."That is a very bold accusation, Ms. Donna," Daniel said carefully. He didn't want to call her a liar, but there was no way the Blue Ridge Alpha would have let something like that happen without putting down the rogue and giving reparations to the existing family.Donna drew herself up and was ready to unleash her temper on Daniel, but Lucas chose a

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-11
  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • NINE • What Are You Sniffing At, Alpha?

    Daniel sat quietly as he processed Donna's story. Lucas brought her the tea and sank back down in the chair he had claimed earlier. Henry was looking down at his hands, and Daniel could smell sadness, anger, and despair as they rolled off of Henry and narrowed down to one emotion. Hate. He shook his head. Poor kid."First things first. Henry, you will become a part of my pack. You will accept me, listen and obey me as your Alpha. I will teach you to control, live, and thrive with your wolf."Henry looked up at Daniel. Uncertainty and hope began to dawn on his face."Sir? How can I?" he whispered. “I lost my family, my home. I’m a monster! I’m the same as that thing that destroyed my life! I want to kill myself, and I can’t even do that!” He sobbed, and Donna's emotions overtook her as well, his pain adding to her own, causing her to quiver next to him as she hugged him tightly."You'll do no such thing," Daniel reinforced softly. "We are not monsters. Sometimes, there are bad things ou

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-12
  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • TEN • Sunshine and Silence

    Samantha was embarrassed that she was caught staring at the man. She didn't know how long it lasted. He could have been dangerous with that acute predatory look in his eyes that seemed to stop time and make the world around her disappear, but the steadiness of his gaze, which should have daunted her, felt like the first solid thing she'd seen since her life began falling apart.The feeling he was seeing the things she was trying to hide was unnerving, so when his attention shifted and released its hold on her, she let her hair fall in front of her face, an effective curtain to shield her. She made it a point not to look his way again, but it was like she could feel his high energy and presence. It wasn't oppressive. It felt as if it was sunshine, but if the light had weight, a soft pressure against her skin.After he seemed to dive back into work, she began to relax again. The sun on her face after the meal and wine was heavenly, and soon she forgot about her faux pas. Unfortunately, s

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-16
  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   • ELEVEN • Grapefruit and Spice

    "What are you sniffing at, Alpha?" Donna had asked sharply through the phone. "It sounds like that nose is going to get you in trouble."Daniel wasn't aware he had his nose in the air, like a dog or wolf, that came across something interesting, until Donna mentioned it. The wily bastard had locked onto a scent that was sweet and lightly citric.What the hell? He frowned as he traced it back to the woman with the sunglasses. He could feel his wolf's contented purr as the smell became stronger when she lifted her face to the sun and shook her hair, letting the dark, loose waves fall behind her. His wolf was drunk on her pleasant fragrance, rolling around as it wrapped around them. Daniel leaned into his notepad on the table, exasperated at its antics.The woman looked radiant, basking in the sun with her head tilted slightly back. He enjoyed the way a smile hinted at the corners of her mouth and wondered briefly what her lips tasted like as his eyes traced their curves. He admitted his w

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-29

Bab terbaru

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Fifty-Five

    When they returned to the hotel, it was pushing nine. Thomas retreated immediately, grumbling about being up before everyone else this morning.Thomas is getting a little cranky, Daniel thought aimlessly. He poured himself an Irish whiskey.His wolf is cranky, Daniel’s wolf commented. All of their wolves are getting restless.I’ll take everyone up for a run at Blue Ridge on Saturday, Daniel promised. Why aren’t you cranky, then? Daniel heard a coughing chuckle from his wolf at the question.

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Fifty-Four

    Samantha returned home and retreated to her bedroom. She still wasn’t ready to be in the living room, and she didn’t want to be downstairs when, or if, Richard came home tonight.It was ironic that just a few short weeks ago, his absence upset her, and now, the thought of his presence was almost too much to bear.She ran a hot bath. It was still early in the day, but she hoped the heat and some essential oils would relieve the knots of tension embedded in her back and shoulders, and she thought about her meeting with Mandy. It didn’t go how she expected.What did you expect? The silent, sarcastic voice mocked her. She didn’t have an answer to that. She just knew now that she had some big decisions to make.Mandy laid out a few options. Talk to a psychiatrist. File a restraining order. Petition for Divorce from Bed and Board. All of it was so detailed and were huge steps. It felt like overreacting. He had already left and had a chance to calm down. That moment last night was on both of

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Fifty-Three

    Richard couldn’t pinpoint when his fascination with Mari began. Once she began dating Nate, she became a natural addition to their friendship dynamic.He does remember their first night, though, when they crossed that line of friendship into… whatever this was. It wasn’t love. Neither one of them was going to leave their marriages. But it was fun, raw, and dirty, and the taboo of it all appealed to their mutual need for adrenaline and danger.He got her a job in the marketing department with his brother around three years ago. She excelled very quickly and had a great eye for detail. Almost two years ago now, she was working late on a project he was overseeing. Once she had his final approval on it, they went out for drinks afterwards to celebrate.After the long night and the glowing feeling of s

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Fifty-Two

    Edward could see where Daniel was going with the proposed changes, but he had to admit, in his situation, he would have pushed for the same thing. He knew Richard wasn’t going to take it well, but he did what he could to make sure Richard didn’t lose his stake in the company completely out of his own idiocy.He called him on the way home, the first time going to voicemail, so he called a second time. Richard answered the phone in irritation.“Uncle Eddie, what do you need?” He asked.“It’s not what I need, it’s what you wanted,” Edward snapped. “You asked me to do you a favor, and I’m doing that favor.”“Can this wait until tomorrow?” Richard asked, sounding repentant but distracted.

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Fifty-One

    “We have a few things to discuss, I was hoping to inform the other shareholders of, and we will need a vote on some changes.“First of all, we’re announcing that Lucas Dunn, our COO, is now a twenty-percent shareholder. That leaves me, and Clearfork Securities at an even fifty,” Daniel explained.Daniel noticed as Edward nodded his head, and then he continued.“You’ll find the breakdown and relevant transference information on page one of your folder. The more important matter, however, is to generate the new bylaws and shareholder agreements to accommodate the acquisition. I was hoping your nephew would be present to weigh in on this, but since he is not, we’ll proceed without him.”

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Fifty

    “Tell me you have some good news, Thomas,” Daniel said, looking over his CFO. “What have you found?”“Honestly, nothing yet,” Thomas shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t seem to make any connection to either Merrick or Roble.”“How are we on background checks?” Daniel asked.“They’re starting to trickle in, but so far, the worst I’ve seen is an open container violation.”Daniel’s jaw ticked. He felt the pressure of time bearing down, making him restless.Thomas is a good hunter, his wolf said out of nowhere. Daniel drew his eyebrows down. It was right. Thomas was a good hunter. He was always patient and thorough. Sometimes his style reminded Daniel of a cat.He could crouch motionless for hours if he needed to. He could wait there, taking everything in. He’ll find something eventually.Daniel opened his mouth to speak when the men heard two sets of footsteps approaching. Daniel raised an eyebrow and looked at the others. Their expressions mirrored his.Paige knocked on the door a little

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Forty-Nine

    Paige walked calmly to her desk, which was set up directly in front of Lucas’s office. She opened her top drawer and reviewed its contents - a couple of loose paperclips, pens, and a used notepad.A man in light gray slacks and a cream shirt with his sleeves rolled up approached her as she took out the pen and notepad.“Good afternoon,” he smiled. He had light brown eyes with flecks of green. They were just a shade too dark to be considered hazel. She sat up straighter.“Good afternoon,” she returned, keeping her face in a professional mask.“I was wondering if Mr. Dunn was in his office?” he asked.“He’s not,” Paige replied. “He is preparing for a meeting toni

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Forty-Eight

    Daniel let the events of the morning wash over him, and let the stress and sweat disappear down the drain just like his shampoo and soap.Instead, he focused on his incredible luck at running into her today. Samantha. He had a name to the face. It made her more real, more concrete. Instead of being plagued by visions of an ethereal beauty with haunted eyes, he now had memories of her voice, emotions, mannerisms, and the feel of her hand in his.He waited for her inconspicuously. Since they’d come from the park, he didn’t know where she’d left her car. When she left the lawyer’s, he didn’t see the confident square of her shoulders indicating someone was taking back the power to reclaim their life. He saw worry and hesitant insecurity, causing him to worry.Which caused him to worry.

  • Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •   Chapter Forty-Seven

    Samantha felt the coolness of the air conditioning blow past her as she pulled the door open to the law firm. She wasn’t sure if it felt like the premonition of a chill or like a breath of fresh air.She looked around, getting her bearings. It was surprisingly very soft and welcoming in the lobby. She expected something cold and intimidating and was pleased to find that wasn’t the case. It boosted her confidence and helped put her at ease with this daunting process.She identified the receptionist’s desk and checked in. The girl gave her a friendly smile when she looked up.“Hello, what can I help you with today?” She asked.“Hi, I’m Samantha Covington. I have an appointment with Ms. Mandy Schelbach this afternoon. Samantha proceeded with the check-in process, providing

Jelajahi dan baca novel bagus secara gratis
Akses gratis ke berbagai novel bagus di aplikasi GoodNovel. Unduh buku yang kamu suka dan baca di mana saja & kapan saja.
Baca buku gratis di Aplikasi
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
DMCA.com Protection Status