And the hidden weapon I’m about to detonate if he pushes me too far.
In front of the mirror, I stare at myself. Less freckly. Paler. How long will he keep me like this? Until Iobeyandsubmit? What does that evenmean?
No. The truth is, I’m down here until Aiden works out whatever he thinks I deserve. For breaking his heart. Only he doesn’t understand; I destroyed mine, too.
The gold ring itches and comes loose enough that I peel it back. My heart skips a beat. Skin puffy and red. Possibly infected. Black ink dots the area circling my ring finger.
I lift my hand and read the inscription…
Aiden’s Wife
Hetattooedme…with a title of ownership.
Placing my hands on either side of the sink, I take a deep inhale of musty air and release it. This prison isn’t for me…
It’s forus. He thinks he can whip me enough to fix the past and create a future where we’re okay.
But I think the only way out of here is to relive it and start over. Tears heat my eyes as the threat of confession looms at the end of my tongue. The words too violent to utter without scarring us both.
Footsteps creep closer down the hall, and I head toward the bed. Not kneeling. Only facing my fate. The one I chose so many years ago.
His face is filled with ire as he opens the door slowly. Creaks cut through the atmosphere between us until he shuts and locks it behind him.
“Why the fuck aren’t you in position again, Ashlyn? I swear to—” He stops. Rubs his face with a palm, and I see how very tired he is.
“I don’t want to play anymore,” I tell him, chest heaving with sadness. “I’m done, Aiden. I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough.”
“Shut the fuck up!” he roars, voice splintering across the low wooden beams. “We had plans.Solidplans. I was going to save you. I wasn’t going to let them take you to Crest again. We were supposed to elope so no one could touch you again. You said you wanted it. Wantedme.”
“I did!”
Two steps, and his hands are around my collared throat, his eyes wild. “Then why thefuckdid you cheat on me, huh? Why did you throw it all away?”
“I…”
I can’t look at his face. My body shudders with sobs as he rips off my shirt and tosses me back onto the bed. His fingers tremble as he loosens his belt, pushes open his jeans, and crawlson top of me. He’s hard, muscles stiff with fury. I know seeing me like this made him so. Aiden likes to cause pain.
And he’s torn off every bandage I had taped over my heart.
I don’t even protest as he gathers my wrists and forces himself inside me.
“Why, Ashlyn? I never wanted anything in my life but you.”
He thrusts once, twice. Tongue delves out to lick up my tears as he presses tiny kisses to my stained cheeks. His lips hover over my ear. “You’re the only thing I ever cared about. Ever fuckingloved. So tell me why.”
Voice strained, I choke out, “The baby was yours.”
Settling on his elbows, his piercing blue eyes lock onto mine. The shock on his face is enough to send my stomach rolling as if in a plummet from space. “What the fuck did you say?”
I meet his eyes through tears, whispering the truth that razes us both:
“He wasourson.”
thirty-four
It’s never happenedto me before… My dick goes soft even as I’m still inside her.
A creeping venom fills every artery, pumping through my blood. My ears ring. Air stills. Brain goes numb.