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I can’t reply. My eyes are on the man I love as he laughs with Anastasia. Oh, how I wish I was with them.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
“You have two choices. Either he dies, or you do what you were born to do and think of what’s best for your family.”
Archer is my family!
“Either way,” he continues, “you won’t be with him. You just need to decide if he lives or dies.”
“This is so fucked-up.”
“Quite,” he agrees. And when I look into his eyes, I can see that he’s enjoying himself.
He wants to hurt me.
He’s getting off on it.
And I don’t doubt that he’d kill Archer just to fuck with my head.
“Fine.” I lick my bloody lip and feel everything inside myself break. I feel my heart die. How will I go on without Archer? How will I live for the rest of my life without him in it? But Archer losing his life isn’t an option. I have to keep him safe. “You win.”
“There.” Father closes the laptop with a satisfied snap. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
I expect him to untie me, but he turns away and picks up a lighter and lets the flame lick the big ring he wears with a prominent W on it. He doesn’t wear a wedding band, but he’s worn that stupid, gaudy ring every day of his life.
I want to shove it down his throat and let him choke on it.
“And this is so you always remember who it is that you belong to.”
Before I can do anything, he presses the hot metal to my skin, high on my thigh, and I scream in pain as he brands me.
He fucking branded me!
I want to claw out his eyes. I want to spit in his face. But I go limp as a rag and wait as he unties my hands and helps me fall to a heap on the floor.
“I’ll send a nurse up to tend to those wounds,” he says. “And, Elena, if I find out that you have any words with Archer aside from breaking it off, or if you try to see him, I will kill him.”
I watch his feet as he walks out of my closet, and then I curl in on myself, crying harder than I ever have in my life. Not from the open wounds on my back, or the burning flesh on my thigh.
No, the pain of losing Archer forever is far worse than any physical pain could ever be.* * *“Hey.”
I’m holding the phone close to my ear, eager to soak in every word we say, even though they’re going to be painful. He’s going to hate me before this call is over.
“Where the hell are you, E? I haven’t heard from you in days. A man shouldn’t go that long without talking to his wife, you know?”
I close my eyes. Wife. Oh, how I long to be his spouse. To truly be his until the end of time.
“Yeah, we need to talk about that, Archer. We were really impulsive.”
“Planned it for three months,” he reminds me. “I don’t think that’s impulsive.”
“Well, it was for me. You know, I think I just got really caught up in the idea of getting married and everything, but now that I’ve had time to think it over, I don’t think this is what I want at all.”
He’s quiet for a moment. I want to scream, I’M LYING! HE’S MAKING ME DO THIS TO US!
But I can’t.
“What are you saying, E? Do you want to go back to dating?”
“No.” I swallow hard and hate myself for what I’m about to say. “No, I think it’s best if we just go ahead and part ways now. Clean break. I’m sorry if I hurt you, Archer, but it’s really what I want.”
“I can’t believe this.”
I have to push my hand against my sore mouth so I don’t sob out loud.
“You’re breaking up with me?”
“Yeah. I’m just too young to be tied down, you know? I need to experience life and spend some time alone. You’re just not what I want, Archer.”
“But we’re married.” I can hear him pacing on the other end of the line.
“It can be annulled.” Even the word tastes bitter in my mouth. It’s the last thing I want, but my father was right. Neither of us needs to sign anything for the mob boss of the Watkins family to make it happen.
There’s a beat of silence and then he hangs up without saying goodbye. I’ve just broken his heart, and I hate myself for it.
I hate my family. My father especially.
Rage flows through me, swift and hot. When it burns out, I feel…nothing. I’ll never let anyone hurt me like this again.Chapter 1~Elena~Beep! Beep! Beep!
I roll over and kill the alarm. I’ve been awake for at least an hour already, lying in my warm, cozy bed, watching the sky turn from black to purple to blue. I’ve always been an early riser, which is why my job is so perfect for me.
