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“It sounds stupid.”
Suzie grabs my right hand and Hailey grabs my left. “Nothing about you is stupid,” Hailey argues, and Suzie squeezes my hand in agreement.
I take a deep breath and dive in. “I’m sure you’ve all figured out by now I come from money. I don’t mean to brag, but it’s not a little money. My family is one of the wealthiest in the world. Sounds great, right?” I snort. “It’s not. My parents don’t care about me or my siblings. We are merely objects to them. Things they can use to advance their desires. In other words, make even more money. Case in point? They married me off to a man I didn’t love.”
Suzie gasps. “Couldn’t you have said no?”
I shrug. “I didn’t know any better. Don’t forget. This is how I was raised. My parents don’t love each other either. Their marriage was a business deal to merge two companies together.”
“What happened?” Hailey asks.
“Well.” I gulp. “It was hell.” The uncles growl. “He didn’t hit me if that’s what you’re thinking. But he controlled every detail of my life. Who I was allowed to socialize with. What clothes I could wear. How I should cut my hair. The color of my nail polish. He hired a personal secretary for me and then used her to control every single thing about me.”
“Couldn’t you divorce him?”
I shake my head at Suzie. “No. I mean, I did try, but the terms of the agreement stipulated we had to be married for a minimum of ten years. There’s even a bonus for our fifteen-year anniversary. When I threatened to divorce him, he locked me in my room for two days. I may have had all the food I could eat and luxury beyond most people’s means, but it was a prison nonetheless.”
I pause before telling them why I finally left. “I learned to obey. I was a living doll. I had no thoughts of my own, except for one. There was no way I was having a child with Theodore. I was not subjecting a child to this life. Theodore had forbidden me from taking birth control but in this one thing, I defied him. But he found out. To say he wasn’t happy is a massive understatement. I ended up in my luxury prison for two weeks. And the threats …” I trail off. Theodore more than threatened, but I fought tooth and nail.
Aiden takes my hand. “Phoebe, sweetheart. Did he force himself on you?”
“No.” I shudder. “He … ah ... found my struggling with him a turn-off.”
“And then you ran away?”
“Not at first. I went to my mother and told her what was happening. She laughed in my face. Called me a poor little rich girl and told me to go back to my husband where I belonged.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, at first I did. After my mother sent me packing, I realized I had no support. It wasn’t like I had any friends of my own I could trust. If I was going to run away, I needed a plan. I contacted one of the women I knew who worked for a charity helping abused women. Charity work was one of Theodore’s requirements. It was important for his wife to be a ‘do-gooder’. His words, not mine.
I knew he was watching everything I did, but there was nothing suspicious about me spending more time working with this charity. I was able to meet with my contact and concoct a plan. It was a simple plan really. I packed up all my clothes and told Theodore I was donating everything to charity. He approved since my clothes were too sexy for a thirty-year-old. With my car loaded up with the clothes I was ‘donating’, I met my contact who had a new identification with a new name waiting for me. I took off and never looked back.”
There. I’m done. I have no more secrets to tell.
“And then you walked into You Cheat, We Eat, and we adopted you.” Suzie always has to get the last word in.
“Why Phoebe answered your raucous ad is anyone’s guess.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
Hailey rolls her eyes. “Did you forget about the hallway full of hookers?”
Suzie giggles. “No, it was awesome.”
“Why do you think Theodore wants you back now?” Wally asks.
“Well, it’s not because he loves me and misses me.” When no one laughs at my quip, I sober and explain, “My leaving makes him look bad. Looking bad in front of the rest of society is nearly worse than losing all your money.”
“Do you think he’ll keep coming after you?” Aiden asks.
“No idea. I didn’t think he’d send a bounty hunter to kidnap me.” Damn Ryker. Why did he have to get close before taking me? Why did he make me think there are good men in the world before turning around and breaking my heart? No, I’m not heartbroken. He betrayed him. He didn’t break my heart. Asshole.
“You’re staying here until this matter is settled,” Pops announces. “I’ve got the space and a modern security system. Plus, the place is almost always full of people who can keep an eye out.”
“I don’t want to put you out,” I protest despite the idea of staying in a real bedroom where I don’t have to worry about what happens when I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night being more than a little appealing.
“You’re staying here or we’re locking you up in a safe house until your husband is dealt with.” My eyes widen at Wally’s declaration.
“You wouldn’t?”
“Darling, if I had known how you were living, I would have locked you up weeks ago.”
My cheeks heat and my head drops to study the table. “I did the best I could.”
Pops stands. “Now is not the time. Phoebe is dead on her feet. She needs to rest in a safe place.” He holds out his hand to me. “Come on, darling. Let’s get you situated.”
My eyes itch at his friendly gesture. I sniff and take his hand. He squeezes and pulls me into another hug. “You’re home, darling. No one can touch you here. I promise.”
His words make me lose the struggle with my tears. Home. It sounds like a dream.
