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“You’re back!” She’s all smiles, and I can’t help myself. I sit up, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her in.
“I missed you.”
“Everyone missed you too. Daddy was so grumpy while you were gone. You’re the only thing that makes him smile.”
“That’s not true. I see him smile at you.”
“He never used to. He’s only around now because of you. Please don’t leave again. I like it when you’re here. And I love Capree too. We’re a family. Families don’t leave each other.”
I hold her tighter, her soft words breaking my heart. “Your daddy and I love you very much.” I pull her from my embrace so I can look her in the eyes. “Never forget that.”
She looks incredibly serious when she nods. “Daddy says I get to meet your old family today. I even got a new dress for it.”
“You will look perfect.”
“Do you think they’ll like me?” She sits cross-legged beside me.
“They willloveyou.”
Her smile grows.
Demetri walks in, and a shocked expression crosses his face before it disappears. Charlotte scrambles up to give me a hug before she jumps off the bed.
“I was just checking to see if she was awake,” she says as she scurries out of the room with a giggle.
“Get up and out of my shirt,” he demands in a low, snarly voice that has me jumping at its roughness.
Frustrated with not knowing how to act around him with his constant change of attitude, I throw his shirt off.
“I believe Charlotte thinks you don’t love her.” I glare right back at him, and he takes a slow and calculated step toward me.
“You don’t get the privilege of talking about my daughter.”
“She says you don’t smile at her. She’s five. There’s no reason why she should ever have to think that.” I hold my ground against him. Someone has to protect that little heart of hers.
“You’re nothing but a prop today to get what I want.” His mint breath hits me in the face, his words barely louder than a whisper.
“I can see through you, Demetri. You can’t hide from me.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“You still love me.”
His nostrils flare, and he growls, “I’ve never loved you. You blackmailed me into getting what you wanted. You are nothing but a spoiled princess who no one wants. But marrying you was the first step in getting everythingIwant. And none of that includes you.”
My chest feels like he took a bat to it. Each word he spews is like another slam to the chest.
I can’t form a comeback, scared I’ll choke on a sob. My stomach drops, and I feel gutted.
“Did you honestly think I would let someone like you tell me what to do?” he sneers as he looks me up and down. His lip curls in disgust. “I could never love you. You only see what you want. I didn’t even have to pretend, because your imagination did the work for me.”
He tosses a summer dress onto the bed, and I close my eyes, fighting back my heartbreak. Everything I have ever feared is slapping me in the face. A small tear slips out of my closed eye. I turn and wipe it with my palm. I won’t let him see how deep he cut me. It would only give him pleasure. I’m tired of people feeding off my sadness to make themselves happy.
I blow out a breath and look at the dress. I’ll need a strapless bra for it. When I take a step away from the bed, his voice stops me. “No bra. If I want to pull your tits out, I want them free. Because I own you, I get to do whatever the hell I want with your body.”
A betraying sniffle escapes, and I use my thumb to brush against my nose. I won’t crumble. I refuse to fall. I’ll wait until I’m alone.
I pull the bright-yellow material over my head. It’s so sunny and happy-seeming. Even the material feels as soft as clouds against my skin. The complete opposite of my heart and soul.
