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“If you had a cock worth sucking, you wouldn’t have to make women sign NDAs after they fuck you.” I glared at him. “Trust me, I doubt any of them would ever be in a rush to tell their friends about how pathetic you are in bed.”
I suddenly felt something hard against my jaw, felt my legs go weak as I fell backwards onto the floor. Everything around me went white, and then reality slowly came into view.
Grant was standing over me, his face frozen in sheer panic.
I reached up to my face, and before I could touch it, I knew the wetness falling down my cheeks weren’t tears.
“Fuck, Kate …” Grant grabbed a small blanket off the bed and pressed its edge against my face. “I’ve never hit?I’ve never hit a girl …”
“You just did …” I barely managed.
“I’m sorry.” He stooped down next to me, pulling me against his chest before pressing the fabric on my face again. “I’m not sure what came over me just then. I take back what I said about James, okay? And I think we should um … We should definitely discuss our marriage plans another day, whenever you want. I promise I won’t ever put my hands on you like this again.”
My brain was still processing the hit, and I knew now?more than ever, that I was leaving him. Marriage bargain or not.
What I didn’t know was that he wouldn’t keep his promise, that he would hit me whenever the subject of shortening our marriage came up again. And sadly, it took me five times to see that his promises were full of shit.
THE FOLLOWING MONTH, after failing to reach James and accepting that my husband was the devil incarnate, I packed some of my things into three large suitcases.
With luggage tucked into the back of a town car, I showed up at The Kensington Estate on the day of my mother’s monthly tea and book club gathering.
“Kate, you’re supposed to be wearing all-white when you come to this event,” she said, smiling at me in the hallway. “But you do look stunning as-is, I must say.”
“Thank you.” I lowered my voice. “I need to talk to you in private for a few minutes.”
“Can it wait until after a few more guests get here? I want to make sure they stop by the new parlor room that your father let me redesign.”
“No.” My voice was firm. “No, it cannot wait. I need to talk to you in private. Right now.”
She nodded and motioned for me to follow her into the grand library. She left the doors open, though. When I tried to close them, she forced them open again.
I held back a sigh, held back years of frustration. I slowly lifted my sunglasses and looked into her eyes?revealing my newest black eye, courtesy of Grant.
“Grant’s been hitting me,” I said softly. “I’m not going to put up with it anymore, so I’ll need you and dad to start giving me my inheritance in installments, a few weeks early. I’ll stay close, but I’m not staying with him anymore.”
She reached out and cupped the right side of my face?gently rubbing her thumb against my cheek. “What did you say to make him do this to you?” she asked.
Her words hung in the air for several seconds, suspended and unanswered. I was certain I’d misheard her, so I asked her to repeat it.
“It must have been something out of line or hurtful,” she said, moving her hand away. “If you refrain from acting that way, he probably won’t do it anymore.”
“He’s done it five times.” I hissed.
“Then don’t let him get to six.” She looked uninterested in my pain, completely detached. “It’s just a mark, Kate. It’ll heal with time and a closed mouth.”
“That’s your fucking advice?” I felt my blood boiling. “I tell you that my husband?who I only married for your benefit?”
“The family’s benefit, Kate.” She cut me off. “Lower your voice.”
“I tell you that he’s abusing me, and you just want me to deal with it?”
“Abuse?” She rolled her eyes. “Five times is not abuse, Kate. That’s an insult to real victims. What you’re going through is nothing new and nothing to cause unnecessary drama about. It’s part of the price you pay for marrying a wealthy and powerful man.” She spoke with a straight face. “Occasionally, you may catch a misdirected hit, but he’ll make it up to you. It’ll never be intentional. That’s just life at this level.”
I stood still, staring at her in utter disbelief. As she continued her twisted spiel, I suddenly realized all the small things I’d never noticed before. Her monthly appointments for her “eye socket beauty massages,” her need to have a make-up artist and full-time spa staff at all times, her love of this lifestyle above anything and anyone else. I saw exactly who I would turn into if I stayed anywhere near this estate. The sad and tragic picture in full color.
