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“You mean to ask me, what didn’t he do to me,” She says, her voice cracking, her body trembling even more. I take her hand, holding it in mine, gently stroking her skin with my thumb when I notice her wrist. I hadn’t noticed it before, I turned her wrist towards me, looking at the thick scar there. “I wasn’t trying to kill myself.”
I look down and meet her eyes, the scar is thick, looking like it was deep. “Jonas cut me. He cut me all the time and when it wasn’t cutting it was burning. When it wasn’t burning, it was….” She trailed off. I didn’t hear much of it – all I needed to hear was that he hurt her tremendously, for years.
“He slit my wrists. He thought it would be fun to see if I bled out. That’s what he told me at first, later he told me he only cut within an inch of my life.”
“Where are the rest?” I asked her, staying as silent as possible, waiting for her response.
“Everywhere.”
“Show me” I ordered
“No, I’m not – no.”
“Ana, show me what he did to you.” I wasn’t coming from a demanding place; I needed to see for myself the pain that he inflicted on her. She didn’t move an inch; her eyes were locked on mine. She was silently begging me not to make her do this.
I couldn’t.
“Ana. Strip.”
“Io-“
“STRIP.” I snapped at her.
Ana did as I directed, she took off her shirt and slid off those constricting pants that showed off her ass perfectly. She was left in just a sports bra and pair of panties in front of me. I took a step closer to her; she shook violently “Ssssh draga, all is okay. I’m only looking” I tell her, I look at her body, her small, frail, malnourished body. My first order of business will be making sure she’s eating enough now. She’s underweight by probably twenty pounds. I’d get forty pounds on her if it was up to me.
I glanced at her, assessing every mark on her body that was inflicted during her stay with Jonas. “What’s this?” I ask her, pointing to a scar the size of a golf ball on her stomach.
“He……he burned me with the bottom of his metal cane.” She told me, her voice not shaking as I thought it would.
“And this one, it looks new.” I point to her leg, where the scar looks fresh like it’s not completely healed.
“He cut me the day before you found me” She doesn’t look at me when she speaks, she doesn’t waver either.
“There will be no more pain. No more cuts, burns, nothing.” I tell her, she nods, still not looking at me. “Don’t mistake my calm demeanor, Ana, I am furious. I will hang him in front of all the clans as an example. Anyone even thinks about harming you is signing their death wish. I will slaughter him, love.”
“No.” She says, her eyes meet mine. “You won’t take that away from me.” Even with everything she’s been through she’s still the strong willed little girl I knew, only now she’s grown into a spirited woman. “Tell me you won’t?” She asks of me.
“I can’t make that promise to you,” I tell her. The truth is I could make that promise to her, but I won’t. I know if I’m given the opportunity I will kill Jonas, I won’t think twice about it. She’s been through enough, and if I promise her this, I would be letting her down – which I couldn’t do.
She grabs my shirt, bunching her hand in a fist. “Yes, you will. You won’t take that from me. He took everything from me, Ion, everything.” She takes in a deep breath before she looks back up to me. “He slaughtered my parents in front of my eyes, but not before raping my mother in front of my father and me. I watched as he took his belt and wrapped it around my father’s throat, tightening it until he was on the verge of death. Jonas would stop, and do it over and over again.”
At this point, tears are streaming down her face. “You weren’t the one who had to watch as he destroyed everything that was my life. You weren’t the one who he used and abused every day for the last eight fucking years. So no, you will not be the one to take him from this world. I deserve that. I need that. And I will.” I notice the fire burning in her eyes backing up her words. She was right; I had no idea what she’d gone through. This is the first she’s really opened up to me about what happened with Jonas. I may grant her what she asks; I must make that decision.
Somehow, I believe I’ll do anything for her.
Chapter 9
Ion
Six days into Mariana’s stay with me, and I was beginning to regret the promise I had made to her in my anger. I didn’t know what to expect from her, we would both fight like cats, or we would have moments filled with truth and understanding, moments that made me believe we could be m
ore than our contractual agreement. Her feistiness had turned into her hanging that over my head whenever it was convenient. We continued to clash over what she should and should not be doing with her injury, and I was hoping that Monday, when I took her in for an appointment with the doctor, that she would get the go ahead for physical activity. A few days before, I would have told anyone who asked that it was my own selfishness that made me want that. I wanted to start fucking her as soon as possible. But it had morphed into a need for her to chill out and have an outlet. Eight years of pent up anger and pain were coming down on me like a thunderstorm.
I’d do anything that I could to help her get through that. It amazes me, I don’t even know the woman, and here I am falling at her feet, willing to give her the world when it should be the opposite, she should be thanking me for saving her. Not once have I heard it.
It was a few hours until I had to go to a meeting of my clan along with a few members of the Balan clan. They were very cooperative with me, unlike some of the others as of late. Hopefully, news of Mariana would spread quickly and would calm down all the trouble between clans. There would be no disputing my reign anymore after that.
I had just gotten off the phone to confirm my car for the meeting when a knock came at the door of my office of sorts. It was really just a room full of ambiguous documents, a desk and chair, and some books that looked good to have. I didn’t have much time or will to read, though I had enjoyed a few of the classics.
