AllFreeNovel
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She should make the best of where she was for now. Thinking about the future was pointless. There was nothing to look forward to. Not with Geoffrey controlling her life. He’d probably end up killing her someday.
What a depressing thought.
“Emily? You okay?”
She glanced up. Mark was watching her, his brows knit together. She forced a smile. “Yeah.”
“I can tell when you’re faking your smile.”
She blinked. “You can?”
He nodded, a gentle smile on his face. “It doesn’t reach your eyes.”
She shrugged. “Guess I have to work on that.”
“Don’t.”
She stared at the floor, not knowing what to do. She wanted to leave. But she didn’t. She liked Mark. More than she should.
“I still want to hear you play,” Mark said softly.
She looked up at him. “Why?”
He blew out a breath and gave a sad smile. “You shouldn’t let what that bastard did to you take away what you love. You shouldn’t walk away from it because... because of what he did to you.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t think I could.”
“When was the last time you played?”
She shook her head. “The day before I left.”
“It would take time, but you could play again.”
“No, I mean...” She sighed. “When I played before, it hurt. Because of what he did to me.”
Mark’s eyes turned concerned. “What did he do to you?”
She closed her eyes. “He ripped me apart and put me back together again.”
He took her hand and led her to the couch near the window. He sat and tugged her to sit next to him. “Tell me.”
“Why?”
“Sometimes telling someone helps release the pain.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“How old were you when you started studying with him?”
“Ten.” She looked at him. His eyes were so kind that she found herself speaking, opening up to him, and couldn’t stop herself. “He didn’t touch me back then. At least not inappropriately. But looking back, he was grooming me.” She shrugged. “I was fourteen the first time he—” She swallowed. “The first time.”
Mark’s eyes widened and watered as his jaw dropped open. “He... Emily, did he... rape you?”
She looked down at her hands in her lap. “He convinced my dad to let me go to his ‘cabin in the woods’ with him for a few weeks for an intensive violin retreat, as he called it. I was a good player but I lacked passion. I couldn’t feel the music. Not the way he wanted me to. Not the way I needed to get anywhere.”
Mark took her hand and squeezed it gently.
“He...” She sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t say aloud what Rafael had done. “He destroyed me.”
