AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then why do you want me to leave?” He knelt in front of me and clasped my hands between his. Sadness tinged his features, and I didn’t understand it. I supposed I needed to find out exactly what the messages said first.
“I…” My voice trailed off, and when another tear rolled down my face, he was quick to brush it away. “Could you please hand me my phone?”
He released a long breath, nodded, and rose to his feet. He quickly moved across the kitchen to retrieve my phone, and my hands trembled as he handed it over. Oh God. What would the texts say?
I sniffled and wiped at my face as I typed my password in and opened the message thread. It was worse than anything I could’ve imagined. Kenny still had the pictures of me, and he was threatening to share them.
And now Daddy knew. He knew almost everything.
Daddy. Could I even call him that anymore? I’d asked him to leave because I was so ashamed. Stupid. That was the word so many people had called me that had stung the most. Maybe I was stupid. Stupid enough to take the pics in the first place. Stupid enough to share them with Kenny. Stupid enough to believe he’d once loved me. Stupid enough to believe he’d deleted the pics after we broke up.
“Gemma, sweetheart, please talk to me. Tell me what’s going on. I’m worried that someone is threatening you. Are you in some kind of trouble?”
My breaths came shallow and fast, and I gave my head a shake as the dizziness increased. I tried to take slow, long breaths and calm my mind the way my therapist had taught me. It helped. Just a little. Just enough for me to manage a few words.
“If you really want to know what this is about, I’ll tell you, but it’s not pretty.’” My heart sank and I berated myself for thinking I could truly start over. I should’ve known Kenny would somehow fuck Rocky Springs up for me too. I prayed he hadn’t shared the pictures online again.
“All right,” Daddy said as he pulled a chair next to me and sat down. “I want to hear everything.”
I couldn’t bear to look at him as he learned about my shame, so I lowered my head and stared at my hands as the full truth spilled out. I told him about the pictures and the breakup and Kenny’s revenge when I refused to get back together with him. I also told him about the trial and the lawsuit I brought against my ex, as well as being awarded fifty thousand in damages.
After I finished speaking, he was silent for a long while. So quiet I started to wonder if maybe he’d zoned out and hadn’t heard my story. Or maybe he was horrified by what I’d told him. But finally, he broke the silence, and his words caused fresh tears to spill from my eyes.
“Gemma, what happened to you in Westport was terrible, but it wasn’t your fault, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m so sorry you went through this, baby girl, and that your own parents turned their backs on you. That ex of yours is a real piece of work and I’d pay a lot of money to have a few minutes in a room alone with him. Hey,” his voice was gentle, “look at me, please.”
I inhaled a shuddering breath and turned to face him. He reached for a napkin and gently blotted the tears from my cheeks. His kindness nearly broke me. Did he truly not care about what I’d done? Didn’t it bother him that there might be scandalous pictures of me circulating the internet? It was a mistake that could very well follow me for the rest of my life.
“I don’t want to leave, Gemma,” he finally said. “I want to stay right here with you. I want to help you get through this, and whatever happens, I’ll be right there with you, supporting you. Loving you.”
Loving me? Had he really just said that? My mind reeled and I started to feel dizzy again but for totally different reasons. I didn’t have the nerve to ask him if he truly loved me or he’d just had a slip of tongue.
“But what I did was so stupid,” I said, sniffling as he wiped away more tears. “And the pictures… you haven’t seen them. You don’t know how obscene they are. You don’t know how I posed for them. And they were live on the internet for several weeks before they were taken down. So many people saw them. He posted links to the pictures on his social media pages, so lots of people from my hometown saw them.” My voice trembled. “My-my parents saw them. They said I was stupid and disgusting. Disgusting. The same thing Kenny, my ex, called me when I told him about my interest in age play. What if you start to think I’m stupid and disgusting, too?” I broke down sobbing, unable to hold my emotions at bay any longer.
Daddy lifted me in his arms and carried me to the living room. He sat down on the couch with me in his lap. He stroked my hair and held me close as he wiped at my tears using napkins he must’ve swiped from the kitchen. “I could never think that way about you, baby girl. I happen to care about you very much. I’m not going anywhere. Like I told you earlier in the day, you’re going to have a helluva time getting rid of me. I’m your daddy and you’re my baby girl.”
CHAPTER28
DEREK
I heldGemma as she sobbed, wishing I could make all her pain go away. I wanted to hop on a plane to Connecticut and beat the fuck out of her dirtbag ex, but I didn’t want to leave her side. It also wouldn’t help matters if I ended up in jail. Gemma needed my support and I wanted to be there for her. Somehow, we would figure out a solution.
“Little one, listen to me,” I said, still stroking her hair. Her sobs were starting to subside somewhat. “What your ex is trying to do to you right now is very illegal. He’s trying to extort you for money. And if he’s still on probation right now, that’ll be another nail in the coffin for him. The text messages on your phone seem like evidence enough to me. We need to contact the authorities and make him pay.”
She sniffled and withdrew from my arms slightly to peer up at me. “May-maybe I should just give him the money he wants. Maybe that would make this all go away. I can’t go through this again. I can’t have my pictures out there for everyone to see.”
I pressed a napkin to her face and wiped at her tears and her runny nose. “I know you’re scared, Gemma, but I don’t think giving him what he wants is the solution here. Extortion is a serious offense. He could be looking at jail time, and from what you’ve told me, he more than deserves to be put away. Do you know for certain that he has the pictures? I would have thought that the authorities would’ve confiscated his computer and his phone, and any other devices he might be using to store the images.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know for certain that he still has the pictures. I suppose he could be lying. But yes, the authorities did confiscate his laptops, his phone, and other devices he owned. But what if he’s not bluffing? He’s very angry that his wages are being garnished to pay me the fifty-thousand-dollar settlement that was ordered by the judge. Oh, and he is still on probation. For a few more months, I believe.”
“Well, darlin’, I think the first thing we should do is contact the authorities in your hometown and let them know what’s going on. Let them know your ex is trying to extort you and breaking his probation in the process.”
She inhaled deeply and nodded, and I was relieved that she’d stopped crying. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked sad, but there was also a glint of determination that suddenly filled her gaze. “He called me yesterday,” she said, “and I let my lawyer know about it. Well, I left a message, and she hasn’t called me back yet. Her brother is actually a detective in Westport, and he was very helpful during the investigation and the trial. So, if I can’t reach her, maybe I could call him.”
A loud ringing sounded in the kitchen, and we both turned toward the noise.
“That’s my cell phone ringing.” She swallowed hard. “What if it’shimagain? My ex? Kenny?”
I cupped her face and kissed her forehead. “If it’s okay with you, I can go answer it. But if you want to let it go to voicemail, that’s fine too. It’s okay if you need more time to calm down and gather your thoughts before we take action.”
