Page 50 of Mercilessly Bred


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Maxwell carefully set the gift bag down on the table beside Sebastian before quietly exiting the room. Now the bag had me transfixed, with its shimmering sequins and bright colors. What could be in it? What would a man like Maxwell bring here in a gift bag? We continued our dinner, and the younger butler replaced Barclay halfway through the meal, his presence looming in the corner of the room as the aroma of the food lingered. Gesturing to the butler, Sebastian had him fill his drink, then flicked his wrist in a dismissive gesture.

Now, we were truly alone, and I had a feeling that this wasn’t good. There was an intensity in Sebastian’s eyes and I didn’t like.

“It’s time we talked about you, Belle. I want you to tell me everything.”

I gulped. This was it, the question that I had been dreading since the day I met him.

“Everything?” I asked in a faint voice as I plucked at a piece of lint on my soft sweater.

“Yes. All the secrets you’ve been keeping. No lies. I want to know it all.”

I sucked in a shuddering breath and steeled my nerves. I knew this day would come eventually, and it was probably time I talked about it.

So, I started at the beginning. Growing up in foster care with Fiona and being taken by sex traffickers. It was hard to talk about the years that followed, but he wanted to know everything and I wanted to tell him. I was ready to open up.

Sebastian was quiet as I told him everything, only speaking to ask a question for clarification occasionally. He kept his voice gentle, but there was no hiding the anger burning in his eyes. It made me feel better to know that he was upset on my behalf, but I didn’t stop my story to acknowledge it. Now that I’d started talking, I felt like I had to get it all out. It was like lifting a weight off my shoulders. Sebastian got up and moved closer to me as I told him about my first assault, the one that stole my virginity. The pain of remembering it all was so strong that I had to fight back the tears because I knew that if I cried, I would never stop.

My story ended with my escape and taking the train to Switzerland. He knew what happened after that. Sebastian was quiet for a long moment, and the staff brought in dessert, cake for him and strawberries with whipped cream for me.

When we were alone again, he finally spoke.

“I feel like you’re holding something back. What is it?”

I nodded. I’d skipped the most painful thing of all.

“Fiona,” I said. “My sister. I told you she was taken with me. We were together in that hell for a long time, but eventually, we were separated. I have to find her.”

Sebastian frowned. “And how do you plan to do that?”

“Why do you think I agreed to do this?” I asked, placing a hand on my stomach. “I’m determined to find my sister. That’s going to take big money. These people that took us are smart, but I know that there has to be someone out there that can find them. Someone that can find her.”

“I know you haven’t cashed the check I gave you yet,” he said, a question in his eyes.

“I don’t have any identification.”

It was a problem that I had been mulling over for weeks.

“I’m glad you told me,” he said, squeezing my hand.

Then he pulled the gift bag closer and retrieved the items inside.

A new phone was first. I smiled as I grabbed it. I’d never had a phone before. It didn’t really matter because I had no one to call, but it was still exciting.

The next thing he pulled out was a shiny new tablet. My eyes widened. If I could connect to the internet on that thing, I wouldn’t have to sneak into his office at night to find out anything I wanted to know.

Finally, he produced an envelope and opened it. He had a driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate made for me. They were fake but looked completely real.

Now, the tears broke free, and Sebastian wiped them away. I looked into his eyes.

“Why? Why are you doing this for me?”

Sebastian cupped my cheek. “You deserve to have someone take care of you, and I want it to be me.”

Emotion lodged in my throat, and I gave him a smile even as more tears came. I was able to fight off the urge to break down, and looked at the things in front of me. I focused on the fake documents and thought about the hardened assistant that brought them.

“Do you really own a chocolate factory?” I asked.

He looked surprised by my question. “Yes, why?”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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