AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Another pause. Another hopeful glance in my direction. Another absolute failure to find anything close to salvation there.
So, with another grimace, Francia slides across the tile floor on her hands and her knees, her gaze fixed on the floor.
“Look at me,” Cora barks.
Francia’s face is burning with shame. Her eyes shimmer with tears.
I’m loving every fucking second of this.
Cora holds up a hand to stop Francia once she’s close enough. “Good. Now, look at me and speak clearly.”
Francia bends her neck back to look up at Cora. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For… for planning to kidnap you.”
“And?”
“And moving into this house with Ivan,” she continues.
“And?” Cora prods.
“And… and I’m sorry for kidnapping Jorden, too?”
“I don’t know. Are you sorry? It’s not a Q&A; it’s an apology.”
“I’m sorry for kidnapping Jorden,” Francia states. “I’m sorry for everything I did that hurt or upset you.”
Cora looks back at me, a small smile playing across her lips. “Was that everything, Ivan?”
I step up behind Cora, her back pressing firmly to my front. I’m sure she can feel my hardness against her lower back. I lick the curve of her ear and then whisper, “Make her beg.”
Cora shivers, but it’s subtle. Just for me.
“What do you want to happen now, Francia?” Cora asks. “What should I do with you next?”
Francia hasn’t looked away from us. She was transfixed by us. At the sound of Cora’s voice, she blinks and looks back down at the floor. “I want to live.”
“Then show me.”
She sits back on her heels and shrugs. “How? I’m on my knees. What more do you—”
“Show me!” Cora snaps. Her voice echoes off the high ceilings. “Show me how much you want to live. Show me what your life is worth to you.”
For the first time, Francia doesn’t look angry, she looks scared. That’s because she never saw what I saw in Cora—her fire is what drew me in. Francia underestimated her.
She drops back onto her hands and knees and crawls closer. Then she lowers her forehead to the floor. “Please don’t kill me, Cora. I want to live. I’m… I’m begging you.” Her voice cracks. “Please don’t kill me.”
Cora looks down at her, expression icy cold. “God, that was pathetic. Worse than I thought it would be.”
Francia starts to sit up, but Cora quickly puts her foot on Francia’s shoulder and pins her back to the floor. “I didn’t say you could get up.”
Francia yelps but then falls quiet again.
“I don’t want to ever see you again,” Cora snarls. “I don’t care where you go, but I suggest you make it far—because if I do ever see you again, I’ll kill you myself.”
Francia nods. “Okay. Okay, I’ll disappear.”
