AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I need to talk to you before you look at my face.”
“Let me see your eyes, Sophia,” I demand.
She shakes her head, and hisses as if she’s in pain. “No, it’s too bright in here.”
“Google, dim the lights,” I say, and suddenly the room darkens.
Bailey yanks on the end of my hair and places it in her mouth, drool trickling down her chin. My scalp burns, and I gently peel Bailey’s tiny fingers from my hair and tell her no. She giggles and grabs her toes, sticking them in her mouth instead.
I set her down on the floor and she crawls to a stack of magazines, balling the pages into her tiny fists. I’m sure Jasper reads thoseForbesmagazines, but I’ll replace them.
Quickly, I snatch the sunglasses from Sophia’s face and anger burns in the pit of my stomach as I glance at her two black eyes. The right one is swollen shut, and the left has puss leaking from the corner. Tears tickle down my cheeks, and I’m completely speechless. My brave sister always puts on a poker face, and yet here she is literally getting her ass kicked by her husband. The only reason why she stays is because of Momma in fear she’s going to disown her. No one should go through this. I’m afraid that if this keeps on going, he’s going to end her life. Why would she come here if she didn’t want me to see it?
She must read my facial expression and frowns. “It’s not that bad, I should have made his dinner on time, and I didn’t tidy the place like I should have.”
“So that gives him the right to use you as a punching bag? No one deserves this,” I say through gritted teeth. “I know he’s wealthy and power—”
“You know I can’t go to the police about it, he has them in his back pocket. His uncle is the DA.” Hopelessness laces her tone. “And he’s popular in his community. It’ll be my word against his.”
“Not if they see your face.”
“Why are you making a big deal about this?”
“Are you serious? Your face looks like you’ve been in a boxing ring. And you’re asking why I’m making this a big deal?”
I’ll have to talk to Jasper about speaking to a lawyer, and she has every right to have Tate’s money. I can get her a job working for Jasper and she can move in with us, or I’ll find her an apartment and pay for it with the money I now earn until she gets back on her feet. I’ll pay for daycare for Bailey. Jasper pays all our bills, and the only thing I pay for is our streaming services.
“I can get you out, I have money. You can stay here.”
She folds her arms and shakes her head. “I have a child to think about, Poppy. I can’t take her away from her father. Everyone has flaws.”
Her words irritate me. If she cared about Bailey, she would want to protect her. She doesn’t need to grow up watching her mother be someone’s punching bag, then it will be a repeated cycle. Clearly, Tate doesn’t love her.
“He needs to be shot and killed for the way he treats you.” I mean every word.
Pain registers in her face. “W-why would you say that?”
Bailey crawls to the entertainment center and pulls herself up and she shakes her little butt, dancing. It’s so adorable.
Does he hit Sophia in front of her? Does he do it when she’s not looking? Next time I se—
“No wonder Mother treats you like shit. You can be cruel sometimes.”
Her words sting. How canshesay something so cruel? All I’m trying to do is help her.
But she doesn’t see her face—it’s horrible.
“Why are you lashing out at me? Tate is the one who is hurting you, not me.”
“He doesn’t hit me all the time, only when he’s stressed out about work, and then he makes up for it.”
The door swings open and Jasper waltzes in, his eyes immediately landing on my niece. Curiosity swims in the depths of his pupils. He engulfs me with his presence like warm honey and he turns me into goo every time I see him.
“Whose baby is this?” he asks.
Sophia quickly grabs her shades, but I snatch them away. I want Jasper to see her face, so he can convince her that it looks bad. I get up from the couch. “That’s Bailey, my niece.”
Bailey crawls to Jasper and yanks on his dress pants to pull herself up. Jasper picks her up and cradles her. There is sorrow in his eyes as he stares at her with a yearning. She fists his blood red tie and sinks her two teeth into the fabric, then she giggles. Seeing him playing peekaboo with her makes my heart melt. I wish he would give me a child, and I bet he’d be a great father. I must be imagining things, because his eyes gloss over and he swallows thickly. He hands her to my sister as he stares at her face, and the three lines on his forehead deepen.
