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Prologue
Autumn
LEAVING HOME IS the only thing on my mind. My mother has lost her damn mind and expects me to be the one to pay for what she wants in her life. She grew up privileged and given everything she ever wanted by her parents. Then, my father continued to treat her in the same manner until he passed away from a fatal heart attack a few years ago. Ever since then, my mother has been determined to keep the same lifestyle she’s been used to for her entire life. She hopped from one man to another and used them for everything they could give her until she finally took everything they had. She’s a viper and expects me to fall in line without a word or anything type of disrespect.
My entire life I’ve been forced to dress in the best clothes, keep everyone at arms’ length, and only associate with those my mother deemed worthy. Most of my time ended up being spent alone in my room with a good book. Books quickly became my escape from the harsh reality of my world. I let myself get swept up in the fantasy worlds of bikers, dragons, wolves, and everything I could get my hands on. As I got older, I had to hide my books so my mother wouldn’t find them and destroy them because she couldn’t stand me reading. I was told I was weird and nerdy for reading so often and not paying attention to finding the right kind of man. My mother wants me to be some kind of trophy wife to a man who will not only provide everything for myself but for her as well.
I was also forced to eat nothing but salads and always diet. My curves are just too much for my mother. I’m not the skinny woman men of my mother’s caliber are going to look at, much less marry and keep at home to give them children and attend all the functions with the other trophy wives of lying, cheating, manipulative assholes. Women I don’t want to have anything to do with because they’re vile beings who don’t give a shit if their husbands are cheating since they’re doing the same damn thing. That’s not who I am and it never will be.
My mother has a plan in place to get her hands on the trust funds I have in my name because she can’t touch the money in those accounts. I have one from my father and one from his parents. The total is staggering and I’ll never be able to spend it all in my lifetime. Hell, I wouldn’t be able to spend it all in multiple lifetimes. I’d rather have my grandparents back then touch a dime of the money they left to me. They were the only ones in my life who truly loved and cared for me. My father didn’t while he was alive and now my mother only talks to me to berate me and make me feel as little as possible. She figures once I’m married off to someone, he can convince me to sign over my trusts to my mother because I’ll have everything he deems necessary for me to live off of. She can have my money along with whatever other money is gained from the man I marry.
Now, with no one to rein my mother in, she’s decided to sign a marriage contract with some man who is forty-five to my twenty-one years of age. He’s some kind of financial legend and has grown his fortune by stealing from those he views as below himself and others he just forces out of his way. No one is as good as he believes he is. The man, Nolan, is abusive and has had multiple restraining orders against him for stalking women over the last few years. I’ve seen pictures posted of women he’s beaten and put in the hospital simply because they didn’t conform to what he wanted them to be. I want nothing to do with him because I will never be a man’s punching bag. Or some kind of doormat for some man to bend to his will.
Nolan is forty-five years old as I said. He’s got a potbelly stomach and his grey hair is greasy and slicked back with something. The suits he wears are usually crumpled and wrinkled with stains filling his shirts and pants. I don’t even want to know what those stains are from. There’s always the smell of body odor, cigars, and alcohol penetrating the air surrounding him. His dark brown eyes are lifeless and the beard he keeps trimmed looks as if it’s missing patches of hair. Every piece of jewelry he wears is a cheap knock off in an attempt to make him appear as if he spends a dime of his money on such trivial items. The reality is, his money is used for drugs, alcohol, and buying women to enact his sick and twisted sexual fantasies out with. I’ve done a lot of research on the man my mother expects me to marry and know as much about him as I possibly can.
The few times I’ve been forced to go out with him, I had to come home and take the hottest shower I could stand. He spent our entire time together with his hands on my body and trying to talk me into having sex with him. I haven’t spent the last twenty-one years of my life protecting my virtue only for Nolan to have it because he wants it. No, I’ll hold onto my virginity and give it to someone I choose instead of a man who doesn’t deserve it. Nolan also made me watch him eat all sorts of amazing food while I was forced to have a small salad and glass of water. I didn’t get dessert or anything else as I was forced to remain in my seat with my mouth shut so he could enjoy every bite of food he ordered. Nolan didn’t even fucking eat everything on his plates and wasted more than he took in.
However, all of that isn’t the reason I am now driving as fast as I can away from my hometown, mother, and the fucker she wants me to marry. No, I’m leaving because I overheard my mother and this Nolan ass she wants me to marry talking about what will happen. I’m to be married in about two months and the only reason he’s marrying me is because he needs an heir. Once I’m pregnant and have given birth to his child, he plans to end my life in one of two ways. The first would be killing me. Or, he plans on selling me to the highest bidder so they can do as they please to me before they kill me. Either way, I’ll be killed and the loose end tied up. They expect me to give him a child and let that child remain in his care while I’m sold or killed off. That’s not ever going to happen. I’ve always wanted to be a mom and love children. I’m not about to have my son or daughter in that vile monster’s hands.
So, I packed as much of my stuff as I could, making sure I got all of the important papers and everything else I can’t live without. Once I was sure I had everything, I loaded it up in my car and took off in the middle of the night. My mother will find me gone when she wakes up because she makes sure I’m up at the ass crack of dawn to spend two hours in the gym at home with a trainer in order to lose my curves and become the skinny robot she wants me to be. While I would love to trade cars to ensure she can’t find me that way, but I know it’s not possible. Not yet. I have to get the hell out of here and as far away as I can before she starts sending out people to search for me. Not because she wants me back home due to her love for me. It all revolves around her plans for my life and getting her hands on my money. Money she’ll never have.
The one mistake I made when getting things ready to leave home was not getting enough money around to bring with me. I should have slowly over the past few months taken out money from my account and hidden it away so no one could touch it or find it anywhere in the house. Instead, I didn’t do that and I have very little money to my name in order to make it somewhere else. Then, I can get a job and use that money for whatever I need. At least until I’m positive my mother isn’t still looking for me and won’t come and try to drag me back with her to a life I refuse to live.
Pulling into a small town named Cedar Bay, I know I can’t physically go any farther right now. For the last few days I’ve been sick as hell and I’ve still pushed on until I find myself where I’m at now. I’ve been running a fever, haven’t been able to eat, and constantly had to pull over on the side of the road so I could get sick and not make a mess in my car. I find a small diner and pull into the parking lot before making my way inside. I’m so weak from not eating and getting sick so often that I can hardly put one foot in front of the other. Somehow, I manage to get in the bathroom and get sick again. Sweat not only covers my skin, but it soaks through the dress pants and shirt I’ve worn for the last few days.
Once I’m done getting sick, I make an attempt to leave the bathroom. However, I run into someone in the haze surrounding me.
“Hey, are you okay?” a woman asks me as she puts her hands on my arms to keep me steady.
I try to take in the details of the woman in front of me, but I really can’t. The fever is messing with my mind to the point that I can’t really see much of anything without some kind of haze surrounding the image I’m trying to figure out. I’ve never been this sick before in my life and I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
“I’m so sorry. I’m sick and don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s also been a while since I was able to eat anything. I’ve been traveling and ended up with an emergency that depleted my money,” I tell her, thinking about the two flat tires I ended up getting a week ago. There was no choice but to get new tires so I could continue on with my journey.
“Okay. Well, my friends and I just sat down to eat. You can join us and get something to eat. I’ll cover your check. Please don’t argue with me. I’m helping out someone new in town who just needs a helping hand. This isn’t charity or anything else. The only thing I ask is that you pay it forward when you’re able to. Until then, let me help you. After you eat, we’ll get you to the hospital so you can find out what’s going on,” the woman tells me even though I’m sure I won’t be able to eat anything since I haven’t been able to for days now. “I’m Quinn by the way.”
“I’m Autumn. I can’t go to the hospital though. The less I’m seen around town, the better it will be for everyone,” I admit as a blush covers my face and neck. I can feel the added heat of it against my feverish skin. “Thank you for helping me get something to eat though.”
“I know someone who can help. You don’t have to use your insurance or anything. She helps the club and is an amazing woman. She’ll check out what’s going on and make sure you’re taken care of. I promise, everything can be off the books. I’ll call her before we get ready to leave here," the woman tells me as she starts to lead me from the bathroom.
I’m led to a table full of women who are talking and laughing. I don’t need to fully see those in front of me to know how close they are. They’re laughter is almost contagious as I sit down in the booth with Quinn’s help. I’m introduced to the women and quickly realize I’ll never remember their names in the state I’m currently in. However, I paste a smile on my face and pretend to enjoy the company despite wanting to do nothing but fall asleep in my car until whatever I have is over and I can get on with my life.
When our food arrives, the women all dig in while still having the various conversations they’re having with their friends. This is one of the few times I wish I had someone in my life who I was this close to. I’ve never had someone to laugh and joke around with. Someone who knew me better than I know myself and a friend who was closer than a sister. The women try to include me in their conversation, but I don’t contribute too much to it since I don’t really know what they’re talking about. I remain mostly quiet while sipping my soup and taking very small bites of the grilled cheese that came with it. I’m still not sure if it will settle my stomach or that I won’t just end up sick from this, but I’m going to eat it anyway. As I eat, I make myself as small as I possibly can in the booth so no one pays attention to me. It’s something I usually do when around my mother. The less visible I am, the better off I am because it means my mother will look right over me.
As we all finish eating, Quinn pulls out her phone. I listen to the one-sided conversation and try to figure out what’s going on.
“I’m good. Just finished dinner after seeing Brindley. Um, I’m actually calling about someone new in town. She needs to see someone because she’s sick, but can’t afford to have that visit on record,” Quinn tells whoever she’s talking to on her phone.
There’s a pause in the conversation as Quinn listens to what’s being said to her. Honestly, the fatigue running through me is making it hard as hell to even keep my head up, much less worry about what’s being said by Quinn on her phone call to get me help. Though, I truly appreciate everything she’s done in the last half hour to help me more than she’ll ever know. No one in my life with the exception of my grandparents has ever been so kind to me. Somehow I’ll have to figure out a way to repay this woman and the kindness she’s shown me today.
“Thank you so much. Her name is Autumn and she’ll be leaving the diner now,” Quinn says, drawing my attention back to her as she finishes up the phone call. “That was Doc. She’s a great woman and will be waiting for you at her clinic. I’ll give you the address and directions so you can get there. Cedar Bay is a small as fuck town and it won’t be hard to locate her office. Doc is a great woman and will make sure you’re taken care of,” Quinn assures me, her voice soft and gentle as though she’s scared I’ll run away from her like a frightened animal.
I make my way out of the diner and slowly head to my car. It takes longer than I’d like to admit, but I finally get inside and close the door behind me. Taking a few moments to calm down from the exertion I just used to get to my car, I close my eyes and take several deep breaths before slowly releasing them. Taking my phone out of my bag, I pull up my GPS and put the address in it to make sure I don’t pass the office where I can hopefully get the help I’m in desperate need of. When I feel ready to drive safely on the road, I start my engine and pull away from the diner.
Pulling up in front of the doctor’s office, I’m surprised because it looks more like a house than any office I’ve ever seen. Though, living in a city, most offices are located in tall buildings or doctors are located in the hospitals. I’ve never been to a doctor whose office was in a house instead of the hospital. Parking along the side of the road, I make my way inside after shutting off the engine, grabbing my bag, and locking the doors. Before I can knock or open the door on my own, it opens to reveal a woman who looks younger than I was expecting.
“Autumn?” she asks me as she wraps an arm around my shoulders and helps me inside.
“Yes. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice,” I tell her as my stomach begins to roll from the soup and sandwich I just had.
