Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Why the hell didn’t she tell me about this? Have I failed her that much that she didn’t trust me to speak up? Didn’t she believe that I cared enough to do something about it? All I know is that I let her down. I was with her multiple times and never noticed the bruises until it was already too late. I should have paid closer attention. I should have pushed harder for answers after I finally saw them.
Chiara tries to cry out, but his clamped hand over her mouth makes it impossible. Tears roll down her beautiful cheeks, and not a moment later, he violently thrusts his fingers inside of her. He does it again and again, and just as bile rises in my throat, the asshole has the nerve to belittle what’s mine. “Ahhhh, it makes sense now,” he spits as he fucks her with his fingers. “You’ve got a tight little cunt to go along with that pretty little face.”
I pause the footage, throwing myself out of my chair as I pace behind my desk, unable to catch my breath. My hands ball into fists, and I clench my jaw so tight my teeth almost shatter under the pressure. I’m going to fucking kill him. There’s no doubt about it. He touched what was mine. He took from her, violated her precious body, and now I will get justice, but not before I discover the extent of his crimes.
A few minutes pass before I’ve calmed enough to press play, and I watch the rest of her assault as she fruitlessly tries to fight him off, but it’s no use. She’s not nearly strong enough. She’s completely left at his mercy. I watch as he reaches for the front of his pants while trying to keep her quiet, but a knock sounds at the door.
Relief rushes through me as he pauses and Krista’s tone sounds through the footage, asking if she’s awake. No response comes from Chiara, but Krista remains just long enough to deter Sergiu. She tells Chiara that she will return soon, and it’s exactly what Chiara needs to gain freedom.
Sergiu finally pulls away from her, and I watch with unease as his tone comes through my speakers once again “You got lucky today, girl. But let me make one thing clear. If I find out that you’ve even whispered about this, I’ll come back here every fucking night, and what happened in here today will seem like child’s play in comparison. And if you even think about offering him a DeLorenzo heir, I will tear your baby right out of your womb.”
And that right there answers every fucking question I’ve ever had. Why she kept quiet. Why she stiffened when I first introduced the two at the family gala. Why she hid in the upstairs library during my meeting. She was terrified of him, and she had every right to be. Had I known, had she found the courage to take the leap and tell me what was going on, I would have done something about it. I would have ended his miserable life without a second thought.
Any act against my wife is a betrayal against the DeLorenzo name, and because of that, I will ensure that Sergiu never claims what belongs to me. My position in this family will never be his. The only place he’s going is to a shallow grave.
Sergiu finally leaves her room, and I watch as she promptly falls apart. Heavy sobs tear from her chest and despite how every cry of fear shreds my soul to pieces, I force myself to watch the whole thing because her pain is mine to bear. I brought her into this, and I’m responsible for everything that happened to her while under my roof.
I failed to protect her. I brought her into my home and foolishly believed that she would be safe.
A hollowness tears my chest wide open as I force myself to continue looking through the footage, desperate to know just how often Sergiu welcomed himself into her room. I see all the nights we were together. I see the times she would search for me in my home, only to be disappointed to learn I was working. I watch as she cautiously allows herself to begin to trust me, and I watch as that trust begins to shift into something more.
I get through to the night of the gala, and I’ve just started to convince myself that Sergiu’s visit was a one-time thing, when he betrays me once again. Chiara lays in her bed, tossing and turning in a fitful sleep after spending a portion of her night beaten on the bathroom floor. I’d demanded Sergiu’s presence in my home. I gave him access to her.
He walks into her room, and just like the time before, he sits on the edge of her bed, clamping her mouth. She wakes immediately, that same fear from the first time flashing in her green eyes. “Even try to scream, and I will make your life a fucking misery,” he tells her. “Do you understand me?”