Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
I tried to be strong, but in the end, I was weak.
Alberto twisted me around until I was on my knees, my back against his front. He forced my face against the wall until I was trapped. I couldn’t do anything, not with the chains wrapped around me so tightly.
He pushed my thighs apart, and I felt his tip at my entrance. “You are mine! Never forget that, Ayla. Mine!”
He slammed inside me, painfully and ruthlessly. I couldn’t stop the scream that escaped past my lips.
I felt his breath at the back of my neck as he took me roughly and painfully. He pounded his cock inside of me repeatedly, his fingers wrapped around my throat the whole time, making sure I knew he was the one in control.
I was being cut from the inside. It felt like I was being prickled with glass shards. I was bleeding inside. My heart was bleeding. My soul was bleeding, begging for mercy. The pain was too much. I stayed silent as my body and heart broke into pieces. I felt disconnected.
It felt like this cruel punishment was never ending. He took me over and over until I slipped into the darkness.
And I knew this time I wouldn’t be able to come back.
When he came with a roar, my head spun. Alberto slipped out of me, and I felt his cum slide down from the inside of my thighs, branding me in the most humiliating way.
My whole body was aching from his assault. I couldn’t move so I just laid there, my head hanging limply against the cold wall.
I felt Alberto’s lips next to my ears. “He’s not coming for you. No matter how much you beg, he’s not coming. He will never find you. Nobody is coming for you.”
I closed my eyes, refusing to accept his words.
“You’re a ghost, Ayla. A forgotten ghost. You always lived in the shadows.”
His words impaled my heart in the most horrendous and painful way. Because I knew they were the truth.
But what made the pain worse was the realization that I would always live this way. In the darkness. Hidden with no escape.
I was truly a ghost. A forgotten one.
My eyes rolled into my head as I slowly succumbed to the agony coursing through my body.
But even through the numbness, I still thought of Alessio.
No matter how impossible it was, I still wished I could feel him again and listen to his beating heart. Just one more time.
Just for one last time, I wanted to feel his beating heart.
Chapter 32
Alessio
I felt numb as I stepped out of the car. Standing in the driveway, I stared at the estate. The front doors were open, but my feet were rooted in place, refusing to move.
There was an ache in my chest. I left with Ayla but was coming back without her. At the thought of coming back home without my Angel and knowing she wouldn’t be there to greet me or kiss me, the pain in my chest intensified.
Viktor came to stand beside me, and he waited. I felt Nikolay on my left side. And then Phoenix and Artur. Nobody stepped forward. They all waited for me.
No matter how much pain I was in, I was still a Boss—the King. I couldn’t let myself get weak at a moment like this. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I took a step forward and walked toward the door. Each step I took was heavy, a reminder of my failure.
I stepped inside, and as soon as I had walked through the doors, Maddie was on me. She grabbed my collar, her face a mask of anger and disbelief.
“Where is she?” Her voice was chilling as she screamed. “How could you have let this happen?”
Her eyes blurred with tears as she choked back a sob, her chest heaving with the effort. “You promised to protect her, Alessio.”
I didn’t say anything.
She was right. I vowed to protect Ayla, but I wasn’t able to. My father was also right. I thought I wouldn’t let it happen. I thought I was strong, but history was repeating itself.
The tightness in my chest was back again. Maddie released my collar, and she sank down to her knees, her anguished cries ringing through my ears.
“You promised,” she sobbed at my knees. “You promised.”
I heard another cry, and my head snapped up toward Lena. She was holding her chest, her eyes wide as she gasped.
“Lena!” Viktor rushed to her, pulling her to the sofa before she could fall over. “Call Sam,” he ordered as Lena continued to gasp for air, her face twisted in agony.
“My sweet child,” she whispered, her voice breaking.
This was all too much. All their emotions washed over me; disappointment, pain, sorrow so deep that my heart ached with it. I ran a trembling hand over my face, trying to stay calm. Trying to be strong for everyone.