Page 53 of Saving You Losing Me

I nod, wondering what his plan is and motion to my men to leave. Razor clambers onto his bike, and I feel bad for him. He’s a warrior himself and yet was cut down as if he was a light feather. That’s got to hurt, but it gives me hope.

The Twisted Reaper MC has business in this town and there is only one man possible in their sights. I will do everything in my power to assist them because maybe, just maybe, Michael Santobello’s time is up and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.

CHAPTER 29

CLARA

As soon as I put the girls to bed, I know something is up. Michael is waiting at the foot of the staircase and he doesn’t look happy.

“You went to the studio today.”

I maintain my composure.

“I go there a lot of days. You know that.”

His eyes blaze and I can smell the whiskey on his breath as he hisses, “Don’t test me with your sarcasm.”

I notice one of the maids walk around the corner and at the sound of Michael’s voice, she scurries back the way she came.

Fuck. Even she knows this isn’t looking good.

He swings me around and pins me against the wall, his hands on either side of me acting like a cage.

His eyes flash with fury as he hisses, “Who did you talk to?”

I hate how my legs tremble and fear lights my heart, but I’ve practised my craft well over the years and says lightly, “Some guy was there. I paid the fees and left.”

“Some guy.” His lips curve into a grim snarl.

“What did he say?”

“Thank you.”

I should have known better and suffer the price of my stupidity as he slaps me hard across the face, my head falling to one side as my cheek stings.

He doesn’t release me and says through gritted teeth. “I’ve had enough of your shit, Clara. You have given me nothing but attitude since we walked down that aisle and I’m sick of it.”

I bite my lip because nothing I say now will calm the fury inside him and he snarls, “I gave you everything. This house, limitless credit and two daughters. You gave me nothing in return.”

He leans forward and I’m afraid at the madness reflecting back at me. I’ve known for a long time that Michael is mad. He is deranged and hides it behind a respectful smile and his sharp suits. However, when we are alone, the madness manifests into a bad night for me and coupled with the whiskey in his veins and the stranger in town, Michael is fast losing his shit.

“Nothing, Clara.” His words bounce off my frozen heart and I only pray something interrupts his tirade. This isn’t the first time I’ve been in this position and it won’t be the last and I’ve learned to remain tight-lipped and hope it passes quickly.

My heart sinks as he pushes my skirt around my waist and, with one hand, rips off my panties, the sound of tearing fabric not an unusual one.

He fumbles with his zipper, and then with one hand over my mouth, he enters me with a force that hurts like hell.

As he pushes in hard, he grunts, “You will give me a son if I have to fuck you senseless. A son you bitch. You can’t even manage that. I’m a laughingstock.”

I swallow the pain and the sob that threatens to unravel me as he takes another piece of my soul as he vents his frustration in the cruellest of ways.

My back hits the wall, and I struggle to breathe as his hand presses against my windpipe. He is a wild animal claiming hismate, and it has never been any different. I denied him. I would never agree to sleep with him. I made that perfectly clear from the beginning. I would be his wife but never his lover, so he took it, anyway.

Michael raped me on repeat for our entire engagement and throughout our marriage. He has no consideration for me and I bear the scars. Both mentally and physically.

When I fell pregnant with Sophia, he was ecstatic. He treated me like a princess and declared his love for me to anyone who would listen. They thought I was blessed with such a caring, loving husband. I was considered with envy and the luckiest woman alive.

The day I came home from the hospital with our baby daughter, he told me in no uncertain terms that I had let him down. I was a disgrace and couldn’t even get that right and the beating that night took months to recover from.

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