Page 17 of Sold to the Beret

I quickly walk toward the huge wrought-iron gates and press on the intercom to alert the security guard. A face pops out of the small office building, familiar dark eyes widening with shock.

“Miss Beaumont!”

“Hi, Kelvin. Can you open the gates? Is Jared in?” I ask.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answers as he opens the gates. “Welcome back, Miss Beaumont.”

“Thank you,” I reply, not wanting to talk too much. I don’t ever want to stay in this huge, empty house again. “Please, pay the driver. I don’t have money with me.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

As I walk up the steps of what used to be my home, memories of time spent in this mansion wash over me, reigniting a series of conflicting emotions. When I reach the threshold, the door is pulled open from within and Jared’s large frame fills the doorway. I’m sure the cameras alerted him of my presence. I stop a few feet away from him, my anger spiking at the pretentious smile on his face.

“Well, well. Look who we have here. The runaway princess,” he drawls silkily, his voice grating on my nerves.

My jaw tightens at the use of Damien’s endearment for me. “I have you to thank for that, don’t I?” I say, gritting my teeth.

“Oh. Now the kitten has claws. It seems your buyer wasn’t as sadistic as I hoped.” He rakes his eyes up and down my form. “You don’t look like you’ve been punished enough. Guess you got lucky. Has he fucked you yet, or do you have him wrappedaround your tiny little finger?” He grins slyly, fueling my rage. “I knew your face would be useful for something.”

“You good-for-nothing bastard!” I snap. “You sold me for money that I’m sure didn’t last a week. You tricked my mom into marrying you, and now she’s dead and you’ll never see a dime of her money!”

Jared’s mocking laughter rings out, filling me with disgust. “It’s too late, Rose.” He sneers. “I now have power over the Beaumont fortune. I made sure your cunt of a mother signed it all over to me, as she should.”

My rage boils over and I snap. “You will never win, Jared. You know why? Because I’ve written down everything you’ve said or done to me. You think you have it all, but wait till I go to the press about how you sold me off to the highest bidder as a sex slave.” Something akin to fear flashes in his eyes and I grin in satisfaction.

“No one would believe the spoiled princess who made her mother’s life a living hell while alive and neglected her when she died,” he says with a satisfactory gleam in his soulless black eyes. “No one has seen you since your mother’s death, remember? You should know I can spin the story any way I want, because I have the money and the manpower. Everyone will believe the loving, attentive husband of Beatrice Beaumont.”

His words threaten to shake me, but I refuse to let him get to me. “The next time you see me, it’s with the authorities,” I fire back, and with that I turn around, forcing my shaky legs to remain steady.

As I walk toward the huge gates, my anger slowly eases, leaving me hurt and grieving. Tears well up in my eyes, blinding me.

I should have asked the cab to wait…

A teary laugh escapes my lips at the thought. Where would I ask him to take me? I have nowhere to go. My few friends from college don’t live in the city. I have no family—only a few family members scattered across the country whom I know nothing about. The only family friends I can think of in the city…I can’t trust them not to go to Jared, tell him where I am.

Except Damien…

Anger swirls inside me at the thought of him. He shouldn’t have hidden my mother’s death from me. He had no right. Yet, I miss him. Being apart from him is tearing at me, but I can’t let go of the feeling of betrayal.

A huge sweaty hand clamps over my mouth, jolting me out of my thoughts. I stiffen, then start to struggle as my attacker bands his other arm around my waist and drags me closer to his chest.

I try to scream but my voice comes out in a muffled groan. I clamp my teeth down hard into the palm covering my mouth, eliciting a loud grunt from my assailant. His hold slackens and I scramble out of his grasp, but he suddenly grabs me by my hair.

A burning pain bites into my scalp. I scream in pain, but his fingers clasp around my throat, cutting me off, choking me. My vision swims in front of my eyes. I claw at his hands as he gradually cuts off my air supply. I struggle in his arms, turning and twisting, but his hands only tighten.

Darkness encroaches into my vision and I struggle to pull in air. My heart bangs loudly in my ears and my breaths turn choppy. Regret fills me as I remember my last moment with Damien. I wish we had left things in a better state. My anger seems so unimportant in the face of death.

Suddenly there’s a loud screech, tires scraping against the ground in a sudden halt.

“Rose!”

Damien…

The hands around my neck are dislodged and I instantly take in deep gulps of air, massaging my throat. Loud, rattling coughs wrack my body, and my chest heaves hard until the ringing in my head gradually subsides. Loud grunts reach my ears, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh. I turn to find Damien kneeling over…Henry?

It’s the same guard who drugged me when Jared sold me off. And Damien is punching the hell out of him.

“Damien. Don’t kill him,” I rasp out.

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