Page 73 of Cruel Deception
He leaned closer. “You signed a contract, Charlotte. That makes you mine. Your little tantrums, your resistance—it’s all cute now, Once the divorce is signed,” he said, brushing a finger under my chin like I was livestock, “I’ll marry you properly. Make you obedient. Break you in ways Cassian couldn’t even dream of.”
“You’ll never touch me,” I hissed, even as my body trembled.
“Oh, but I will.” He rose to his feet, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve. “You think Cassian’s going to save you? That lunatic? He hasn’t even looked for you. You’re probably just another plaything to him. Hell, maybe he’s already replaced you.”
He moved like a predator, pacing around me, slow and arrogant.
“Do you know what kind of man Cassian is? Do you really think he cares? If he did, he’d be here. But he’s not. Because you’re not worth the blood it would take to get you back.”
He stepped closer, his eyes dark with something vile. “And now, I’m the only one who gets to decide what happens to you.”
He reached for me.
I slapped his hand away.
“You bitch—” he backhanded me across the face.
My lip split. I tasted blood. I didn’t cry.
He grabbed my jaw, forcing me to look at him. “You’ll learn obedience,” he hissed, “the hard way.”
I wrench free, shoving him back, my heart pounding. “You’re wrong,” I snarl, my defiance flaring. “I’m not your property, and I’ll never be. You’re a coward, Luca, hiding behind contracts and belts.” My voice shakes, but I stand taller, my scars—physical and not—fueling my fight. “Cassian may hate me, but he’s not you. He’d never stoop this low.”.
He struck again. And again. A belt appeared in his hand, and the leather cracked across my back, my side, my legs.
I screamed, but not for help.
Because no one was coming.
At least... that’s what I thought.
Then—
An alarm.
A sharp, blaring pulse.
Luca froze.
I collapsed on the floor, my skin burning, limbs shaking. But I saw it—the flicker of panic in his eyes. He turned to the wall, where a tiny screen showed a surveillance feed.
He swore.
“What the fuck...?”
He turned slowly, face pale.
“Impossible,” he muttered.
The lock on the outer door clicked.
Footsteps.
Deliberate. Measured. Heavy.
Luca’s hand went to his holster.
And then the door opened.
