Page 33 of The Fighter who Needed Me
She could not believe that they hated her so much that they had stooped so low to do all the things they did to her.
All hope of ever being with the man she loved was gone. And she knew that the life of misery she had led was only going to continue.
Shutting her eyes against the pain of the revelations Bruce had told her, Persephone blocked them both from her mind.
It was too painful to bear. She believed every word that had come from Bruce’s mouth.
From the start she was always nothing to them. She never was given hugs or affection when she was growing up. Still had only gotten affection from Brooks, Rose, Lily, Eden and their family.
She also had always been treated like she was nothing. Left in her room for hours at a time. Never learning to walk, barely going anywhere until she threw a fit about it.
And even then, Bruce and Kitty were playing her for a fool. They wanted her agreement to wed Reginald and she gave it.
She was so desperate for love and for anything other the four walls of the room she never got to leave.
And that agreement let her see the sights and sounds of London. She was so overwhelmed at first by it.
Never having been off the estate or anything for her entire life.
But she quickly acclimated, happy to be out in the world.
When she met Eden by accident at her first ball, she was shocked Bruce and Kitty let Eden accompany them at all.
But by some miracle, they did. It was a small kindness on their part, but she knew that there must be a reason.
She did not want to ask right now. Her heart was already broken, and she could barely breathe with how badly it hurt her.
She stayed silent the entire ride, not looking out the window. Just keeping her eyes shut and staying quiet.
When they pulled to a stop, she still kept her eyes closed.
Not wanting to see where they were. She knew they must not be home. If Bruce and Kitty were truly pawning her off, she knew deep down that they were at Reginald’s large country estate.
She finally opened her eyes and Bruce was glaring at her. “If you try to throw a fit about being here, you will regret it.”
She said nothing and felt her heart wither even more in her chest, and when the door to the carriage opened to reveal Reginald’s large frame, she had to take a small deep breath to keep her emotions inside.
He lifted her from the carriage and carried her into the house and Persephone let him.
He brought her up a wide staircase and to a room a few doors down from it and put her on a large bed.
“I know you have been traveling for a while and must be tired. I will let you rest because I know the reason you were trying to leave. This is the only reprieve you will get. Now, get some sleep. Tomorrow we will start planning our wedding.”
She did not answer him, and he left. Shutting the door behind him.
Laying back on the bed, she let the tears fall free. She was heartsick and broken.
Her real parents died because of Bruce and the fact that her real mother was so in love with her father her heart was broken, and she died.
The sobs burst forth and she felt them wrack her body. She sobbed until she could cry no longer and fell into a light and troubled sleep.
* * *
When she woke, she rolled over in the bed and stared at the wall.
Someone came into her room, but she did not look at who it was. Past caring.
She was dead inside and that was that. She would never marry that man either.
