Chapter 29 #2
After he leaves, I change into my workout attire, and I’m about to head down to the main resort where the gym is located when there’s a knock on the door.
Despite us being away from Harbor Point and at a private resort, Kane insisted we bring two guards with us, refusing to take any chances with my life—his words.
So, for someone to be at the door, it means Daniil and Josh allowed them to pass, or they took them out.
I look through the peephole, and my heart squeezes in my chest when I realize what I just thought.
Daniil and Josh …
They’re not there because they died, trying to protect me.
It’s been weeks, but several times a day, I forget that they’re gone. Especially Daniil. He was with me for so long, and we got so close that it’s hard to imagine anyone but him protecting me.
Once I open the door, I find Giani and Kiril standing guard, along with another guy, holding a bouquet of flowers.
“Can I help you?” I ask.
“Brielle Morgan?”
“Yes.”
“These are for you.” He hands me the flowers and then walks away, leaving me standing there, wondering who they’re from.
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Kiril says. “They’ve been approved.”
I sag in relief. “Thank you.”
I close the door and set the bouquet on the table, leaning in to smell the floral scent. They’re blood-red roses and gorgeous.
Just like the roses I told him I love.
I turn them around and spot a card with my name scrawled across the front, immediately recognizing it as Kane’s handwriting.
Princess,
Kiril and Giani have been instructed to bring you to me tonight at 6 p.m. Wear whatever you want. And remember your safe word—roses.
XO,
Kane
My stomach drops.
Remember your safe word …
Is this it? Is Kane going to go along with my request?
He said he didn’t want to do it in our home, so while we’re away would be the perfect time to do this.
Since I need a way to release some of my anxiety, I continue with my original plan and head over to the gym, joining their Pilates class. I consider texting Kane several times to ask him what he’s up to, but refrain, going along with what he has planned.
Then, I spend the rest of the afternoon getting ready. I shave everything, straighten my hair, and perfect my makeup, giving myself a sultry smoky eye. I go with the dark olive faux leather trench dress I brought, pairing it with my knee-high, stiletto caramel leather Saint Laurent boots.
Since it’s cold outside, I throw on my peacoat, put my phone into my clutch, and head out with my guards.
The drive is long, and when we finally arrive, I have no idea where we are.
“Ma’am, Mr. Morgan said to go inside, and you’ll be directed where to go from there. We’ll be out here.”
“Okay.”
While I trust Kane, a small part of me is nervous, as I’m unsure what’s going on.
In our world, it’s hard to completely trust anyone, especially the man who forced me to marry him.
He might have proven he cares about me, but I can’t forget that our marriage is due to his need to avenge his father’s death.
I walk up to the door and ring the bell, and a beautiful woman opens it.
“Good evening, Mrs. Morgan. Welcome to Elite.”
I step inside, and she guides me down a dark corridor and then into an elevator. Instead of going up, we go down, and once we get off, we head down a long hallway with closed doors on both sides.
“Can I ask what Elite is?”
She turns around and grins. “Elite is New York’s premier underground sex club.”
Oh God. This is it.
It’s happening tonight.
Even knowing what’s to come, I can’t help the nerves that course through my veins.
I’ve read up on what to expect—though every article and forum says each victim will react differently.
I spoke to a therapist who worked with sexual assault victims, and she confirmed what I wanted to do was common.
She even said that the way I was going about it was smart.
Some victims will put themselves into horrible situations to re-enact what they went through.
But the fact that I’m doing it with someone I trust shows that I’m being responsible about it.
But even after doing my research and speaking to a professional, I’m still nervous about how this will all go down. And what if it doesn’t help? What if it only makes it worse?
“Here we are,” the woman says, scanning the key card and opening the door. “There are drinks in the mini fridge. Feel free to get comfortable.”
I glance around the room and find that, instead of it looking elegant or sexy, it’s kind of bland. There’s a queen-size bed in the middle of the room with a floral comforter neatly tucked into it. There’s a white wicker dresser and two nightstands and a TV hanging in the corner.
On the floor is a blush-colored rug, and on the bed is …
“Oh my God,” I gasp.
There are textbooks and pajamas.
Kane is re-creating the scene.
This is supposed to be a teenage girl’s room.
She told me to get comfortable.
I run my fingers along the pajamas and then take a deep breath.
I can do this.
I change out of my outfit and into the pajamas and then have a seat on the bed. When nothing happens and Kane doesn’t show up, I grab one of the books, curious if he picked them out or if he told an employee to randomly place a few textbooks on the bed to set the scene.
The first one is an accounting textbook. There’s no way that can be a coincidence.
I flip through it, remembering all the nights I spent studying. Suddenly, the door clicks open. I glance up, prepared for what’s to come. Only nobody enters.
And then I’m grabbed from behind.
I was so focused on the decor that I didn’t notice there was another door.
“You fucking bitch,” a masculine voice growls, throwing me onto the bed. “You’re a fucking tease and a slut!”
He pins my arms to the bed, and my heart pounds in my chest.
This feels too real.
Too raw.
And for a moment, I’m taken back to my college apartment, and instead of Kane holding me down, it’s Anthony.
Only this time, I refuse to cry.
I can’t change what happened to me back then, but I’m in control now.
“Fuck you!” I bark, pushing against his chest and kneeing him in the balls. “Don’t you fucking touch me.”
He rolls to the side, groaning, but then he quickly recovers and grabs me by my hips, flipping me onto my stomach.
He’s not giving up. And if I don’t fight harder, I’m going to be raped again.
I think about what I was taught in the self-defense classes I took, and I lift onto my hands and knees and push back with my butt, getting him away. Then I sit up and fling my head back, hitting him in the face.
He drops onto the floor, and I scramble off the bed, ready to run out of the room, when my eyes land on the man sitting on the floor with blood dripping from his nose.
It’s not Anthony.
It’s Kane. My husband.
My body sags, and despite the crimson leaking from his nostrils, he catches me, pulling me into his arms.
“Fuck, Princess, you did so good,” he rasps.
“I’m so sorry,” I cry, letting my emotions pour out of me as I grab the hem of Kane’s shirt and bring it up to his nose to stop the bleeding. “I knew it was you, but then … it was like you turned into Anthony and—”
Kane tenses, and I pause, debating whether to backtrack or carry on.
But Kane makes the decision for me when he says, “Anthony … as in Anthony Rothschild?”
“Yes,” I choke out. “He raped me.”
I stare at Kane’s stricken face, but thankfully, he doesn’t let me go.
“Jesus, Bri. Please tell me my dad didn’t know.”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Anthony raped me, and then everything spun out of control. Andrey found out I was pregnant and killed my boyfriend and then forced me to have an abortion. My entire world had exploded, and I couldn’t handle it, so I went to Russia to live with my grandparents and didn’t return until Dominick showed up and forced me to come home after they both passed away. ”
My cries turn into sobs after I finally tell him the entire truth. And even though I don’t know what this will mean for us, it feels good to tell him everything.
“I’m so sorry, Princess,” he murmurs, holding me tight. “I promise no one will ever hurt you again.”
I want to tell him that he can’t promise that, but the conviction in his words has me almost believing him.
As I cry in his arms, with him murmuring comforting words in my ear, my last thought before I fall asleep is that right now, the only person who can hurt me is Kane.
Because I’ve given him my heart, and now I have to hope he doesn’t break it.