Chapter Eight
Seraphina
I don’t even have the bedroom door closed before the tension rises higher than it had been in the car.
With Dorian, the quiet isn’t peaceful, it’s always the calm before the storm.
He doesn’t speak right away. He just places his keys, wallet, and cell phone in the crystal bowl, sitting inside our room next to the entrance.
“Your sister saw.”
He doesn’t look my way as he walks to our dresser. He pulls open the top drawer before removing his cufflinks, then his watch, placing them both in their cases.
Fear rises in my throat as I sit at the end of the bed to remove my shoes. “I tried my best to cover it before we left, Dorian. I swear I did.”
“Not good enough, Seraphina.”
“I didn’t mean…”
He slams the drawer shut, cutting off my statement causing me to jump. The entire dresser shakes from the force. His eyes scan my face like he’s disgusted with me because my sister found out about one of our dark secrets. Or at least she has some suspicions.
“You think I didn’t notice the way your sister looked at me?” He takes a step closer to me, and I do my best not to scramble away from him because it will only piss him off more. “Like I was some monster?”
“I didn’t say anything, Dorian.”
“You didn’t have to.” He moves closer. “You want people to know what happens in our home? You want them to ask questions?”
“No.”
I shake my head.
“Then learn to keep your fucking mouth shut.”
The slap came fast. Not hard enough to knock me backwards, but hard enough to sting.
My hand goes to my cheek. But I don’t cry.
I know not to. Then a fist slams into my face, the impact is so sudden, I don’t have time to block it.
It’s so forceful my head whips to the side, and I fall backwards onto the bed.
The pain is so excruciating I scream, but even if anyone hears me, they won’t help me.
Dorian’s family owns this country. And they also have the cops on their payrolls.
It will be covered up, and I’ll be in the same position, and my life ten times worse.
“Stop!” He grabs my hair, yanking me on the floor from the bed. “Please stop!”
“You stupid, bitch!”
He drags me across the floor away from the bed by the hair. I’m sure he’s pulled some of it out. Something else I’ll have to hide.
“You did that shit on purpose. But the Puglisi’s can’t save you from me. I’ll fucking kill you before I ever let you go.”
I curl into the fetal position, trying to make myself as small as possible but it doesn’t protect me from the swift kick to my side.
“Dorian…”
I lift my hand, trying to stop him but he kicks me again. Another burst of pain explodes through my entire body.
“Let me hear your screams, baby.” He rips at my clothes. “You know how much I love it.”
“Don’t!”
But I can’t fight him. My head is swimming, and my vision blurs before everything goes black.
The sound of a car door slamming outside startled me.
Confusion was written all over my face as I stare into the mirror.
I didn’t even remember walking into the bathroom.
One moment I was on the floor of the bedroom trying to protect myself from Dorian.
Now I stood in front of the mirror, one hand braced against the sink, the other trembling against my side.
Fuck it hurts so bad.
This wasn’t the first time he had beaten me over something he believed I’d done wrong, but it was one of the worst.
My reflection stared back at me, once again bruised and battered beyond recognition.
A swollen cheekbone. A split lip. My eye was swollen shut.
I touched it, wincing from the pain. But I realized those weren’t the only injuries I had.
I reached between my legs, grimacing at the pain.
I looked at my fingertips covered in blood and cum.
Another one of the things he liked to do while I was unconscious.
My breath fogged the glass. I watched as the vapor faded then came back again. Proof that I was still here even though I wished he’d killed me, so I didn’t have to go through this again. Although it was sad to say, there would be next time.
Maybe I should do it myself?
I gripped the counter tighter, trying not to fall as a wave of dizziness moved through me. My head and face throbbed. The ache in my ribs pulsed with each breath I took. The burn between my legs was unbearable. I wanted to cry. But the tears wouldn’t come.
“I’m fine,” I whispered. “I’m going to be fine.”
However, the woman staring back at me didn’t even believe me. She’d been through this too many times to believe my lies.
Since I couldn’t change anything, I shuffled to the shower, hoping the water would wash away everything. I just needed to get the blood off. Wash away the brutality of tonight.
The moment I turned the shower on, the heat from the water warmed the room.
Gingerly, I stepped into the shower, but because of the excruciating pain there was no way I could stand.
So, I slid down the shower wall until I was seated on the floor.
The tile beneath me was cold, but I didn’t move.
Didn’t flinch. I couldn’t. I felt so hollow, like I was nothing more than a shell of my former self.
The scolding hot water burned my skin, but I didn’t care.
I couldn’t move so I rested my head against the shower wall with my knees drawn to my chest, and my arms wrapped around them like I could hold myself together.
The dress I wore to dinner was soaked, the material stuck to me and became see-through.
The bruises to my ribs throbbed with each breath but it was the loneliness that hurt more.
I couldn’t tell anyone about this. There was no one to help me. And at that moment, it didn’t matter if crying wouldn’t help. It didn’t matter that it would be painful as hell because I couldn’t stop the sob ripping from my throat.
Above me, the showerhead hissed, its steady stream creating a white noise that filled the steamy air. It masked my cries, muffled them into something I didn’t hear despite the intense pain.
My hair stuck to face in wet strands. I didn’t even bother to push them away as I stared at the drain, watching the water swirl, pink at first, then clear.
My breaths came in shallow bursts, each one an intense battle.
The pain was too loud, too deep. It eclipsed everything.
As my vision narrowed, my body fell over until my head laid against the wet tiled floor of the shower.
All I wanted to do was sleep and never wake up again. So, I closed my eyes, praying that this was the end.