With a loud whoosh, he snags the belt from his waist, the metal buckle hitting his knee as he wraps the belt around his hand, coming closer and closer to me. The sound of his boots rock off the walls with each step, my pulse speeding up so much I feel it in my throat. “I’m sorry,” I repeat, although I don’t know why I’m apologizing for this. He pushed me against the table, because he didn’t like how I boiled his eggs, and because of that, the bottle dropped on the floor, shattering into tiny pieces with the liquid soaking the carpet.
“Always a disappointment. You were always a fucking disappointment,” he shouts right before striking me with the belt. The pain sinks into every bone in my body, and I cry out, unable to hold it in anymore. “Fucking disappointment that I have to raise.” Hit, hit, hit, and I cover myself with my arms, hoping to evade at least some of the strikes, but it’s useless.
Each time the buckle connects with my bare skin, the hurt intensifies by a thousand. The sensations are so strong I just want to close my eyes and fall asleep. Maybe then I won’t feel anything.
But if I do that, I will wake up sticky again with Daddy accusing me of seducing him with my pretty face that should have never been born anyway.
At least that’s what he always claims whenever he has these moments where the devil rules his soul, as he calls it.
“Why did she leave you with me, huh? Took everything and everyone else but left me you?”
Hit. Hit. Hit.
“Useless shit that I shitted.”
Hit. Hit. Hit.
“Even the cheating bitch didn’t want you.”
Hit. Hit. Hit.
He continues to deliver blow after blow until I’m bleeding so much I can’t keep my eyes open no matter how much I try, and pass out, finally free from all this pain.
And when I wake up shortly, I feel Daddy drag me to the carpet, pressing my face into the soaked spot while he orders me to lick it off so it won’t be wasted, and I can’t do anything but silently cry while my nails dig into my palms.
Until he lets me go, ordering me to clean the mess and cook him food.
The next day comes… and once again, I do something that angers him.
Because Daddy never loved me and the only people he loved left a long time ago, giving me to him as their peace offering.
“Would you like your usual table?” Betty asks, smiling brightly at me and putting a stop to the memory that makes me almost want to barf all over the floor despite the smell of tasty food floating in the air. “Mr. King is right there. I can ask him if he’d like you to join him.” She asks, half turning, ready to do so if I wish, but I shake my head.
Being in Zachary’s company is a chore that requires tremendous strength from me. My hands always itch to wrap around his neck and deprive him of oxygen, killing him once and for all, but I can’t do that.
Not yet, not when the game is still going.
So putting my sunglasses back on, I grin at Betty and shake my head. “No, there is no need for that. I changed my mind. I don’t want to eat.”
“I hope to see you again,” she says when I spin around, walking to the exit and chuckling at her words.
Once I’m outside, I sit inside my car, the latest model with only a few others in the world, and press on the accelerator, practically flying from the parking lot while anger fills me so much I can’t breathe without needing an outlet.
My hands squeeze the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turn white, and I have this deep urge to bite my nails just like I did as a child whenever I had to withstand Daddy’s abuse.
And Zachary King is just like my daddy, a ruthless man who deserves nothing but punishment for his deeds.
For what he has done to me.
He will not take Phoenix away from me.
She won’t be stupid enough to fall for his lies and handsome face that might promise her the world but, in truth, hides his rotten nature that is capable of violence that knows no bounds.
He is the executioner in my life, the one who destroyed it even if he doesn’t know it. He and my daddy deserve to rot in hell for eternity, and I won’t let him hurt me a second time.
Let him hurt Phoenix again.
But if Phoenix is stupid enough to fall for him….
Chapter Fifteen
“When God gives you a second chance at love… do you take it or run away from it, knowing how fucking much it hurts when it’s ripped away from you?”
Zachary
New York, New York
Zachary, 21 years old
“Damn it,” I mutter, leaning on the railing of the viewing platform while trying to catch my breath, because I’d run for thirty minutes straight.
When James took a wrong turn and got stuck in traffic several blocks away from here, I knew I would be late but at least thought I’d be able to make it if I ran fast enough.
My stupid fucked-up phone had to die too to add insult to injury.
I glance at the flowers in my hand, almost broken as I squeezed them so hard, doing my best to keep my word and come on time.
The stupid idea came to me as we rode from the airport, and a lady on the sidewalk sold them, claiming they’re from her own garden.
Pile of crap, of course, but I figured I could be nice and bring the girl flowers for the first time.
Only I ended up being that asshole again who came in late and missed her.
I bang my splayed hand on the railing, not even caring about the harsh whoosh of the wind. “Damn it!” I repeat, furious with myself for being so reckless with my time and disappointing the girl.
Growing up in foster care, she probably had enough of those to last her a lifetime.
“She waited a long time” comes the soft voice from behind me, and I look over my shoulder to see a beautiful blonde woman cocking her head to the side, her heavy locks swaying as her eyes hold compassion. “She left just a minute ago. She took an elevator. I’m sure you can still catch her if you try,” she says with hope in her voice while all I can do is stare at her, because in the current situation, she looks like an angel sent from heaven.
Down to her serene voice that has the ability to lullaby a man to sleep so he won’t see what is coming at him.
I shake my head, snapping out of such stupid comparisons, and besides, I’ve seen more beautiful women. As an heir to an empire, I never lack female company ready for everything as long as all their needs are paid for.
Yeah, everything has a price in this world.
Everything but this girl I just missed because of the stupid fucking traffic.
One of the reasons I wanted to meet her today… I craved, for one day, to know what it’s like when the person you are spending time with doesn’t know you are a King.
The entire idea seemed like a bad joke wrapped in disaster, but I agreed to it. I figured the girl didn’t have much going in her life if she asked for it.
So what the fuck is this disappointment and rage at myself sliding through my blood like venom, demanding that I find this girl, no matter the cost, and give her what I promised?
Or at least let her know I didn’t stand her up.
“I don’t know what she looks like,” I finally say, taking in her appearance.
From her black jeans and boots to her trench coat with a designer bag, I know the woman belongs to my world yet doesn’t reek of desperation and fakeness that a lot of women do.