Their Wife

Nineteen

Read chapter 18.5 in Zev's POV on Patreon!

https://www.patreon.com/xoDirtyLove

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A/N: Just wanted to give an advanced warning. Since this book is a slow-burn (too slow for some) I recommend reading it once there are more chapters available. Reading it slowly with each update makes it feel drawn out and slower than reading a full, completed book would since readers are fed little bits each week.

The chapters are also shorter in length since I am now regularly updating and not working on and adding to the same one for multiple weeks. I have recently decided that instead of breaking my originally planned chapters up so I can provide a shorter full chapter each time I update, I will keep the content I have planned in the planned chapters but will divide the updates into parts (most will be 2 of 3 parts). Nothing much will change, just don't worry if you see parts to chapters. Still the same amount if content, just better planning and structure for chapters :)

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Trigger warning: assault, sexual assault

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The ripped half of the picture stared back at me. The innocent smile on Jaxon's adolescent face seemed like a mockery now- taunting me with the mistake I had just made.

"I-"

Pain erupted at the back of my skull. Fingers tightened around my neck constricting my airway. I tried to find purchase on the floor, but my feet kicked blind, only hitting the shins of the man who held me by the throat, against a wall, in the air.

"You dumb bitch!" He roared in my face. I flinched as warm spit landed on my cheek from the force of the words. His fingers tightened. "You stupid, worthless, whore!"

His words hit a chord deep inside. One that was stuck each time a new individual labelled me with a variation of the same demeaning words. The labels that were drilled into my head. The labels that I foolishly tried to convince myself were not true.

But you could only convince yourself so many times before having the same words shouted by different people made you question if you were wrong.

"Who the fuck said you could touch my things?" His voice rang in my ears.

I clawed at the hand that was wrapped around my neck. What hurt more than the physical force was the burn building in my chest. My legs kicked at his shins, growing desperate with each second that passed. The pain pulsating at the back of my head didn't help with the spots that were beginning to form in my vision.

"I didn't expect much from you- no I didn't expect anything from you, yet you still managed to disappoint." He sneered; his face twisted with anger.

Unconsciousness approached fast. My vision tunnelled until all I could focus on was the dark eyes searing into me with disgust.

Just as everything was about to turn black, he dropped me.

I landed in a heap on the ground against the wall. My body felt weak. I couldn't keep myself upright, falling to the side. The impact with the floor jarred my already injured head.

"I-I'm so-sorry," I gasped out in choked sobs.

I breathed desperately. The air ached on its way in. But like all good things in life, it was cut off too soon.

I tried to push off the heavy booted foot that pressed into my neck, but it was futile. Like a rabbit trying to escape the constricting hold of a python.