Sin & Salvation

Chapter 25

WARNING: This chapter contains graphic depictions of violence, abuse, and offscreen rape. Read at your own discretion ♡

"Emma?" My voice is shaking as her name slides off my tongue, unsure of what I'm seeing. Brett quickly pulls out of her and pushes her onto the swing she was leaning on, discarding her like trash. "What the fuck is going on here?"

"Baby, I—"

"Are you actually fucking kidding me?" I say, laughing almost maniacally. I watch as Emma pulls her underwear up and her dress down, tears streaming down her face.

Did she just start crying now or has she been crying this whole time? I can't tell with the lack of light out here, but all I can think about is how I just watched Brett fuck someone else right in front of me.

While I also cheated on him, this somehow feels worse. All the times he forced himself on me when he was already getting it somewhere else. All the times he told me he'd kill me if I tried to leave, just to go and fuck someone else. But a realization slowly hits me.

"It was her you were on the phone with that night, wasn't it?" It all clicks— the conversation about the lake house, him calling her baby, the way she would get so nervous around me. "Wow, I mean, just wow."

I look at Emma who is still crying and wiping tears from her eyes. "Please Cora, I don't know what you're talking about. It's not what it looks like, if you'd just let me explain—"

"Explain what? How you've been fucking my fiancé for weeks, right under my nose, pretending to be my friend? And then sitting there at lunch today listening to me worry about him cheating on me and literally giving me advice on how to deal with it or catch him. I mean how fucking evil and cruel do you have to be to do some shit like that?" She cries harder while I yell, practically spitting at her with how angry I am.

"Cora, please, can we just talk about this?" Brett begs, coming over to try and put his hand on my shoulder. I shove him off, prompting him to aggressively grab my arm and pull me to him.

"Brett, you're hurting me, please let go."

His voice is low and threatening as he whispers, "You're going to cut the shit right now and calm the fuck down before you let everyone inside know what's going on. Do you understand?" For a second, I almost nod my head, losing all the confidence to do what I originally came out here to do. But before I can, I hear someone walk up behind me.

"Let her go," Silas demands, his voice husky and full of rage.

Brett looks to Silas who is now towering behind me like my bodyguard. Brett breaks out in laughter, gripping my arm harder and pulling me into him so I'm now facing Silas. "And why the fuck would I listen to you?"

"You don't have to listen to me— but listen to the woman who you're hurting that politely asked you to stop." He steps closer, his large stature looming. "I don't do well with self-righteous assholes who think it's okay to put their hands on innocent people. So, the way I see it is that you can either listen to me and let her go— or you don't, and then I can gladly break each one of your fingers before beating your face to a bloody, unrecognizable pulp."

I look at Silas, not recognizing the violent man now standing before me with fire in his eyes and rage pouring off of him. Even though he looks absolutely terrifying right now, the way he's defending me against Brett makes my heart skip a beat. Silas steps closer, revealing his imposing figure in the light as if to remind Brett of just how capable he would be to follow through on his threats.

Brett sizes up the massive, muscular man standing in front of him and finally releases his grip on me. "Just so you know, you're fucking fired," he snaps, laughing in satisfaction.