His Little Wife

Chapter 12

Seeing my father for the first time in over a week overwhelmed me. A wave of emotions washed over me as I ran towards him and jumped in his arms like I was a young child again. He embraced me in a vice like grip before pushing me back at arms length.

'Are you ok?' He asks as he looks me over. 'He hasn't hurt you, has he?' He asks even with Lucian in the room with us.

I brush the tears way from my face and offer him a weak smile.

'No, dad, he hasn't. I'm okay.' I tell him.

It wasn't a complete lie. Lucian hadn't done anything too bad to me. He shouts and makes me feel worthless, but he hasn't hurt me physically. But last night plays on loop in my mind when that man tried to force himself on me before a vision of him laying on the floor covered in blood comes to me, followed by Lucian kissing me against my will.

'I'm okay.' I lie again, knowing there's nothing my father would be able to do about it even if I wasn't ok. All this was to keep him safe, so I didn't want to say anything that might cause him to react and make my whole sacrifice worthless.

'How are you?' I ask him. 'Do you still hurt?' Thinking back to last week when he could hardly hold himself up.

'Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Are they treating you ok? What's happening?'

I look over my shoulder to Lucian who's hoovering in the corner of the room listening to everything we say. I want to ask my dad how much he owes and maybe plan some sort of escape, but with him lingering around it makes it entirely impossible.

'Can I speak with my father alone?' I ask him sheepishly.

He sits and thinks about it for a while as his eyes burn into me. I sit waiting for his reply, thinking he'll deny me. I need this time alone to speak with my father so desperately that I feel like he could sense it. If he knew what I was planning he would never leave me alone, would he?

'Five minutes and then we're leaving.' He says as he stands and walks out of the room, leaving us alone.

The surprise of being granted my wish leaves me speechless as I watch him walk out the door. If the roles were reversed I wouldn't have left. I don't trust him as far as I could throw him, but I wasn't going to waste my time thinking about his ulterior motives when I was only given five minutes.

'How much money do you owe him?' I turn and ask my father as soon as the door clicks shut.

'I... er...'

'Just tell me' I plead, wanting him to be quick about it.

'£100,000.' He whispers, looking to the floor.

'How?' I ask, amazed by the debt he managed to raise.

'I'd been borrowing money from him for a while. I needed to pay bills. I needed to keep a roof over our heads. I couldn't... everything was too hard after your mother died. I tried my best. I promise I tried my best. But it wasn't good enough and now I've lost you. I've lost you to a monster and I'm so so sorry Anna. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. It just escalated so quick and before I had a chance to pay him back he came for me. He was going to kill me. I begged him to spare you. I didn't want him coming for you next after he was done with me, but the idea of taking you away from me pleased him. I told him I'd rather die.' He tells me gripping my arms. 'I would die for you Anna. But he took you anyway.' He dropped his hold from my arms as his hands slide down to my hands.

His hand caught something as he held onto me, stopping him from talking. 'What...?' He starts to say as he holds one of my hands up to his face.

The hand holding the giant diamond. A clear signal to anyone what was going to happen. The monstrosity that sat on my ring finger that screamed engagement. He stopped when he saw it and just stared at it with a tear running down his cheek.

'I have a plan.' I tell him, trying to get him to look at my face. 'If we can get him the money maybe he'll let me go? He'll have his payment?'

'Anna... there is no way of getting the money. I've tried everything. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.' He says as he drops my hand and walks away from me to sit on the sofa at the far end of the room.

'So you're not even going to try?'

'What is there to try?'

'Can you not sell the house?' I ask.

'I already did.... Years ago. We don't own this anymore. We don't own anything. I have no money and nothing to give Anna.' He cries in defeat.

'So you're just going to let this happen?' I scream at him.

'What would you have me do?'

What would I have him do? Die so I don't have to marry a monster and have his child? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I asked for that price.

Anger boiled up in me as I slowly came to realise there was no way out of this for me. I was stuck in this nightmare whether I liked it or not. I didn't have the energy in me to argue anymore as I crumpled to the floor and cried. My father didn't even move from where he sat as I accepted my fate. The life I was resigned to live because of his mistakes. He did this to me and it felt like he didn't even care.

After the sobs had stolen every last bit of my resolve I dragged myself up from the floor.
Without another glance back I walked to the door and left, not knowing if I'd ever see him again. And at this point I wasn't even sure if I cared.