The Broken Road (18+)

Chapter 17

WARNING
Contains mature and potentially triggering content.

A freshly cooked meal greeted Ken as he returned home that night. I sat obediently by his side as he ate, one of his hands rubbing circles on my thigh, causing me to suppress a hiss as the burns on my legs hadn't recovered yet.

'You did a great job tidying.' Ken praised, ruffling my hair as if I were a dog or a child. My fists clenched under the table in anger, but I needed to stay calm. 'Such a good wife.'

'Thank you Ken.' A forced smile on my lips.

'How much did you eat today?' Ken said looking me up and down.

'I had an apple and some carrot sticks at lunch time.' I replied, only telling half truths. Troy brought me a pasta bake when he visited, taking all traces of it with him when he left.

'Good girl.' He praised again. The amount I ate was no longer about my size, I believed it was because wanted to keep me weak. 'Tomorrow you can have a bit more. You need to get your strength up so you can conceive better.'

'W...what?' I choked out. 'Conceive?'

'Yes. I want a baby still.' Ken replied simply. 'I know you were upset when you lost the other one, so we will start trying again. Straight away.'

It took everything in me not to spit at him that I wasn't the reason I had a miscarriage. 'I... I don't think I'm ready Ken.'

'Why not? You got the little brat out of here, you don't have a job. It's the perfect time to start a real family. Our own baby. Not some stupid accident.'

'Please don't talk about Hannah like that. I know you don't like talking about Jack, but she's still my baby. She's my family.' I said meekly, trying to find a balance between defending my child and not upsetting Ken.

'You basically abandoned her, Jenny. Left her at your parents house for weeks with no word. I bet she's going to hate you for that.' Ken's words shook me. I was desperate for that not to be true, I just prayed that my parents were telling her how much I loved her and that I was staying away to keep her safe.

'We won't be apart much longer.' I whispered in response.

'Shall we bring her home after dinner?' Ken said, with a strange glint in his eye, undoubtedly the thought of having her back as a bargaining chip filling his mind with evil thoughts.

'Not tonight.' I said quickly, knowing that it would ruin all my plans. 'I made a special treat for your dessert and then... well, I thought we could have some alone time..' I whispered seductively, rubbing my fingers up and down his arm.

'Is someone a little horny?' He said smugly, squeezing my thigh. 'Let's skip dessert and get started right now.' He licked my neck slowly.

'No!' I said quickly, standing up. That would ruin everything. 'I... I mean. I spent a long time making you a tiramisu, your favourite. The... the cream won't keep if we get too distracted.'

'Well, serve it up then.' He said, shaking his head. 'If it were anything but my favourite, I wouldn't be waiting.' His eyes filled with lust as they followed me as I moved around the kitchen.

Troy had helped me spent the afternoon grinding up a few sleeping pills, which I then mixed into the tiramisu. As I passed him his bowl, I prayed he wouldn't be able to taste anything over the strong flavours of the coffee and alcohol. I switched the coffee for decaf, but the flavour would be as strong.

My eyes darted around the room, unsure where to look in order to avoid suspicion. This was it. It was finally happening.

'I have an idea.' Ken smirked, tugging at my top. 'Strip.'