Sweet Salvation |✎

Chapter 27

I jerked up from the bed, alarmed. The bedroom door had slammed open and was bouncing off the wall on its hinges. 
 
What the hell was going on? 
 
Leaning on one elbow, I surveyed the room, lingering longer on the doorframe than anywhere else. The sudden movement of my body when I’d sat up made me hiss with pain, but the pain was soon forgotten. 
 
My eyes fell on something that made every inch of my skin burn with fury. 
 
Mason, a wicked smile playing on his lips, stood in the doorway, his arms wrapped around a girl who was barely dressed. Her lacy lingerie exposed her body for all to see, barely covered by an equally black and lacy robe. 
 
For a few seconds, my heart stopped beating. I stared and stared, not daring to move a muscle, my body burning more than ever, breath catching in my throat. 
 
They were kissing hungrily. Like nothing else could ever matter. 
 
I’m not sure how much time passed before the girl pulled away slightly, pushing her blonde hair behind her ear then tugging at the knot of the robe - letting it slide down her ankles. Or should I say ‘stilettos’? My gaze was transfixed by her shoes for a moment. They were the tallest heels I have ever seen in my life and the robe pooled around them. 
 
If I’d been in that girl’s place, I’d probably have tripped over. 
 
My heart strained against my chest as the hurt crashed through me. This girl wasn’t going to be tripping over any time soon. She looked flawless with her long, tanned legs. How could I ever compare to that? 
 
A couple of tears slid down my cheeks, but Mason and his partner didn’t notice. His hand slunk around her hips, pulling her back towards his chest, while she fumbled with the buttons on his white shirt. 
 
I considered marching in and tearing them apart. I wanted to. Oh, I so, so wanted to. 
 
But I didn’t. Something kept me on the bed, lying there, rigid as a board as I watched their sloppy make-out session. 
 
The blonde girl put her face in his neck and trailed kisses down his jaw as he hauled her up by her bottom. She laughed - a horrible giggle that made me want to be sick - and, all of a sudden, I couldn’t take it any longer. 
 
I couldn’t just lie there and watch him do this to me. I couldn’t just lie there and let him tear my heart apart. 
Slipping the duvet off my body, I crossed my arms and stalked towards them. Fury of the deepest kind pounded through my veins and I felt oddly powerful as I approached unnoticed. 
 
They had no idea that I was there. Just as well, really. 
 
For a few seconds, I waited, half concealed by the shadows that tumbled across the carpet. I watched Mason take the bitch in his arms and slide his fingers over her beautiful skin, watched her whimper as she tilted back her head… 
 
Then I made my move. 
 
I stepped out from my hiding place, right in front of them. The fury faded to malice as I stretched out my fingers towards the girl, taking her silky lock into my hand before I yanked as hard as I could. 
 
“Bloody hell!” screeched the girl, whipping around. 
 
Her wide eyes glared, staring me down, but I kept on pulling until Mason dropped her on the hard floor and turned towards me. His face was almost unrecognisable; two frown lines etched their way into his forehead and his wandering gaze landed on mine. 
 
I let go of the girl’s hair. 
 
Those eyes, eyes that had been so warm and full of love, were now full of naked, undeniable hatred. They stared at me until I could bear it no longer and I turned away, terrified. I looked instead at the girl he’d brought home, giving her the death glare as she pushed herself to her feet. 
 
A mixture of pain and betrayal bubbled up inside me, making me sick to my stomach. Why did he do that to me? More importantly - why did he do that to us? All I’ve ever done wrong was kiss Mariano. 
 
Oh, God. Realisation smashed into me this time, crashing over me in waves. Oh, God. He knows. But he can’t know. It’s impossible. 
 
Fear squeezed my heart and I start shivering at the thought of him knowing. That kiss didn’t mean anything to me. It meant nothing. 
 
This is all that slut’s fault. I glared at the blonde girl again and, if looks could kill, she’d already be six feet under. “Leave!” I snapped through clenched teeth, trying to resist slapping her. 
 
The girl didn’t move. “Baby, look what this girl’s trying to do to me,” she simpered, turning her huge eyes on Mason. “Does she think she’s better than me or something? I hope not, because she is honestly a whore.” 
 
The anger mingled with a stab of pain, but I refused to cry. “Are you deaf?” I yelled, my hands on my hips. “I said ‘leave’!” 
Still, the girl ignored me. She threw back her head and giggled. Apparently encouraged by this, mason slapped her butt, leaning forwards to kiss her neck. 
 
I didn’t think I could stand any more of this. My whole body ached with the desire to punch her, to slap that expression right off her stupid little face. My hands balled into fists, so tightly that I felt my nails draw blood, and somehow managed to resist tugging out the girl’s fake hair extension. 
 
The girl winked at Mason, then turned back to me. “Sorry, bitch. I’m not going anywhere. Daddy makes up the rules and he says I can stay. Right, Daddy?” Tilting her head up at Mason, batting her false eyelashes, she purrs in his ear. 
 
Bile rises up in my throat and I cringe at the nickname. Daddy? Seriously?  
 
“You fucking slut!” I snap, trying to ignore the feel of the jealousy pounding through my veins. “If you don’t get out of here right now, I’ll make this the last thing you ever do.” 
 
Still, my shouting has no effect on her. She just flicks her hair and rolls her eyes, turning to leave the room with her silicone-stuffed ass swaying behind her. 
 
As soon as she’d gone, I turned to Mason, gazing in disbelief at the self-satisfied smirk he wore. “What the hell, Mason? Why did you do this to me? What were you thinking when you decided to bring home someone like her? Am I just not good enough? Are you really that self-centered?” My voice broke at last, tears gushing from my eyes, but I quickly wiped them. 
 
Mason tilted his head to one side and grinned. "Aww, is my little spitfire jealous?" He strode towards me, the look on his face dangerous. “You cheated on me, you little bitch. You betrayed me and yet you still have the audacity to look me in the eye. You’re disgusting! How could I ever have guessed that you’d do this to me? Poor, broken Abrielle, of all people! Who knew that you would kiss one man and love another?” 
 
Oh, God, he really does know. My whole body shook. But he’s got it all wrong. How could this have happened? What am I going to do? 
 
"M-Mason?" My voice trembled with emotion. This is all my fault. He’s drunk because of me… He’s suffering because of me… And now I have to pay the price. 
 
Mason’s breath was heavy as he took another step forwards, his eyes glinting. "Why didn't you tell me before that you wanted to join my brothel?" 
 
I stared at him. “W-What?” 
 
“I said: I didn’t know you wanted to join the brothel. You should’ve said something.” 
 
Still, I stared at him. His words cut deeper than a knife and I staggered backwards, clutching at the recliner for support. My eyes overflowed with tears. "What?Mason you are out of your mind" I didn’t know what was going on, but I had a truly horrible feeling. 
Mason growls, a low, guttural sound like an angry dog. "You kissed that fucker Mariano behind my back and you still have the courage to defend yourself. Nobody - and I mean nobody - ever dared to cross me before you did. Do you hear me?” 
 
I couldn’t speak. I was too terrified. My whole world was crumbling around me, spiraling into ashes at my feet. 
 
"I said, do you hear me?" His face was suddenly twisted, inhuman, so full of fury that I staggered backwards and almost fell over. 
 
But I couldn’t just give up like this. I couldn’t let him walk all over me. “No, Mason,” I said and relief flooded through me when I noticed how steady my voice sounded. “I don’t want to hear you. You have no right to speak to me like that. Did I kiss Mariano? Yes. Yes, I did. But I don’t love him. I never have loved him-” 
 
"Cut the crap Abrielle,” snaps Mason harshly. “We all know you won’t love a monster like me. So tell me - who do you work for? Who sent you here and why are you spying on me? I won’t believe that you’re not part of some disgusting game, some sort of plot-” 
 
I fought the urge to cry as I interrupted him. "You're not fucking serious! You're drunk Mason. You’re not thinking straight. This whole thing is ridiculous and I’m done with it all. Let’s just get you to bed and we can talk about it in the morning.” I reached for his arm, pleading with him to be reasonable, but he stopped me. 
 
"No" His face was a blank slate. "Who do you work for, Abrielle?" 
 
My eyes were so full of tears that I couldn’t see. "Are you honestly asking me this?"
 
"I won't repeat myself again. Tell me who you work for.” 
 
“I can’t. There’s nothing to tell,” I whispered. “Please, just shut up because I’ve had enough and I don’t want to listen to this.” Trying to keep my cool was harder than it looked. 
 
Mason still looked doubtful. “Abrielle, I-” he began, but my face was turning slowly red and, all of a sudden, I exploded. 
 
I couldn’t deal with this. It was too much. I couldn’t just stand there and listen to him accusing me of things I didn’t do. I just couldn’t. 
 
“Shut up!” I screamed. “Please! How dare you come in here and accuse me of all this? What have I ever done to deserve you and that bitch shouting at me for things I didn’t even do? Yes, I kissed Mariano. But I don’t love him. And you kissed someone too, you’re also to blame. You’re just as much of a cheater as I am. I love you, Mason, with all of my heart... and now Mariano knows that everything is solved, that I don’t love him, and that he and I could never be a thing. We - are - over. Okay? Mariano and I are done.” My speech leaves me breathless and hot, all my muscles aching. 
 
But Mason laughs and grabs my wrist, jerking me into his arms. “You expect me to believe that?” he sneered. “You expect me to believe the old ‘I didn’t mean to cheat and it was nothing’ story?” 
 
"Believe it or not, Mason. I don’t need to prove anything to you.” I said. 
 
He sneered some more. "You were desperate for attention, weren't you? And now look at what you’ve done. Your little friend is going to pay a price for his stupidity… and so are you.” A slow, cold smile spread across his face and his eyes twinkled with amusement. 
 
Fear slammed into me again. "What are you doing? M-Mason?" Backing away, I struggled to control my breathing. 
 
“Oh, dear. My poor little angle is cowering in fear. Look at your face - it’s priceless.” He stopped laughing and lowered his voice back to its menacing growl. “Strip.” 
 
My eyes widened in disbelief. “What?” 
 
"I said, strip." 
 
I swallowed a lump in my throat and tried not to flinch at the sting of his words. It's not like he’s never seen my body before, but this Mason is really scaring me. I've never seen this side of him, the dark and dangerous side. 
 
"No" I said firmly, wrapping my arms around myself. 
 
The corner of his lips quirked up, his eyes as cold as ice. He slowly and painfully licked his lips. "You don't have a say in this. Do as you're told.” 
 
I couldn’t stop the fear from washing over me again and again. “No,” I said, slightly more quietly this time. “I won’t.” 
 
"Fine. Then I'll do it myself.” 
 
"N-No. You can’t. I won’t l-let you..." My answer was punctuated with a sob as I tried to escape him. "You're going to regret this in the morning, Mason. Stop it." 
 
Mason, however, seemed oblivious to reason. "Nuh-uh. I don't think so, baby. I don’t care what I do as I long as I have a pleasurable night." He put his hands on the wall on each side of my head. 
 
I glared at him. "Fucking asshole!" 
 
"Behave." His eyes flushed with anger, causing me to step away from him, but he grabbed my arm, turning me around to face him again. 
 
"Leave me alone," I yelled, trying to retrieve my hand from his hold. But his iron grip made my attempts useless. Fiery pain tore through my arm as his grip kept tightening around me. "You’re hurting me," I whimpered, almost ready to faint. 
 
"Well, if that's the way you want to learn your lesson, then so be it." Mason snatched my wrists, pushing me roughly against the wall as he forced my arms behind my back
 
"Stop it!" I tugged at my hand, causing more pain to shoot through it, but he held me tight, enjoying the feeling of me being so helpless and vulnerable. “You’re really, really hurting me.” 
 
He chuckled, dark and menacing. "I no longer care, Abrielle. And now let's get back to what you started." I flinched visibly, as if he had slapped me. 
 
"No."My voice cracked. This is not the Mason I loved. How can this be happening to me? "P-please don't." 
 
Mason, of course, didn’t listen. Not even when I screamed and squirmed as he started undressing me. Thrashing around, I begged him to stop just one more time and was almost considering giving up… 
 
Bang! The door slammed open. 
 
Mason looked up. “What the-?” he began, but was arrested by the sight of Aidan, Chase, Maria,Mia and Stephen standing in the doorway, glaring at him. 
 
Everything seemed to freeze. Then Aidan broke the silence. “Mason King, stop what you’re doing right now.” His voice boomed around the room, vibrating with anger. Stepping forwards, he seized Mason’s collar and shoved him against the wall. 
 
Mason struggled to break free as Chase stepped forwards too. 
 
“What were you thinking?” Chase is angrier than I have ever seen him, his face red, his eyes flaming. 
 
I buried my face in my hands and skank, sobbing, onto the cold floor. Maria knelt beside me as Mia engulfed me in a bear hug, whispering sweet words of comfort in my ear as I carried on crying. 
 
Stephen laughed bitterly. “Man, he’s high. That’s the whole point; he wasn’t thinking.” 
 
Chase and Aidan turned to him. “Shut up,” they said in unison. “You’re not helping.” 
 
In an entirely different situation, I’d have found this funny. But the laughter dies before it even reaches my throat. 
 
"Elle? Are you okay?" Maria asked me, in a voice that was close to a whisper, as if she was speaking to a fragile child. She gritted her teeth. "Did he hurt you in any way? I swear, I will make the bastard pay if he has." 
 
"Maria, stop stressing out, will you? You're making the matter ten times worse." I hear Aidan's voice in the background, clearly irritated. 
 
"Sorry.” For once, Maria didn’t even try to argue. She turned back to me. "Let's get you to bed," she said, helping me up. 
 
I tried to stand, but my legs felt like rubber. If it hadn’t been for Chase, I’d have fallen over. 
But he caught me before I hit the ground and carried me all the way to my room, while I buried my head in his chest and cried. 
 
By the time we got to my room, I’m pretty sure his shirt was soaked through with tears. 
 
Placing me gently on the bed, Chase kissed me lightly on the forehead and wiped away the last few tears with his thumb. “You’re like my sister, Elle,” he whispered, smiling down at me. “I won’t let him hurt you anymore. I won’t let that happen again.” 
 
His voice was so full of honesty and sincerity that, the moment he was gone, I broke down and wailed, clamping a hand over my mouth to stifle the painful sobs. 
 
Maria, who followed us here, caressed my hair. “Shh, it’s okay,” she said, rocking me as though I was a baby. "Mason will come around soon.You know he loves you. He can't get away from you for too long.”

Mia kissed my cheek in an effort to calm me. "He's like a lost puppy- he'll find his way back eventually."
 
Despite my misery, despite the horrible situation I’d just been forced into, I smiled. I really was lucky to have such friends. 

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I'm speechless...and I hate Mason at the moment lol

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