"I'll take the beating, but don't touch her," my father begged, broken and desperate. His plea fell on deaf ears as the command was given.
The lashes came swiftly, and while my family screamed in horror, my uncles and father tried to mask their pain. But if you looked closely, you could see the agony etched in their faces.
Each blow left me numb, but my mind screamed for revenge. I wanted retribution-for Liam, my grandmother, my father, my cousins, my aunts, and even those who once hated me cried out for it. But when I looked at my father, it was too late. He was unconscious, held tightly by those who had restrained him. I struggled through the pain, rushing to his side, bloodied and broken.
"Help him, please!" I screamed, tears streaming down my cheeks.
My uncles rushed to help, but Liam and his men left without a second glance, driving off, and leaving us to deal with the aftermath.
Nia:
He's a broken soul with a dark past. He's a fearful man who sees nothing but red in the world.
I want to hug him.
I want to, dare I say, love him.
But will he let me?
Apollo:
She's a ray of sunshine that burns my eyes with every smile. A flower with poison hidden beneath her petals. I want to break her and uncover her hidden dark desires. There's something about her and I can't let go even though I know I should. A world like mines isn't a place for her delicate soul and I fucking hate that.
~~
"Submit to me." He repeats, harder this time as he steps closer to me.
"I am not some puppy you can command to do as you say. Who in the fuck do you think i am? Kali?"
His frown deepens at my tone and in a second his cold rough hands are wrapped around my neck. I whimper at the sudden move and my body goes tense when he squeezes. "Apo-"
"I said to fucking submit! Do you need me to force you to?" He growls in my face. His scent suffocates me more than his hands are and I remain silent, fearing that I will say the wrong thing that'll end in me buried six feet under.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" He taunts with an evil smirk on his face.
He's trying to scare me into submission. I refuse. If me dying saves my dignity then so be it but I will not let this evil man think he can control me. "I am not yours to submit to, Apollo," I say as loud as can with his hands still choking me. "I am not your pet. If you want to hurt me, then hurt me but I refuse to be the woman to fall at your every command. You tried that once, remember? And where did that get me? In the hands of your enemy. I fucking. Refuse." I used all of my strength to shove him away from me with heavy force.
Needs To Be Heavily Edited