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“Don’t do this, Conrad,” I whimpered as he pressed his legs against mine, pinning me down.
“You know what… you’re right. It shouldn’t be this way. I’ll have you prove yourself to me in front of your dear friend Bradley, in the holy room on the night of our nuptials. I think we will be pressing pause on Dr. Davenport’s wedding; instead, tomorrow… you and I are going to be wed.” Moving off me, Conrad adjusted himself and smiled.
“I can’t wait for you to be my bride, Demi. And just to make sure you understand how this will go… well, if you don’t smile on your way down the aisle to me and marry me tomorrow, I’ll make sure Bradley and Daisy are tortured and murdered in front of you. I’ll make sure that your next meal is the meat from their bones.” Blowing an air kiss, he abruptly left the room, leaving me to crash my face into the pillow and sob hysterically. Nausea rose inside my body as I gagged and cried loudly.
Trent Smith was the man my parents sold Layla and me to for money they desperately needed for the survival to dig their way out of poverty. They didn’t care about their two daughters, who were nothing more than burdens to them. They didn’t care about the abuse or repercussions. I closed my eyes and saw Layla’s crushed face. I could hear her wheezing, holding on to every last breath as her teeth cut through her bottom lip. I cried as I pictured myself violently stabbing her to make sure she was dead and freed from the pain Trent and our parents had succumbed her to. Her limbs were tangled and broken… her body wasn’t hers. Sometimes setting someone else free means imprisoning yourself, and that’s exactly what I had to do.
And now, I was going to marry Conrad Ivory. And I’d do whatever he wanted me to in order to protect Bradley and Daisy. Even if it meant I was going to be a caged girl in a different way.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
The next morning, I defiantly slammed the alarm clock countless times, but it wouldn’t stop. The agitating buzzing kept sounding as if it were taunting me that this was not my apartment where I could do as I pleased. This wasn’t some job I could feign an illness and call in sick. No, if I didn’t obey and abide by their rules, then this was a death sentence.
I was hoping Conrad was simply agitated, jealous even, that Bradley was in my room alone with me. There’s no way he’d marry me today. I almost laughed at the idea of it all until a moment later, the bedroom door slid open.
“Demi! What are you doing in bed still?” Becca stormed into my room, wearing a stunning short white dress with white tights and the same cushioned platform shoes. Her blonde hair was in ringlet curls, and her big, green eyes popped against the makeup she had layered on.
Why’s she so dressed up? Swallowing the lump in my throat, I pushed upward in bed. “I’m not feeling well. I don’t know how I’m supposed to work today.” I forced myself to cough into my clenched fist and sniffled.
“Oh well, good news for you… you don’t have to work! Honestly, I don’t think you’ll have the same job anymore now that you’re going to be the next Mrs. Ivory!” Becca wiggled her fingers excitedly.
My breathing hitched as I realized the magnitude of it all. Conrad wasn’t joking around; he was going to force me to marry him. Today.
“I think there has been some major misunderstanding. I need to talk to Mrs. Ivory.” I tossed the blankets from my body and quickly ran into the bathroom as my stomach flipped. Gripping the bathroom sink, I dry heaved as my body broke into a cold sweat.
No, no, no… I cannot marry him. I will not marry him. You can’t be forced into marriage.
“Darling Demi…” His voice sent chills up my spine as my name left his lips, and when I looked up into the mirror, I saw his reflection behind mine. Freezing, I didn’t want to turn around.
“Come with me, dearest little bird,” he cooed with his hands stretched out toward me. Turning around as slowly as I could, I looked into Dr. Ivory’s eyes. “Please?” He nodded at his palms. My body was covered in chills as I swallowed and he squinted at me.
Placing my hands into his, I flinched as he closed his bony, cold fingers around mine. Guiding me to the bed, I swore my heart stopped in fear as flashbacks of this man hovering over my body in the middle of the night battered my mind.
“I’ve convinced Conrad to give you more time before your nuptials.”
Lifting my eyes to Dr. Ivory, I couldn’t believe this was the person helping me—and I knew better than to trust him. “Really?”
“Yes. You still have to get acclimated to our family, and it must be terrifying to think you’re going to marry someone you haven’t even gone on a date with yet. So today, my sweet girl, you and Conrad will be spending the day together in the gardens, having a picnic and planting your own peony bush. Planting a peony bush in our gardens is a tradition for each to-be-wed couple in the Ivory family. We’ve done it for generations.” Dr. Ivory sat at the edge of my bed and tugged me onto his lap.
“I’ll sit beside you?” I didn’t know why the statement came out as a question, but it was the most awkward feeling sitting on a man’s lap when he was clearly sexually aroused while discussing my marriage to his son.
“No, you’ll sit right here where you belong… on me,” he breathed into my ear from behind. He raked his fingers across my spine as if he were counting each vertebrae.
“I’d like to share why peonies are so very treasured in this family. Did you know there was once this gorgeous nymph named Paeonia? She was mesmerizing and consumed Apollo, the son of Zeus. Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, grew jealous of Paeonia and turned her into a peony flower.” Dr. Ivory paused as I tried to interpret the meaning behind the Greek mythology story he was telling me.
“I always thought that the story was flawed. I can guarantee you, Demi, it wasn’t Aphrodite who turned Paeonia into a flower. It must have been Zeus. He wanted the woman who was meant for his son, and if he couldn’t have her, then no one should. But you see, sweet little bird, I’m not a monster. I want my son to have you, taste you, feel you… enjoy every single part of you.”
It felt as if all the blood in my body had drained. I was sitting on Dr. Ivory’s lap, facing away from him with my back against his chest. Pulling me in closer, he bit at my earlobe before licking it.
“No!” I tried to jump off, but he tightened his grip around my waist and tossed me onto the bed, pinning me down with my wrists above my head.
“Conrad will taste you first, because I’m an amazing, selfless father, but I can promise you… if you don’t willingly let me have my turn, I’ll turn you into a beautiful flower myself and put you in my garden where I can admire you all to myself.” He licked my entire neck before shoving his tongue into my mouth, kissing me as I cried out in protest.
“Mmm… delicious,” he groaned as he pushed off me. I scrambled up my bed to the pillows and hugged my knees to my chest.
“I can’t handle your beauty, Demi. You know, I always assumed I enjoyed a certain type of woman. But it’s true, my Conrad has excellent taste. I love the way your sultry brown eyes look at me. I love how I know you want me just as badly as I want you. I love how I know you’re untouched, and you’re a tight little virgin, dying to be pleasured.” Peeling his scrub bottoms off, I cried softly as fear, panic, and terror muddled inside of me.
