Page 7 of Wrecking Ball
She ruined me the moment I set eyes on her, made me see just what true beauty was. I’m not one of those men that chase skirt constantly, looking to sink my dick into the nearest hole.
I’ve never really been a fuck boy, and no, I’m not some soppy twat that has been pining away for her for the last six months. I just knew that I never wanted to settle. But for her, I am.
Nate Knowles is going to be wed. She accepted my offer last night. Not that she had much of a choice, even I know that, but she said yes and now I’m planning everything. The only thing she has to do is go and get a dress.
We’re going to be wed in six months.
She has one week to wrap up her existence and kiss goodbye to that shitty bar and everything she knows.
Life for her is about to change dramatically. I won’t bother her for the week, but when it’s time to collect, I’ll be there, waiting.
She’s going to hate me.
She’s going to want out.
But sometimes, we hate those that we love.
Sometimes, we don’t accept the inevitable until it is thrust into our face.
I say I want to break her, and I truly mean that, because in order for her to accept me, she has to see the darkest parts of me. I’ve done some truly terrible shit, and I harbour ghosts that will never leave me. I’ve tainted, I’ve maimed, and I’ve tortured.
To truly accept someone, you have to see them as a whole, and she’s about to get one hell of a life lesson.
* * *
Kat
One week.
One week to say goodbye to my life and enter his.
I’m so fucking screwed, and I have no idea how to get out of this.
I’ve wracked my brains for an out. I’ve thought about begging, getting down on my knees and asking him for mercy, but I know that won’t do any good.
He’s a bad man, and we don’t share the same principles.
I could kill Clark––my ex––for doing this to me. He’s the reason my life is in tatters. I have no idea what happened or where things went wrong, but it did, and it has. He left me high and dry to pick up the pieces, and I’m paying with my life. I’m not sure if death would actually have been a better option.
I’d been with Clark for four years. I thought we were happy. I thought we were building a future, but all he was building was a fucking gambling habit and making me his cash cow. It was his idea to go to Nate. He persuaded me, he pushed the fucking trigger on my life, and he’s not even here to see the consequences. He disappeared two weeks ago. I realise now that that wasn’t a coincidence. He knew our deadline to pay up was coming to an end, so he took himself off in order to save his ass. Bastard. Four fucking years I gave to him and he deserted me.
Now I’m left with the devil, wondering what the hell his reasons for doing this are.
Chapter Five
Present Day
Kat
I walk back into the extravagant room and take my seat next to my husband. Dear God, it’s like something out of a fucking nightmare.
Here I am, in a room full of some of the nastiest men and women in history, and I’m married to the fucking crime lord that runs it all.
Couldn’t make this shit up if you tried.
I’ve been living in his world for months now, no job, no purpose, just there to escort him to whatever function he needed me to. I’m a nobody, a nothing, and the realisation hits me with a pang. I feel the tears welling in my eyes and I furiously blink, trying to keep them at bay. I lower my head, because as shit as this all is, there is a part of me that doesn’t want to embarrass myself or Nate by being some teary-eyed wreck.
But as soon as my chin touches my chest, I feel his hand take mine––the one resting on my thigh. His fingers gently entwine with mine and I close my eyes for a second, taking a couple of deep breaths.
