Page 33 of Depraved Desires

A grin split my face and I nodded eagerly. “Thank you so much.”

“Isn’t Aspen that missing girl everyone’s been talking about?” Rocky’s mistress whispered.

Talissa narrowed her eyes and then looked at me, obviously hearing what was going on in the background. “Missing?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a long story.”

After showering and grabbing a bite for dinner, I sank down onto the sofa beside Monroe who was nursing a glass of bourbon. My mind was still pinned on the events that had taken place earlier. My life was about to change drastically, and I couldn’t be happier in this moment. For once, I genuinely felt like things might be okay. Not the bullshit lies I kept feeding to myself and to everyone else, but truthfully.

“You ready to talk about why you looked like you saw a ghost coming out of that club earlier?” Monroe pried. When he initially asked, I told him I didn’t want to talk about it, but now I was feeling a little better about the whole situation.

I nodded. “Rocky was there. When I entered the boss’s office, he was fucking some girl on the couch. We had to do our interview over the sounds of their moaning and grunting.” A shiver shook my body. I’d probably never be able to unhear that.

“Barlow was there?” he repeated, scrunching up his face like the thought of him being there was too much.

“Yep. It was definitely awkward.” I shrugged. “But I got the job, and the payout is amazing, so that was a bonus.”

Before Monroe could even think about replying, Caroline burst through the front door, shopping bags in hand. My gazetracked her movements, landing on one of the bags with a Gucci logo embedded into it.

That’s gotta hurt Monroe’s wallet.

As if reading my thoughts, his jaw tightened, and his hands balled into fists. Caroline halted on the opposite side of the coffee table, a smug look overtaking her features—like she was enjoying this.

“Caroline,” he began. “Please tell me that you didn’t dip into our savings for designer clothes.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes before setting her bags down near her feet. “Of course not. What do you take me for? I also got jewelry and perfume.”

Anger burrowed through me and before I knew it, I was on my feet. People were starving, children didn’t have mothers, the world was in a fucking crisis, and she would take advantage of a good man, stealing money he didn’t have just to make herself feel relevant. It was sickening.

Caroline looked at me in surprise before schooling her features and raising a drawn-on eyebrow. The careless act didn’t suit her well.

“You’re a money-hungry bitch,” I snapped. “What? Your parents got tired of you mooching off them because they never taught you basic life skills like how to be successful in life, so you thought you could use this man to your advantage?” Malice dripped from every syllable I uttered, rage driving me.

“Aspen—” Monroe started but was immediately cut off by his cunt of a wife.

“Isn’t this cute?” she snorted; the question obviously rhetorical. Her scathing glare cut to her husband. “Maybe if you were more of a man, a little high school slut wouldn’t feel the need to protect you.”

Monroe released a loaded sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I fucking give up,” he muttered with a shake of his head. “Caroline, I want you the fuck out of my house.Now.”

A dramatic gasp slipped from her lips as pure shock engraved itself into her plastic face. How she was surprised, I didn’t know. This had been a long time coming. It wasn’t like she loved him. The stupid bitch was sucking him dry and didn’t give a shit about it.

After she managed to compose herself…somewhat, she slid her glare in my direction. “Because ofher?” she accused, enunciating ‘her’ like it was supposed to change whatever it was she was saying.

Monroe lifted his head and looked her in the eye. His jaw was tight with tension, and frustration was evident on his handsome face. “This has nothing to do with Aspen. You’re constantly taking money we don’t have and blowing it. You’re selfish, and you’ve done nothing but treat Aspen like shit since she got here. I can’t do it anymore.”

Caroline whipped her head in my direction, baring her porcelain veneers. Without warning, she strode forward at an incredible speed considering she was in high stilettos.

PTSD set in and I was moving to meet her head on. My heart leapt in my throat. Not because I was scared of her, but because all I could see was Myles grabbing me and tearing my panties from my body. All I could see was Hunter and Collin barging into my room and putting a bag on my head. All I could see was being naked and bound while my body was scarred with cigarette burns.

My chest rose and fell at a rapid speed. As soon as Caroline raised her arm to hit me, my fist was flying. A crunch sounded beneath the brunt of my fist and a screech echoed around the room, searing into my eardrums.

The woman stumbled back, clutching her nose, blood slipping through her fingers.

“Listen here, you plastic bitch,” I seethed. “If youeverattempt anything like that again, next time, you’ll end up with way more than a broken nose.” My body was shaking, and unwanted tears stung the back of my eyes from all the memories I’d been working to avoid since I woke up.

Monroe was slow getting up, but eventually, I felt his presence beside me. “Why don’t you head to your room while I take care of this,” he suggested calmly.

Reluctantly, I nodded. Adrenaline was still pumping through me, and the urge to punch her again was strong. This must have been a weird position for Monroe. I didn’t mean to lose my shit; it just happened, and I’d do it again.

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