Page 184 of My Ruthless Opponent

I tell her about Damian. My friend who was adopted. I tell her how we tolerated the crap from the Samsons so Summer and I could stay together.

My fingers are shaking as the flashback of those years lashes out like a whip. I curl my fingers to stop the trembling. Whenever the demon of my past rears its ugly head, I feel weak.

When Hannah starts crying, I take her in my arms.

She silently sobs against my chest as I tell her about my nightmare. It’s like my pain is leaking out from her eyes. I gently rock her, kissing her temple every few minutes.

Caleb wasn’t the first person to beat the shit out of me. It happened a lot with me.

I still remember the first time I got slapped when I was five years old. The woman I was placed with had two sons. My fault was for playing with her kids’ toys. That’s when I realized there’s a difference between birth parents and foster parents.

The foster family will always discriminate between you and their kids. But after meeting Summer, I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Because she had a birth parent, and yet he physically abused her.

“Summer and I vocally hated the world but deep down we yearned for a family. Summer and Damian became my family. After Damian left, she was the only one I had. When I told you she is like my little sister, I wasn’t lying. I feel protective of her. I love her. My sentiments and emotions are platonic, Hannah.”

She pulls back, her eyes are bloodshot and her cheeks flush from crying. “I am sorry. I am so, so sorry. I didn’t know you both suffered so much.”

Her lip trembles. She bites it hard, then swipes at her tears angrily.

“Give me the current address of this son of a bitch Caleb.” She jumps up and paces the room. “Or we could get his address from my PI. I am going to call him and hunt this motherfucker down and bury him alive.”

Her furious gray eyes meet mine. “Or we could kidnap him and beat the shit out of him with baseball bats.”

My girl is so livid, she’s visibly shaking.

Her nostrils flare, her shoulders hiked up as if she was ready to go to war. For me.

The organ in my chest called heart softens. It had turned to stone after years of hatred so when I feel my heart warming while watching her, it takes me by surprise.

I chuckle and stand up. I grab her by her upper arms to stop her pacing. “Tigress, slow down.”

She stares up at me with her molten grays, teeth grinding. “The hell I will. He hurt you! He bullied what’s mine. I am going to bash his skull—” I bring my head down and crush our mouths together.

The anger leaves her as I part her lips.

She curls her fingers in my t-shirt, holding on to me for dear life. I feel wetness against my cheek and realize her frame is shaking against mine.

I pull back but she doesn’t let me. A sob tears through her throat as she continues to kiss me. She lets me taste her tears. With our lips tangled and tongues tasting each other’s misery, we become one.

I pull back and palm her cheek. “I took my revenge on that asshole, princess. Please stop crying.”

She lifts her swollen eyes at me, hiccupping. I nod. “It took us a few years to get back at him. When Summer and I turned teens, we started rebelling. I was growing taller every day while that fucker remained lanky. I repeated all the things he did to me. I beat the shit out of Caleb and he didn’t snitch on me. You know why?” She shakes her head. “Because snitching on me was equal to admitting that he was weak. So he endured the pain. We stopped after a couple of years when he learned his lesson.”

The last three years with the Samsons were tolerable. As soon as we turned eighteen, Summer and I were out.

Hannah reaches up and slides her fingers up my nape. With her free hand, she brushes my hair off my forehead. I feel cherished when she does that. I crave it more. Having been on the receiving end of beatings, I didn’t know what tender touch feels like.

“You are not alone. You have me, get that?” she gives me a pointed look with her glistening eyes.

I grin to hide the thundering of my heart. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Forever.” She presses a kiss on my forehead. “You have me forever.”

My eyes fall shut, soaking in her words.

Thank you, princess.

Chapter Thirty-Three

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