Page 73 of Watercolor Skulls

I stand up and turn to face him. “Peace, love, safety.” I lift my hands, gesturing around me. “All this…I didn’t want any of this. Idon’twant this.”

Just like I thought, everything changes. Two long steps and he reaches me, his hand rearing back before landing against the side of my face. My head whips violently, sending me skittering across the carpet.

I bring my fingers to my mouth as copper erupts over my tongue. When I pull my hand away they are tipped in blood. Smiling, I laugh at him. “Finally, the monster crawls out of the shadows.”

He flexes his fists, towering above me. He cracks his neck from one side to the other before taking a step away from me. Bringing his phone to his ear, he glares at me. “Get me a fucking hair stylist. Now!” he barks before hanging up.

“The wedding is tomorrow evening. We’ve moved it to a private ceremony that will take place here, at home.” He walks over, snagging his jacket from behind Benjamin.

He shifts his focus to him. “It’s time son. Put her in her place or she will be a thorn in your side from here on out.” My father’s eyes roam over my face and he winces. “Learn from my mistake, boy. Stay away from her face.” He flicks his wrist my way, regret for the mark he left behind, not the fact he put it there.

My father is a handsome man. A man with charm and charisma. A man who gets what he wants.

When will he get what he deserves?

For several minutes Benjamin and I sit in silence before he rises to his feet and comes to stand beside me. I flinch when he holds his hand out for me to take. He waits patiently for me to take his offer.

He pulls me gently to my feet when I finally put my hand in his. He walks me into the bathroom, tipping my head to inspect my father’s handiwork. The harsh light reveals the beginnings of a bruise. “Nothing a little makeup won’t hide,” he says, his voice void of emotion.

Someone just hit his fiancé, in front of him and this is his response.

He turns the shower on. “Get undressed,” he orders, blocking the bathroom door with his body.

“W-what?” My mouth falls open, stunned.

“Get. Undressed.”

I stare at him. He stands with his arms folded across his chest. His clothes pressed to perfection. Not a hair out of place. So handsome yet so ridiculously callous. I can’t marry him. Iwon’tmarry him.

“I’m not doing this, Benjamin. We can’t get married. You don’t even want me.”

“I don’t want you. You’re a spoiled, boring little brat. But…” he holds up a finger, stepping closer. “That doesn’t matter because while I may notwantyou, I do need you. Being married to Senator Ramsey’s daughter is like a golden admission ticket to the inner circle of politics.”

I shake my head back and forth. “You don’t need me. If you work hard…”

His laugh is loud and harsh and cruel.

“If I work hard,” he shakes his head, amused. “Hard work isn’t what gets you ahead. It’s who you have in your back pocket, whose secrets you keep and whose you reveal. It’s a game of chess, Lily. It’s. A. Game. And you my dear are nothing more than a pawn.”

He grabs my shirt and begins to lift it over my head. “No,” I say softly, trying to pull it back down.

Benjamin backs me into the wall, ripping the shirt out of my hands and roughly tugging it off of me.

“No!” I say louder, the panic I’m trying to control evident in the cracking of my voice.

He grabs me by my throat and slams me against the wall not once but twice.

While my hands are desperately trying to remove his hand from my throat he takes the opportunity to unbutton my pants and shove them down my thighs. When he finally releases me it’s only to grab me around the waist and toss me over his shoulder.

He drops me under the spray of the shower. The oxygen scurries from my lungs as the stinging cold rushes over my face. Benjamin holds me there by his hand which is once again wrapped around my neck. I claw at him, trying to get out from the freezing cold water. My jeans tangle around my ankles as I struggle in his grasp.

Trapped. Shivering. Humiliated.

Benjamin is winning.

I am losing.

My mind.

---