Page 18 of Sinful Little Lies

He’s not supposed to be home for at least another four hours. How am I supposed to get out of here without him seeing me? Crouching down, I scramble to put away the contents of the first-aid kit. Shoving the kit back into place, I stand and turn. The sight I’m met with has me freezing in place.

“I thought I heard someone in here. Where have you been?” Leo questions, stretching his neck to see what I’m doing. “Is that a first-aid kit? Did something happen? What’s going on, babe? Where have you been?” He asks again.

I need an excuse. Quick.

“Uh, we ran out of tampons and my period should be coming soon, so I came to grab some.” I reply nervously.

He steps into the doorframe and surveys the bathroom, his eyes landing on the pregnancy test box, then shifting to the test on the counter. His eyes meet mine again and I see the usual anger I know all too well within them. How could I miss the fucking box. I’m so stupid. He knows I’m lying.

Fuck.

Leo leans down, his face inches from mine. His breath fans my face and a lump forms in my throat.

“You mean to tell me that you disappear on me for fucking days with no explanation and you come back fortampons?” he says, his voice gravelly. “Verena, one day you will be my wife and I will not tolerate being lied to. Don’t even think about lying your way out of this. Tell me now. Where were you and why is there a pregnancy test on my sink?”

Sighing, I reply with the same answer as always, hoping my lies will help me once more. “I’m sorry baby, this semester has been kicking my ass. I needed a few days to catch up on my assignments. My creativity has been slacking and my art is suffering the consequences. The stress affected my period, so I just wanted to rule out a pregnancy.” Little does he know, he’s the sole reason for my stress and anxiety.

He turns on his heel and storms out of the room. My brows furrow in confusion, but I sigh a breath of relief. Turning around, I pick up the box and test, disposing of them. Leo rushes into the bathroom and grabs my arm, spinning me towards him and pinning me to the wall. “Leo, what the hell?” I ask in surprise, my eyes widening when he roughly grabs a hold of my face.

“Well, I’m not taking any fucking chances. You disappeared for days. Who knows what orwhoyou were doing. I can see it all over your face. You’re fucking lying. Open up and swallow, bitch,” Leo sneers.

His grip on my face tightens as he attempts to force my lips apart. Once there’s an opening, a pill is dropped in my mouth and his hands are on me. The right hand wraps around my throat while his other hand covers my mouth and nose. “I want to feel you swallow it. You will not breathe and you will not leave, until you do.”

My adrenaline is pumping, and my nerves are shot. Giving in, I reluctantly swallow the emergency contraceptive pill. Only when he feels the pill slide down my throat does he remove his hand from my face, but his grip around my neck tightens.

“Never fucking lie to me again. Should there be a next time, I won’t extend such kindness and grace, Verena.” With that, he releases my neck and rears his hand back. Leo musters up all of his strength and sends his fist flying straight into my stomach.

Once.

Twice.

Three fucking times.

Grabbing the back of my neck, he pulls me to the sink and slams my face onto the counter. My head throbs in pain and I yelp, pushing against his hand to put space between my body and the counter. He’s too strong, and he sends me straight into the marble a second time. Bending down, he growls in my ear,“You are mine. You do as I say and stay in your fucking place. You don’t want to find out what will happen if you choose otherwise.”

Tears form in my eyes because I know what’s coming next. It isn’t enough for him just to hurt me. He needs to piss on his territory like a fucking dog. He releases my neck and shoves down my pajama shorts. I hear the scuffle of his scrubs being pushed down, and he slams into me without warning.

“Leo, please no,” I cry, unable to handle his brutal force any longer. My voice is faint, but it needs to be heard. “Please, I’m sorry, Leo. It won’t happen again!”

His fists wrap around my hair, pulling up my torso until I can see his reflection in the mirror. He grunts and groans, a wicked smile spreading across his lips. “Damn right, it won’t. Try that shit again and I will fucking kill you.” With one final thrust, he releases inside of me. Tucking himself back into his scrubs, I slowly push off the counter and begin to walk away. He snatches my wrist, bringing his face just inches from mine. His finger traces my cheek and jawline. “I love you, Verena. I just want us to be happy. I want the best for you, and that’s me.”

Isn’t it funny how the ones who claim to love you are the ones who hurt you the most?

“That’s hard to believe when you just shoved a fucking Plan B down my throat after you saw the test was negative.” I deadpan.

A devilish chuckle leaves his mouth and his eyes bore into mine. “That smartass mouth of yours is what gets you into trouble, you know that? If for once in your life you could just shut the fuck up instead of making some sarcastic, bitchy comment, we’d all enjoy life a little bit more.”

I throw my head back and laugh.

I’m sofuckingtired of being his plaything. I won’t allow myself to be for a moment longer. This is my opportunity to leave. This ends here. Now.

Throwing my hands out, I yell, “Okay, so I will make things a lot easier for the both of us. We’re done, Leo. I’ll come back for my stuff tomorrow.” Turning on my heels, I head to the front door to put on my slippers. Footsteps sound from behind me, and I turn to see Leo barreling toward me, his arms up and reaching out. I open my mouth to speak, but his hands wrap around my neck and he slams my back into his front door.

His grip tightens around my neck and my vision begins to blur. My hands fly up to his wrists, digging my nails into his skin, but he won’t let up. Tighter and tighter, he squeezes, dizziness overtaking me. My knees give out, and it isn’t until then that Leo loosens his grasp around my neck.

My body falls to the floor with a hard thud and a piercing tone sounds throughout the room.

“Fuck!” I hear Leo yell, and slowly my vision comes back. His phone is to his ear, and a man is frantically rambling on the other line. “Alright. I’m on my way.” He ends the call and shoves the device back into his pocket.

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