Page 15 of Sold to the Fighter

I hurry over to the door, hastily pulling it open without a second thought. My smile freezes on my face at the sight of the person on the other side.

“F-father,” I stutter, my eyes opening wide with shock.

The shock on my father’s face mirrors mine. Or maybe it’s worse. He looks like he’s about to pass out. His usually pale skin grows paler in the resounding silence.

“What in God’s name are you wearing!” he finally explodes, his cheeks turning red in anger.

I squeak loudly, glancing down at my exposed cleavage and the length of the silk shirt, as if I didn’t know I had it on. I look up to find something sinister growing behind his dark gaze.

I gasp, my body instantly springing into action. I spin around quickly and run into the coat room, grabbing one of Theo’s jackets off the rack and yanking it over the shirt. I come back out clenching its edges tightly around my fists.

My father huffs, jabbing his finger in my direction. “You foolish girl! Is this why you left home?” He gestures at my body. “To whore yourself out and prostitute around like a harlot?”

I stare at him in shock, unable to reconcile the fact that he’s really here. I had thought about the possibility of him showing up earlier, but nothing prepared me for his presence in Theo’s house.

“How did you find me?” I blurt.

He pauses his jerky pacing movements. “You think you can hide from me, you Jezebel?” he spits out. “You can run, but you can never go far, girl. I’ll find you wherever you are. This time it’s a private investigator, next time it’ll be a warrant for your arrest.”

His mouth twists bitterly with anger and hatred. “I should have known that you’ve always wanted to sell yourself cheap to men. Just like your stupid mother, you’re always dressing in ways that don’t please God. You just want to be a cunt passed around from one man to another. Or dance like the spawn of the devil that you are,” he rants.

I flinch with every word, pulling into myself. My father has always had way with his words, turning and twisting them until they make sense to only him.

But for the first time, his words don’t sting so bad. Thinking about it now, I realize that I’ve only been with Theo for a short while, and I’ve already experienced what it’s like to be wanted for myself and nothing else.

I have always searched for a missing piece within, thinking there was something wrong inside of me. Something that made my dad such a hateful person, but now I’m starting to see thathe’sthe problem.

“Now, get up there and find some decent clothes to wear because you’re coming with me,” he grinds out.

I watch him impassively even as my heart thuds in fear. My father can be unpredictable, but I’ve changed too. I’m not the same daughter he knew. “I’m going nowhere with you. I’m happy where I am,” I respond calmly.

“You’re coming with me, or by God, I will strike you. The lord made a man the head of a family and made his word the law. So you will listen to me, you filthy spawn. Get your slutty, whoring self into a good dress or you’ll feel my wrath,” he shouts, jabbing his finger at me with every word.

Inside, I’m a trembling mess, but I refuse to show him how he’s affecting me.

“No,” I say in a low tone.

“I will beat the devil out of you, girl,” he threatens.

And before I can react, his right hand is flying toward my face. I fall back against the wall, reeling from the impact of his slap, but another quickly follows. I cry out in pain, grabbing my cheeks as I fall to my knees.

Hot tears seep out of my eyes as white-hot pain radiates through my face. A loud ringing noise slowly fills my head, drowning out every other sound including my father’s obnoxious voice. I can see his moving mouth, but I can’t hear a word as I watch him unbuckle his belt.

I can’t escape quickly enough, still rooted to the floor from the shock and pain. I lower my head, waiting for the strike of the belt, preparing myself for the searing pain…but nothing comes.

Instead, an unmistakable voice cuts across the room. Deathly quiet. “What the hell is going on here?”

Chapter Eight

Theo

The scene before me is one I don’t think I will ever forget as long as I live. Grace is trembling and cowering on the marble floor while a fucking stranger has a belt in the air, about to whip her with it.

What in the fucking hell?

I leave my girl at home for a few hours and this is what I come back to? Rage grows bubbling hot like lava inside me.

I have not had a great day. Watching my childhood friend being lowered into the ground and seeing his young daughter distraught was enough of a shit show. My only solace as I walked away from the funeral home was that I knew Grace would be waiting for me at home. That thought kept me in a good mood, until now.

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