Page 63 of Deviant Illusions

More tears fall as she looks down at her stomach. She hesitantly presses the tips of her fingers below her navel, then stares like someone has gutted her and she can see her innards.

“I think he did it on purpose,” she whispers, almost like she’s asking herself. “Yeah, it had to be.”

“Who?”

Her cheek brushes mine as she slowly shakes her head and leans back against my chest. One name stops me feeling empathetic towards her.

“Asher. He did it so I was stuck. Then I couldn’t breathe. No one would let me breathe.”

Her hand trembles as she forces it flat against her stomach and a pained sob cracks through her chest. She shakes, uncaring about the drop. I can’t escape her tears as they burn down her cheek to pool in the cracks between my forearm and her chest. And I’m not able to get a word out because she fucks everything up again as she stutters, “I-I wanted it to be yours.”

LET IT BURN

DELILAH, 17 YEARS OLD

Kane won’t look at me as he walks out of the cabin. The hurt in his eyes is replaced by arrogant satisfaction in the identical pale green ones in front of me. Asher doesn’t even acknowledge that his brother has left or that they share a birthday. I can’t do anything to hurt him when my attempt to get him out of my life has failed due to this thing growing inside of me.

As toxic as it is, I tell myself that the cells multiplying are from Kane. They’re identical, so genetically it would look like him. It would have his traits, not this dickhead’s.

As soon as I see Kane’s car drive through the gates, I look at Asher and scoff, “This doesn’t mean I choose you.”

He smiles and gets in my face, his nose invading mine, and his eyes widen. “What made you think you ever had a choice?”

Using both hands, I push against his chest and step back to have space to breathe that isn’t tainted by his fucking presence. “Fuck you. I’m a human being and I don’t want anything to do with you!”

He takes a step closer to me.

I take one back to maintain the gap as I demand, “Tell me what your plan is for Kane. I saw your messages. He’s not someone for you to use.”

I’ve never been able to decipher his messages. He’s a twisted freak and calls his own brother a reflection to other people. It’s inhumane to treat him like that and Asher knows it. That’s why he does it, because he knows that he’s inferior to Kane in every way.

I don’t wince as he grabs my hair. Not when my scalp is immune to the pain. I won’t let him see that it hurts, even if he stabs me.

“Delilah, Delilah,” he clucks. “Don’t worry. When I have everything I need, he’ll be the one who’s with you in public. You can even fuck him, but this?” He slaps his hand against my stomach. “This little factory belongs to me.”

I punch into the inside of his elbow. “I am not a fucking factory, and it isn’t yours.”

The twisted cunt was the one who told me that I was pregnant. I don’t know if he stole my blood or my pee but either way it’s sinister to have someone who isn’t a doctor slap a positive pregnancy test in your hand. The paper sheet didn’t say what was tested, and I’m not stupid enough to trust him. Every test I’ve done has said that it’s true, and my mother is being uncharacteristically caring since Asher told me.

His fingers tighten in my hair as he pulls my head back. My neck aches. The twinge travels down to my shoulders as I’m forced to stare at the ceiling. He slowly leans over me and punches into my ribs, knocking the air out of me.

“No,” he says as I wheeze. “You are whatever the fuck I say you are. If I tell you you’re a dog, you kneel at my fucking feet and wait until I give you a treat.” His fist lands against my hip since he’s avoiding hitting me in the stomach. “And it is mine. I haven’t allowed anyone access to the pussy I own for sixmonths to make sure that it belongs to me. As soon as we get back, I’m reopening it to recoup the losses.”

I bring my knee up, aiming for his worthless balls, and use my elbow to hit him in the stomach as I scream, “Fuck you! I’m not a business that needs opening or that would earn you anything, you sad little prick.”

I keep pushing against him to get him the fuck off me and he lets go of my hair. As I stumble back to get my footing, he brings his arm back. I’m distracted and his fist smacks into my jaw, sending me to the floor I was trying to stay away from.

There’s never an escape when I hit the floor. I curl up in a ball. Bringing my arms and knees up, I protect my face, so I don’t have to deal with the humiliation of other people seeing bruises. Since he’s broken his rule about not hitting me in the face, I don’t trust him not to stomp on my head.

Through the barrier of my arms, I see his leg cock back and I tense as his foot flies into my thighs. It pushes me back as he storms forward, spitting his curses and bringing his foot up to stomp on my calf.

“Do you think Harkin is the only one allowed to sell you? No, you fucking belong to me, and I can do what the fuck I want to you. He doesn’t get to sell your holes like it’s fucking mini golf, then pass you off to me when you’re used.”

He doesn’t see me as human. It’s why he refers to me as an object to do somethingto, notwith.

But I can’t focus on anything between the rapid assault of his punches and kicks.

Not until he grabs my hair, drags me up to my knees and wraps his fingers around my jaw. They dig into my cheeks as he attempts to force my mouth open. He gets angrier as I lock my jaw, his nostrils flaring, and the reddened skin around his knuckles bleaching white.

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