Page 42 of Broken Surrender
She laughed. “Good one. I like you.”
She was a survivor. Like me. I didn’t know her story, but I could tell that whatever it had been, it had been horrific. Desmond must have kept her locked away, as a way of protecting her from the world. And Corinne put up her own front, full of sarcasm and wit and walls to guard herself, because even if her brother swore to keep her safe, she trusted no one, not even him. And I understood that. It had taken me a long time to come around to trusting Desmond myself, and even with that, most of the situation was because circumstances dictated it. Ihadto trust him. Ihadto obey him. Or he would deliver me to the Marked Blooms Syndicate.
But there was more to it than that. After he had threatened that white-masked man, I knew he had feelings for me. I didn’t understand his reasons, but it was clear that he didn’t want that man to touch me. It was a way to protect me. Just like he protected his sister.
Was he using the Marked Blooms Syndicate to avenge her?
Corinne stared at the clawed bathtub. My mind shifted back to three years ago, back in the manufactured home, when I hid in the tub. My ass was bleeding and I laid on my side because it hurt to lie flat. I cried silently, my sobbing breaths echoing against the tub.
The door squeaked open.Close it,I had said.
You asked for it, babe,Aaron said.
I didn’t ask you to fuck me in the ass.
You’re right,he laughed.You didn’t ask. You begged me.
I held back tears, my body convulsing, the pressure building up inside of me, but I wouldn’t let him hear it. I didn’t want him to know he had destroyed me. The door clicked closed and finally, I let out a wail, because Aaron was right. Ihadbegged him to touch me. He hadn’t even kissed me in close to a year, but I saw his dirty tissues and was jealous of an inanimate object. I had noticed how long he was in the bathroom—that very same disgraced tub—with his laptop, his headphones hiding the moans from the videos. He was addicted to coming, just not to me.
And after he ripped me apart, I knew why.
That was when I knew we would never get married like he had promised. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let Aaron walk all over me again. That the next chance I got, I didn’t care what it was; I was going to take it. And that led me to John.
John touched me, maybe even loved me at first, but once the honeymoon phase of having a wife hand-picked by the Marked Blooms Syndicate wore out, he used me too. I spoke my mind and kept to my promise that I wouldn’t let it happen again, but this time, John fed me pills until I stopped complaining. Aaron wanted someone to take care of him, and John wanted a healthy womb. Neither of them was devoted to me.
But Desmond was dedicated to Corinne. She let the hair fall over her eyes. What was her story?
“Tell me about yourself,” I said.
“Don’t you want the dirt on Desmond?” she asked.
Of course I did. But right then, I wanted Corinne to open up first. “You’re right. He never told me about you. Why is that?”
“Everyone thinks I’m dead.” She shrugged. “Obviously.”
“Your classmates?”
“Classmates?” she cackled. “What classmates?”
“Aren’t you in high school?”
“Ew, no.” She snickered. “But I finished my classes. All of this—” she motioned to the sides of us, “—free time.”
I wrinkled my brow. “But why does everyone think you’re dead?”
“It’s a long story. Not sure if Desmond would let me tell you. But you can ask him. And the short version?” She leaned in closer, bringing her voice to a low whisper: “He wants to torture me. Big brother style.” She tossed her head back and laughed. “No, I’m kidding. But he’s driving me crazy! I hate being alone. The estate manager and the maids are awful, you know? It’s like he specifically hired house staff without any sense of humor.”
I wasn’t a funny person, but I was more relaxed than their estate manager. “I’ll visit you,” I said. “We can do our own thing.”
“Withoutthe master of the house?” She widened her eyes. “How dare you go againstMr. Callen!”
I laughed and Corinne smiled, pleased with my response. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered about Desmond. He had said I washis,to his own sister. Maybe they were words, another lie to cover up our real story. But I washis,wasn’t I? He owned me, blocked Finn from hurting me, and even choked a man against the wall for touching me. And while he hadn’t told me about Corinne, it was obvious that he had done it to protect her. He might have been doing everything, even the initiation, to keep his sister safe.
And maybe that meant something. Maybe he wasn’t such a selfish jerk.
Or maybe he was. Maybe I was being foolish, falling for another stupid man who would end up using me like Aaron and John had.
Desmond appeared in the doorway, holding a carton of chocolate ice cream, and those thoughts melted away.
