Page 222 of Hell Hath No Fury
“You accepted it,” Dean says. “You knew this could happen.”
“Enough,” I say, and I waltz toward the guard, take his gun from him, and point it at Dean’s head. “You’ve given her enough pain.”
“Stop.” Emilia’s voice prevents me from pulling the trigger.
I turn to look at her.
“This isn’t right,” she says.
Dean whimpers in fear.
“He hurt you,” I say.
“I know …” She gazes down at her belly. “But it was my choice to let him pay for sex. I chose to do that. Not him.” She averts her eyes, unable to look at either of us. “I needed the money. Badly.”
My nostrils flare, and I lower my gun. Then I nod at the guard so he leaves us alone.
“Come here,” I say.
After a while, I hear her steps behind me.
I turn and place the gun in her hands.
“This was my gift to you … I’ll leave it up to you to decide his fate.”
She holds it with both hands, almost as if it’s too heavy of a burden for her to carry.
“Please,” Dean mutters. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I never thought it would. I swear, I will do whatever you want.” He’s crying now. “Please, don’t kill me.”
She stares at him, her fingers latching onto the gun like it’s her last lifeline, and all she wants to do is end her own misery.
But then she chucks it away.
“Bad choices made me pregnant,” she growls. “But they won’t turn me into a murderer.”
“Thank you,” Dean splutters with drool and tears all over his face.
“I never want to see your face near me or my mother’s house ever again. Do you hear me?”
He nods a few times.
She’s much more forgiving than I expected.
And much more merciful than I would have been.
Through gritted teeth, I tell Dean, “Leave.”
And he runs off, skittering away like a bug I was just about to squash.
Emilia was generous enough to let him keep his life. More generous than I ever would’ve been if I was in her position.
I turn to face her, but she seems unsteady on her feet. Just before she falls, I grab her and hold her against me. “Whoa. Are you okay?”
She breathes a few sighs. “That was … rough.”
“I’m sorry if I ended up hurting you too now,” I say. “I merely wanted to offer you a chance at payback.”
I can feel her swallow against my chest, and it makes all kinds of dirty images float through my head.
