Page 8 of Forgive Me For I Have Sinned

I unhook the cuff and chains around her wrist, throat, slide a stack of bills from my wallet, and let them fall at her feet. She looks down at the money with an angry expression. "I'm not a whore," she seethes.

I button my pants, folding my belt, itching to take shower to wash the smell of her off me. "Could've fooled me." I pull the chain and hook it back in place while she tries to cover herself, like she just wasn't prancing around naked in my office, waiting to fuck me like a good little whore.

"Fuck you."

I look up at the ceiling for a second and sigh. "Stop being pathetic. Take the money and get out. It's what you wanted, right? An expensive dinner. Some money to shop to buy a purse and shoes. Except the fucking is obviously off the menu because you couldn't keep up your end, and now, I'm bored." I meet her sour expression while she looks for her clothes. "I have more respect for a prostitute than a gold-digging bitch. At least a prostitute is honest and doesn't hide what she is after. I respect that more than a two-bit lying secretary that spreads her legs for a man in a fifteen-thousand-dollar suit and then gets mad when the guy is being generous in giving her what she wanted all along, even when she couldn't keep up her end.

"You're an asshole."

I walk up and grip her by her neck. "Watch your mouth, Elaine. Don't piss me off. Get up. Get your coin and get out."

She shakes her head in disbelief. Her angry tears run down her cheeks. Tears that do nothing for me.

"You used me."

I did, but I paid her for it. It wasn't like I forced her to do anything. I release her, getting annoyed. "It was nice doing business with you, Elaine."

I sit in my office chair, waiting for her to leave, so I can shower, but of course, she just keeps ranting.

"I didn't think the rumors were true. You are a sadistic fuck. There is no one you care about, is there? You treat all women like animals."

"You should see how I treat men. Count yourself lucky. Here's a tip. You should work on pleasuring a man if you're after his money. Your performance is lacking, and now I have to think of someone else to get off."

She stomps toward the door and says, "Fuck you," before the door slams shut.

I glance at the floor and smile. She took the money. Some people don't like hearing the truth. She's lucky I didn't kill her for her filthy mouth. I should have choked her with my dick, but then I’d have to clean up the mess, and it's bad enough that I need a shower. Besides, I might need her to give me more information on Dorian. I have a feeling he isn't going to let shit go. He likes to dig things up and use it against you. The mention of the initiation party years ago struck a nerve, making my dick twitch in my pants, but that was what he was after. A reaction. One I would never give when it comes to her. She was a one-off. A moment of weakness. And what do you do to a weakness? You destroy it.

CHAPTER 3

Veronica

"Are you sure my father left for his trip this weekend?" I ask Marissa, zipping up an overnight bag. I promised Adam and his mother I would babysit his younger sister Melody, so she doesn't get any ideas about bringing boys to the house when no one is around. He has another sister named Madison who started at Ohio State last year, making her a sophomore, and she lives off-campus. This is Adam's freshman year at Ohio State and one of the reasons he feels he had to protect me against those assholes at my table the other day. He said they are on the football team, and off the field, they think girls will just sleep with them.

"Yes, Miss Devlin." I look up, hearing my last name. A name I hate being associated with because of my father.

"Please don't call me that. Veronica is fine."

"I'm sorry, Veronica. You deserve to be addressed with the utmost respect, you know."

In middle school, I used to think I was Cinderella, residing as a servant, and my real mother was the evil stepmother. Except my mother isn't evil. She is just a victim of her own mistakes, and one of them was marrying Charles Devlin. These days she can be found traveling or hopped up on sedatives in her bedroom. She's high most of the time and doesn't care about me as long as I keep Daddy happy. Glancing at the ceiling for a few seconds with the pseudo-redwood and peeling walls I have lived in since I was twelve, I’m reminded of just how messed up my life is.

"Did he say when he would be back?"

"Monday afternoon," she replies, looking down at the uneven floors.

I sag in relief and dread at the same time. He always makes sure he is back by Monday afternoon to ensure I'm home and my heart and mind can break again.

"I'll be back by then. I have to babysit for Adam and his parents. Adam is going to a college party with his older sister. Adam told me Melody is at it again with a boy, and his parents caught him in her room last weekend. His parents are going to visit family and Melody is hellbent on staying."

Marissa snickers. "That child is a wild one. You never snuck boys in your room."

I mockingly point both of my index fingers to the floor and walls. "Look around you, Marissa. A boy wouldn't sneak in a room without windows, and every boy I have encountered is afraid of me. Courtesy of Mr. Devlin."

Her eyes soften, and I hate the pity mirrored behind them. I don't want or need it because that is not how you survive. That is how they destroy you from the inside.

* * *

"Do you want popcorn?" I ask Melody, rummaging through the pantry of Adam's house. "We could watch a movie…Insidious is streaming."

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