Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Opening the door, Harper wished she hadn’t opened it, because on the other side was none other than her father. She attempted to push the door closed, but he shoved at it, and she let out a little cry as she fell to the floor.
Scrambling to her feet, she stared at her father, who she hadn’t seen in over two years. The money had come in an envelope with no note, nothing.
“What are you doing here?” Harper asked.
“I should ask you what the fuck you are doing?” Bradley said.
“My job.”
“Your job?”
Harper cried out as he closed the distance and slapped her around the back of the head. It had been two years since she had been struck like this. She grabbed the back of her head and tried to keep the tears at bay. Tears always angered him and often made him hit her harder.
“Is it your job to complain about what happens to my money?” Bradley asked. “You need to learn that I own you. You’re my fucking daughter and everything you have is mine.”
She had no idea what he was talking about. It was then she noticed the cast on one of his wrists.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He slapped her again, this time across the face. She tasted blood.
“I don’t know what lies you’re telling him, but you hear me, you tell him you always intended for me to have that money. That you’re a useless piece of shit, and you owe me. You got it?”
Harper put a finger against her lip, and when she came away, she saw blood. She cried out as he grabbed her hair and tugged on it. Again, this was something she had forgotten about—the hair pulling, the hitting. This is why she often wore her hair in a ponytail, as it didn’t hurt so bad when it was pulled. She didn’t have her hair pulled back today, because Enzo loved to see her hair down, as he loved stroking it.
He pulled her in close. “You tell him what a good man I am, and that I deserve to be rewarded.”
Harper cried out, and he yanked tighter before letting her go. She stared at her father, and hatred unlike anything she had ever experienced consumed her. She hated this man with a fiery passion.
He looked at her with disdain.
“You’ve got to learn some fucking respect.” He straightened his jacket.
“What happened to your hand?” Harper asked.
Her father glanced down and she saw him go pale. “We didn’t have this conversation, do you hear me?”
Harper just stared at him. He went to raise his hand, but all she could think about was her child. She didn’t move her hands to protect herself. The last thing she wanted to do was bring his attention to the fact she was pregnant with Enzo’s baby.
Her father was a vulture and would attempt to suck Enzo dry. He would demand so much and would become nothing put a poisonous thorn in their side.
“I get it,” she said.
“Watch your tongue,” he said. “There are plenty of men who would happily have a woman who couldn’t speak.”
The threat was real. He turned on his heel and walked away.
Harper couldn’t believe this had happened. She had no clue how he got inside Enzo’s gate.
Her mouth throbbed, as did her face. Her head didn’t feel any better. It had been a long time since she had faced that anger, and the fear threatened to consume her.
She pressed fingers to her lip and winced. Blood was still coming from her lip, and she quickly made her way into the kitchen, opening up the freezer and finding a large bag of frozen peas. She quickly put it on her mouth and grabbed another bag for her face. If she could, she’d bury her head in ice just to cool it down from being tugged. When she was growing up, he would always pull her hair. It was one of the reasons she was sure he wouldn’t let her get it cut. It was just another element of his control, and that meant there was nothing she could do. She was at his mercy for fucking everything.
Harper hated him. He was a fucking monster.
At the sound of the door opening, Harper quickly put the peas into the freezer. Seconds later, Enzo rounded the corner and entered the room. She looked at him and knew she should think of some lie to tell him. But she couldn’t.
“What happened?” he asked.
“My dad,” she said. “He’s not happy that you’re making him pay the money back with the interest you already mentioned. I’m to tell you that I owe him that money, and he deserves it.”
She couldn’t take it. There was no way she was going to lie to Enzo. Lies just caused more trouble.
Enzo went to her and cupped her face. “This is what he did to you?” he asked.