"Wake up, Ethan. You were kissing someone else."
I slapped his cheek hard enough to leave a red mark.
He just laughed, catching my wrist in the dark of his cramped Allston apartment. He pressed his lips to my knuckles.
"You are my only queen, Clara."
"You signed a contract to own me," I reminded him, pulling my hand back.
"And I am spending every day proving you belong with me," he replied, handing me a carton of cold Newbury Street takeout.
That was freshman year. We sat under a scratchy blanket, watching movies on his tiny laptop. I tried to forgive the forced arrangement. I tried to become a real girlfriend.
But I kept my Signal app hidden.
"You sound exhausted, CeeCee," Liam Brooks said through the phone speaker on a rainy Tuesday.
"I am fine, Liam," I lied, staring at the dorm ceiling. "Just sophomore midterms."
"Is Sterling hurting you?" Liam pressed, his voice sharp. "I can drive up to Boston tonight."
"Do not come here, Liam," I warned him.
"I am at Yale Law to build a firm that can break his trust fund apart," Liam stated. "Just say the word, CeeCee."
"Focus on your classes," I ordered. "I will call you next week."
I protected Liam. I refused to let him ruin his future by fighting Ethan.
But Ethan found the messages.
"CeeCee?" Ethan spat the word, standing in the center of my dorm room. Rain lashed against the window glass.
"Give me the phone, Ethan."
"He still calls you that?" Ethan roared, veins popping in his neck.
He hurled the device against the brick wall, shattering the screen into a dozen pieces.
"Have you lost your mind?" I yelled, stepping toward the broken plastic.
"You look at him with pure trust," Ethan snarled, blocking my path. "You never look at me like that!"
"He is just a friend from St. Andrew's!" I pleaded, stepping between him and the door.
"A friend who wants to steal what is mine," Ethan snapped. "I saw the way you smiled at him during graduation. You never gave me that smile."
"You bought me, Ethan! Liam actually knows me."
"Liam is a broke law student. He cannot save you from my world." Ethan crossed his arms. "My mother is filing federal fraud charges against your father tomorrow."
My knees buckled. I grabbed the edge of my desk. "My father is a high school teacher. What are you talking about?"
"Victoria planted forged Sterling real estate deeds in his name. The documents prove he embezzled two million dollars."
"Stop her!" I grabbed his shirt collar, shaking him. "You have the money!"
"My father controls the trust. I have no power against Victoria." Ethan grabbed my jaw, his fingers digging into my skin. "But Julian does."
"Julian Vane?"
"He has the board connections in Zurich. He offered to kill the charges."
"Then ask him to do it, Ethan!"
"He wants payment." Ethan dragged me toward the door. "He wants to fuck you."
"No!" I screamed, digging my nails into the wooden doorframe.
"It is the only way to keep your father out of federal prison!"
"You are a monster!" I sobbed, kicking his shins.
Ethan ripped my hands away. "You are doing this."
Thirty minutes later, he shoved me into a Kendall Square industrial loft.
Julian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. Lightning flashed, illuminating his sharp, emotionless features.
"You brought her," Julian noted, turning around.
"Fix the charges, Julian," Ethan ordered, pushing me onto the concrete floor. "She is yours."
"I am not a piece of property!" I scrambled backward toward the elevator doors.
Ethan tackled me, his heavy chest crushing the breath from my lungs.
"Stop fighting me!" Ethan yelled in my face. "I am saving your family!"
"You are selling me!" I scratched his cheek, drawing blood.
Ethan pinned both my wrists above my head with one massive hand. "Julian, take your fucking payment. Do it now."
Julian walked closer. He unbuckled his belt. The metallic sound echoed in the empty loft.
"I always wondered what Sterling's little moon felt like," Julian murmured.
"Do not do this," I pleaded, staring up at Julian's dark eyes.
He knelt beside me and ripped my jeans down my legs.
"Spread her knees, Ethan," Julian commanded.
Ethan forced my thighs apart, exposing my core to the cold air.
"Look at her pussy," Julian said, pulling his hard, thick cock out of his trousers. "She is soaking wet from crying."
"Get away from me!" I sobbed, twisting my hips violently.
"I am going to fuck you, Clara," Julian stated, gripping his heavy dick. "I am going to ruin you just like he did."
He shoved the thick head straight into my cunt.
I screamed loudly. The brutal intrusion stretched my narrow opening without an ounce of mercy.
"Fuck," Julian grunted. He drove his hips forward, burying his cock deep inside my aching hole. "Clamping down on my dick perfectly."
"Hold her still, Ethan," Julian ordered.
He pulled almost all the way out before slamming back into my pussy. His heavy balls smacked aggressively against my ass.
"I have her," Ethan whispered. He leaned down and licked the tears off my cheek. "Take it, Clara. Let him fuck you."
"I hate you both," I choked out, staring blindly at the ceiling.
Julian pounded his cock deep inside my wet cunt.
"Tell me my name, Clara. Say it while I stretch your pussy," Julian demanded, his pace turning frantic.
I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to speak.
Julian drove his hips harder, hitting a sensitive spot deep inside me.
"Say his name," Ethan ordered, biting down on my earlobe.
"Julian," I whimpered, enduring the violent friction.
"I am filling your pussy with my cum," Julian growled.
He unloaded deep inside me with a harsh groan. His heavy body pressed me flat against the cold concrete.
Julian pulled his slick cock out, zipped his pants, and walked to the kitchen. He poured a glass of water. He did not look back.
"Clean her up, Ethan," Julian stated, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "I will make the calls to Zurich tomorrow."
"Shut up, Julian," Ethan snapped back, scooping my naked, trembling body off the floor.
"It is over," Ethan murmured, carrying me to Julian's massive bathroom.
He turned on the warm water in the tub and lowered me in. The water turned slightly pink.
He washed the sweat off my skin with a soft cloth.
"Why did you do this to me?" I asked, my voice completely hollow.
"I kept you safe," Ethan replied, picking up a crystal bowl from the counter. He fed me a red strawberry.
"You shared me."
"You belong to me, Clara. Only me," Ethan whispered in the dark bathroom, kissing my wet forehead. "Julian just borrowed you."
"He hurt me, Ethan."
"I know, baby. I know." Ethan pulled me against his chest, rocking me slowly in the warm water. "But your father is safe now. I made the hard choice for us."
"There is no us," I whispered.
"Yes, there is." He gripped my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. "You survived the night. You are still my girl."
I leaned into his chest. I hated myself for craving his warmth after he just fed me to the wolves.
Julian's shadow passed the bathroom door, leaving the apartment in complete silence. The moon had fallen, and they both took their piece.
I closed my eyes, letting the water drain away.
But the nightmare was far from over.
The next morning, my new phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.
"They did not drop the charges, Clara. The FBI is at your father's house."
