Page 168 of Jordan

“How the fuck did that happen? Did you feel obligated to run around town and spread your legs for every rich man so you could pay off Daddy’s debt? Is that what you two do? He racks up the bills while you sleep with the men to pay them off?”

“N-no,” I stutter out, shaking my head.

“Don’t fucking lie to me, Jordan. You’ve always been a dirty, desperate little whore.”

I slap him. I slap him so hard my hand stings. And I regret it instantly. He isn’t Enzo. He’s proven that so many times in the short time we’ve been together. Enzo never hit me back when I hit him. But Zachary…

The smirk that slides across his face is menacing. Evil.

His hand is around my throat before I can apologize, which would have only been so he didn’t do this.

“You stupid bitch,” he growls. “What the fuck happened to you? What happened to my quiet, obedient little kitten?”

He squeezes tighter and I grip his wrist, trying to pull his arm away. I dig my nails in, hoping the pain will get him to let go.

I can’t breathe. My lungs are aching, and my head is tight. Panic settles in my chest.

I try to speak, try to tell him to let go, but he only squeezes tighter. He’s going to crush my throat!

“I should kill you. This way, no one can have you. This way, you can’t help your slob of a fucking father anymore. He can work off his own fucking debts.”

I scratch at his skin, pleading with my eyes for him to let me go.

“I can’t though,” he says, letting me go and stepping back.

I suck in breath after breath, my hands around my throat as I greedily take in as much air as I can. I slide to the floor, close my eyes and focus on breathing and keeping my heart calm.

I thought I was going to die there for a minute.

I want to press my hand to my stomach. But I don’t want to give away I’m pregnant, if he doesn’t know. I’m afraid if he finds out, he’ll purposely hurt me to make me lose them. He’ll be pissed. Furious. He’s already angry with Enzo for some reason. Imagine if he found out I was carrying his child? The fact he hasn’t mentioned it makes me think he doesn’t know, and that’s good. I have to make sure he doesn’t find out.

I had no idea Zachary was wrapped up in this stuff too. I just thought his dad and my dad knew each other.

Zachary is the secret my father has been keeping. The one Vincenzo refused to tell me because he knew it would kill me. God, this hurts so much. It stings so much worse than I thought it would. All these months, I’ve been devastated over what my father did to me. Knowing he could sell me off to pay off a debt, and yet it wasn’t the first time. It was only the first time I found out. Disgusting. How disgusting that is!

But it makes sense. It suddenly makes so much sense, and though it hurts, it’s not surprising. Over the last couple of months, I’ve learned what kind of man my father is.

Had Enzo told me any of this, I wouldn’t have believed him, and that’s why he didn’t tell me. I get that now. I get it. I hate it, but I understand. Enzo, the man who saved me.

God, my father played me for a fool for years.

What else did he do to me that I can’t remember? The thought makes me sick.

Tears fall from my eyes. I pull my legs to my chest.

“Stop crying,” Zach booms at me. “Shut the fuck up and stop crying like a little baby.”

“No!” I scream at him. “I won’t do anything you say!”

I know that sounds stupid and childish, and I probably should shut my mouth. He’s already proven he doesn’t care about hitting me, but I hate him. He makes me so angry.

I hate him! I hate him, and I want to kill him with my own hands.

How the hell could he pretend to love me for so long? How did he put on a front and act like everything was so perfect between us?

“Did you ever care about me?” I ask, wiping the tears from my eyes. There’s no point since they keep falling.

He barks out a laugh. “You’re joking, right?”