Page 77 of Do It For Me

“Püppchen—”

“I’m begging you,” I choke out. Tears stream down my face. “I can’t be with him. I don’t—”

Sobs take over.

He sighs before reaching into his pocket. He pulls out a small, round pill and places it in my trembling hand.

“It’ll make you dizzy,” he warns. “Take it in the car.”

I nod, clutching the pill like it’s my only salvation. I turn to leave, but his arms come around me, pulling me into a hug.

All my life, I wanted this—a simple embrace. I did everything to earn one. And now he’s doing this because there are guests passing by. Because appearances matter more than I do. More than my feelings.

I was never enough. Not for him. Not for Dante.

I was right. There are no marriages made of love.

This is one of the worst days of my life. And I know there are more to come.

HELL

Ican barely keep my eyes open when we arrive—wherever he’s taken me. The pill my father gave me is working, but not the way I wanted. I don’t pass out. Instead, I’m trapped in my body, unable to move or fight. Helpless. I’ll remember everything tomorrow.

“Can you stand up?” Stefan’s voice cuts through the haze.

I can’t even form a reply.

With a frustrated sigh, he gets out of the car and comes to my side. The door opens, and I feel his hands on me, lifting me out of the seat. My body hangs limp in his arms, no strength left to resist.

Inside, he tosses me onto a bed like I’m nothing. My head hits the mattress, and I lie there, motionless. I couldn’t react if I wanted to. And I don’t want to. I don’t even want to exist.

“Fine,” he mutters, a cruel smirk laced in his voice. “I also like when they’re statues.”

My stomach churns. This isn’t his first time doing this?

He rips my dress. The sound of tearing fabric echoes in the room, louder than my uneven breaths. The pain in my chest grows sharper, heavier.

I wanted this night to be different.

Dante would’ve kissed me. Adored me. Loved me.

I would’ve told him I wanted to keep the dress, so if we ever had a daughter, she could wear it too.

But this dress isn’t it. It doesn’t carry love. It won’t hold memories worth keeping.

And I won’t give children to this husband. I don’t want him.

I have nothing now. I’m nothing but an empty body, something for my husband to use and fill however he pleases.

I turn my gaze, looking out the window as he strips me completely bare. The sea shimmers under the moonlight, its waves crashing against the shore. I focus on the sound outside, on anything that keeps me from feeling this.

What if I drowned myself?

No one would miss me. Maybe my mum. But the waves... they’d cleanse me. Pull me deep beneath the surface, so far no one could find me.

I’d finally be free.

The bed dips as Stefan moves behind me.