Bought by The Dangerous Billionaire

Danielle Knightley I pulled to a stop at the front of the house I had come to hate so much. Behind it's extremely beautiful exterior, lay memories I wanted to keep buried forever, but was forced to relive them each day. Memories that made me sick. Memories that made me want to end it all. How it had gotten to this point, was something I couldn't even explain to myself, let alone anyone else. And frankly, I didn't want to. Who was I going to tell that almost everyday of my life, I was subjected to physical, mental, and emotional abuse by the very man who was supposed to protect me? How could I explain that, somewhere along the line, my life had gone so wrong, that I had totally lost control of it? How could I explain that the man who lived with me behind those walls, had sort of kept me captive, just so he could control me and my money, and had now made my life a living hell? Something I had only come to realize when it was way too late to do anything? How could I explain to the world, that even at the age of twenty-five, I couldn't leave because I was in constant fear for my life? How could I explain that the same man had been married to my mother, and was my stepfather? With a sigh, I turned off the engine and stepped out of the car, squaring my shoulders as I strode towards the entrance of the house. While other people went home with smiles and relief after a long day from work, I went with dread and a heart filled with fear. Derrick, my stepfather, was my greatest fear. "If it isn't my very beautiful daughter." Was the first thing I heard, the moment I walked into the house. Oh, how I hated that voice! His voice sent literal shivers down my spine, making me incredibly nervous. But I had learned a long time ago, not to show fear, or he was going to get physical. Trying my best to calm down, I turned to the couch where he was sitting, and gave him a small fake smile. "Good evening, Derrick." I said, with an equally calm voice. I had had a very long day at work, and the last thing I needed was to have to face Derrick and possibly argue with him. "Evening." He said, with a shrug, and stood up from the couch. As he started to advance towards me, I noticed there was something really off about him. For some reason, he looked....happy. Happiness was something I had decided never to associate with Derrick. A long time ago. I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he okay? Was he cooking up something? Knowing him, it was never anything good. The only few times I had seen him smile was when he was torturing me. "Listen. I just got off a meeting with someone I'm sure you would love to meet." He said, once he was standing a couple of feet away from me. I tensed up, frowning up at him. "I don't understand..." The confusion I felt made itself evident in my voice. What meeting was he talking about? After he had run my family's hotel to the ground and spent all of the money carelessly, he had literally stopped going to work, and had left me all alone to deal with the debt he had put us in. So what meeting was he talking about? Derrick's happy smile vanished, and for a moment, I wanted to take a step back, just to put more distance between us, but I held back. What could he possibly do that he hadn't done before? "Someone wants to buy us out," he said, with a very calm voice. A voice so calm, that it would have seemed so normal, if I hadn't seen the muscles close to his eyes twitch. Something that told me he was trying so hard not to do whatever it was that was going through his head. I swallowed. "Derrick. I have told you that I cannot sell my family's property. There are other solutions to this problem. We could_" I must have miscalculated my confidence and his calmness, because he didn't let me finish, before I felt a sharp pain on my right cheek. I didn't have the time to react to the slap, before another landed on my other cheek, forcing my head to twist sideways. Everything felt hot. My face stung. My body vibrated from that pain, and my eyes quickly began to fill with tears. I looked up at the man whom I had once loved, and dared call father, and just stared at him, forcing myself not to make a sound. Derrick was breathing heavily, staring down at me with his nostrils flared up. "How many times do I have to tell you, to never contradict anything I say?" He asked, voice deep, eyes blazing with anger. All emotions were directed at me. I finally looked down, bringing my hands to my cheeks. "I'm sorry." I said softly, submitting to him. I knew the man I lived with. He could beat me all day, and never get tired. I simply had no energy for that. But how could I let him sell my family's property? The only thing my mother left me when she passed away? Well, that, and the house we currently stood in. "Now you listen to me. I am only telling you this so you will know how to comport yourself tomorrow when we meet with our buyers. You know I don't need your permission to do what I want with the hotel, and this house!" He bellowed at me. Then, after a few nano seconds, he stormed away, leaving me standing there, with tears falling down my cheek. And for the hundredth time in four years, I wondered what I had done to deserve all I was getting. Derrick Hanson was a monster. But I wished I had known that before I had jumped at the prospect of him holding onto my inheritance until I was twenty-one. Just so I could go to college freely, something that he had forced me to increase the duration, over and over again. But it wasn't all my fault. My mother played a part too. She had trusted her dear husband so much. Even as she lay in bed, slowly eaten away by cancer. I blinked as I let the tears roll down my cheek. Sometimes, I wished I wasn't alive, and that I had gone in place of my mother. That way, I would have been spared unending pain and abuse.