Devil Fountains MC: Claimed By Four Bikers.

"Again?" Aria gasped. Her voice had echoed through the room, sharp enough to make me flinch. Slowly, I lifted my gaze to the mirror. A swollen purple bruise darkened my eye. Angry cuts stretched across my forehead and chin, the torn skin still raw and red. My stomach twisted. This was what my sweet, loving husband had done to me. Shame burned through my chest. I dropped my head and blinked rapidly, fighting back the tears gathering in my eyes. "This has to be the hundredth time he's beaten you," Aria snapped, her hands flying into the air. She pointed at my reflection with trembling fingers. "Look at yourself, for God's sake. Do you see what he's turned you into?" I stared at the woman in the mirror and wished I didn't recognize her. I didn't say a word. Aria let out a frustrated breath and reached for her phone. The moment I saw her unlocking it, I knew exactly who she was about to call. Ignoring the pain screaming through my body, I pushed myself to my feet and rushed toward her. A sharp ache shot through my legs, making me stumble. I squeezed my eyes shut and grimaced, but I managed to snatch the phone from her hand. "Please..." My voice came out weak and shaky. "Please don't call 911." I clutched the phone against my chest, struggling to catch my breath. "He'll come for me at the hospital," I whispered, my throat tightening. "You know he will." Aria stared at me for a long moment. Frustration flashed across her face before it slowly melted into sadness. She sighed heavily, stepped closer, and gently placed her hands on my shoulders. "You can't keep living like this," she murmured. Carefully, she guided me back to the couch and helped me sit down. I winced as pain shot through my body, and she crouched in front of me, her eyes filled with worry. Aria had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. We grew up in the same orphanage, sharing the same cramped room, sneaking extra cookies from the kitchen, and whispering about our dreams long after lights-out. Even after we were adopted by different families, we never lost touch. By some miracle, we ended up at the same high school and later the same college. Aria was one of the lucky ones. Her adoptive parents loved her like she was their own. They celebrated her birthdays, showed up for every school event, and gave her everything a child could ever wish for. My story was different. The couple who adopted me treated me more like a burden than a daughter. The smallest mistake earned me a slap. A bad day at work meant bruises. If I came home without enough money, they threatened to throw me out or worse. I took every job I could find until I eventually became a bartender just to keep them satisfied. Things only got worse when my adoptive mother got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. Overnight, I became a servant. I cooked, cleaned, babysat, and did whatever they demanded. Nothing I did was ever enough. Then came the day that changed everything. My adoptive father cornered me when nobody was home. He tried sexually assaulting me but then I fought him off and he turned the story against me. He told my adoptive mother that I had tried to seduce him. She believed every word. That night, they beat me so badly I could barely stand. Then they threw me out into the street with nothing but the clothes on my back. That was when I met Connor. He found me sitting in the rain, bruised, hungry, and terrified. He took me home, cleaned my wounds and bought me food. For the first time in my life, someone looked at me like I mattered. I fell in love with him because of that, maybe I fell too hard. Connor brought me flowers for no reason. He surprised me with little gifts. He showed up at the bar where I worked and tipped so generously that my coworkers joked that I had found a millionaire. But then he lost his job and everything changed. The first time he slapped me, he cried afterward and begged for forgiveness. The second time, he blamed alcohol. The third time, he blamed stress. After that, he stopped making excuses. The man who once made me feel safe became the person I feared most. And somehow, I convinced myself it was my fault. That was the lie I kept telling myself every time he raised his hand. Every time a doctor tried to help me, Connor would drag me out of the hospital before I could finish treatment. Looking down at my trembling hands, I swallowed the lump in my throat. No matter how much I owed him for saving me all those years ago... I didn't deserve this. Nobody deserved this. BANG! BANG! BANG! The violent pounding on the front door made both of us jump. My heart immediately dropped into my stomach. "Rhylee!" Connor's voice boomed through the apartment. BANG! BANG! BANG! The door rattled so hard it sounded like it might come off its hinges. Aria shot to her feet, fury blazing across her face. "Rhylee, I know you're in there!" Connor's voice thundered from the other side of the door. "Open the f*****g door before I break it down!" My eyes widened. A gasp escaped my lips as panic crashed over me like a wave. Heat spread through my body. My hands started trembling uncontrollably, and my breathing became shallow. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. My legs were shaking so badly that I couldn't even plant my feet firmly on the floor. Every muscle in my body felt frozen with fear. And then the doorknob turned. The door creaked open. My breath caught in my throat. For a terrifying second, the world seemed to stop moving. Then Connor barged inside. His chest rose and fell heavily as he looked around the apartment with bloodshot eyes. The strong smell of alcohol followed him into the room. Without thinking, he raised his hand, ready to strike. But the moment he realized it wasn't me standing in front of him, his arm froze in midair. A scoff escaped him as he lowered his hand and glared at Aria. "Look here, woman," he growled, pointing a finger at her face. "I don't want any problems with you. Just bring my wife to me, and nobody gets hurt." His voice dripped with menace. I knew that tone. It was the same tone he used right before throwing punches. Then Aria reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. My eyes widened. Without taking her eyes off him, Aria unlocked the screen and began dialing a number. "Maybe calling the police will finally get your ass out of my f*****g house," Aria shot back, holding the phone tighter against her ear. Connor's face darkened. Slowly, he lifted a finger and pointed it directly at her. His eyebrows rose in warning, and his cold stare locked onto hers. "Stop doing that," he growled. The muscles in his jaw twitched. "Or I'll f*****g kill you, b***h!" His sudden roar filled the apartment that even Aria flinched. My stomach twisted. Before things could get any worse, I pushed myself off the couch. Pain shot through my body. I nearly stumbled, but I forced myself forward, limping between them. "Please," I whispered. Connor's gaze immediately snapped to me. The anger in his eyes faded, replaced by something almost cheerful. A smile spread across his face so quickly it made my skin crawl. "There you are, sweetheart," he said, his voice suddenly gentle. "Good. Now let's go home, darling." As if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't just threatened to kill someone. He reached for me and wrapped his hand around my wrist. I winced. His grip tightened. Before she could stop him, he began dragging me toward the door. I stumbled after him, struggling to keep my balance. The hallway spun around me as he pulled me out of the apartment. Something inside me finally snapped. A spark of anger burned through the fear. I planted my feet on the floor and yanked my hand free with all the strength I had left. "Stop!" I shouted. Connor froze. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't looking at him with fear. I was looking at him with anger. "Come on," Connor said, taking a step toward me. His voice softened, trying to sound caring. "Let's go to the hospital and get you treated. I've just had a terrible day, I failed the job interview today," he continued. "And my buddy Brad got into an accident, so I wasn't thinking straight. That's why I lost my temper." "Enough of your excuses, Connor!" I shouted, my chest heaving. "I don't think I can do this anymore. I want a divorce!" The words felt strange leaving my mouth. Like they belonged to someone else who's stronger. Connor blinked and for a second, he looked genuinely stunned. "Wait..." he said slowly. "Am I hearing you correctly?" He exclaimed coming closer with his eyes widened. "You're just angry. That's all. You're upset and not thinking clearly." I shook my head. "Rhylee, listen to me. We can fix this. We can go to marriage counseling if that's what you want." His voice became desperate. "We can talk to someone. We can work this out." I took a shaky breath. "Connor, I'm done..." The words had barely left my mouth when... SMACK! A burning pain exploded across my face. The force of the slap sent me crashing to the floor. My head hit the ground. For a moment, everything spun as a sharp ringing filled my ears. I tasted blood. Above me, Connor stood frozen, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His hand was still raised. His eyes were wild. For one terrifying second, I thought he was going to do it again. His arm twitched. Then he took a step toward me. My heart stopped. I curled into myself instinctively, raising my arms to shield my face. WEEEOOOO! WEEEOOOO! A loud police siren echoed through the street. Connor froze. The color drained from his face. "Shit." Connor glanced down the street, his face tight with panic as the sirens grew louder. He pointed a finger at me. "I better see you at home." Then he spun around, jumped into his car, and sped away so fast that the tires screeched against the pavement. Within seconds, he was gone. The moment his car disappeared, the strength left my body. I sank onto the ground. A sob tore from my throat. Tears streamed down my face as months of fear, pain, and exhaustion crashed over me all at once. For the first time in nearly two years, I had stood up to him and finally said I was done. The fear, the panic on his face when I did it... A small, guilty sense of satisfaction settled in my chest. I lowered my head and wiped at my eyes. "Do you think I did the right thing?" I didn't have to turn around to know Aria was standing behind me. I could feel her presence. "More than right," she replied immediately. A hand rested gently on my shoulder as I looked up at her. "Rhylee, you're twenty years old," she said, shaking her head. "You've spent almost two years putting up with this nonsense." I sighed. Aria stretched out her hand toward me. I grabbed it, and she pulled me to my feet. "Don't worry," she continued. "I'll call Ken. He'll help us move your things out of Connor's house." My eyebrows shot up. "Wait... Ken?" I stared at her in disbelief. "Sniper from Devils Fountain MC?"