Chapter Eight "The Slap"
793 Words
From Emma’s POV
The women left the room, leaving me alone with my mirror and silence…
And before I could collect my thoughts, the door opened again.
He walked in.
Daniel.
Wearing a black suit, as if it were made for him alone.
Everything about him was lethal… dangerously handsome, resembling endings, not beginnings.
His eyes scanned me, and I mirrored him. My gaze traveled from his perfectly styled hair to his shoes… No, not just handsome, but imposing. The air itself seemed to halt when he entered.
His suit only amplified his dominance. He looked like an elegant beast, while I… like a child standing before an unbreakable force.
I caught the faintest trace of a smile on his lips, quickly erased.
As if he didn’t want me to see it.
As if he didn’t want me to know… that I affected him.
“Daniel…” I whispered, then steadied myself and asked:
“Where will the ceremony be held? Here? In a church?”
Calmly, he replied:
“In the garden. Soon.”
Short, certain answers. Yet by the time he finished, he was standing right in front of me.
I didn’t know when he had crossed the distance, nor how my breath had stopped.
He looked straight into my eyes, as though trying to unravel me, decode me.
Then…
He raised his hand and touched my neck, just above the necklace he had sent me.
His touch was gasoline poured over fire. And I was the fire.
A sharp gasp escaped me, eyes widening with both longing and confusion.
His voice, low and lethal, followed:
“You have no idea how beautiful you are. Or how much effort it takes me not to cancel this ceremony… just so no one else sees you like this.”
“Don’t…” I pleaded softly.
His gaze pierced deeper, firm and absolute:
“I will.”
“Daniel…” I begged, my voice trembling.
His hand moved again, brushing over my lips…
My heart wasn’t beating — it was screaming. He was doing it on purpose, testing me, savoring my torment.
He leaned closer.
For a fleeting moment, I thought he would kiss me.
But then… the door burst open.
A curse left his lips as he turned slowly.
It was my mother.
He stepped back instantly, jaw tightening. His hand clenched into a fist.
Without looking at either of us, he muttered:
“I’ll see if the priest is ready to begin.”
And stormed out… like a hurricane.
---
I turned to face my mother.
Disgust carved itself on her face.
“Were you two kissing?”
“No! How could you even—?!”
“Really? He was standing in front of you as if he was about to devour you with his eyes!”
“Mother…!”
Her slap landed before I could finish.
The sting exploded across my cheek, my head snapping to the side, tears instantly burning my eyes.
I looked back at her, trembling, broken.
“Do not call me that,” she said coldly. “Your marriage to that monster means I am no longer your mother. Understand? You’d better refuse this.”
“I won’t. I’ll marry him.”
My words came out sharp, the slap having awakened something in me.
She screamed,
“Don’t you understand?! You’re marrying a beast! You know what he is!”
“Really? Josh? The one who dated half the college? The one who slept with every girl he could?!”
“As if Daniel were a saint! Of course he’s slept with women!”
“At least I didn’t witness it with my own eyes. And… I respected you as my mother. Otherwise, I would’ve returned that slap.”
“I do not approve of this marriage.”
“Good thing it’s me marrying him, not you. And besides, I never felt you were my mother. You exiled me to Russia to force me into marrying Josh. All you ever cared about was money.”
I turned my face away and added coldly:
“Now leave. I need to cover this mark before my husband sees it… and loses control. I won’t stop him this time from killing you.”
Her eyes burned with hatred before she left.
---
I sank onto the edge of the bed, my limbs numb.
I couldn’t believe… she had struck me.
I looked in the mirror, seeing the red imprint of her hand branded across my cheek.
Reaching for my makeup, I began covering what I could.
Moments later, a knock came.
The door opened, and my father entered.
I ran to him at once, throwing myself into his arms.
And cried… as though I were his little girl again.
- Writer
