In bed with my stepson

Kiara's POV 11:59 Tic. Tic. Tic. Toc. In less than 30 seconds I'll be twenty-three years old. And in less than eight hours, I'll be married to a sixty-five-year-old man. 10 more seconds and I would welcome my personal hell that started this morning. Ten hours earlier I tried to swallow but I couldn't. The beatings from last night still echoed in my mind and my body unfortunately held a strong reminder. I walked over to my mirror to take a look at the girl standing infront of it. By American standards, I was a classic beauty—blue eyes that shimmered green when the sun hit them, platinum blonde hair, oval face, button nose, pale skin. Right now, I wished I were tan—maybe then the bruises wouldn’t be so hard to hide. But hiding them was something I had mastered. I picked up my concealer and brush, and five minutes later you wouldn’t be able to tell what hid beneath. They would heal, I told myself as I laid a hand on my neck, cradling it. They always healed. There was a knock at my door and I smiled like it was muscle memory . “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you.” I heard from outside the door…I stood up and walked over to open the door. I was met with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and the sweet smile on Lily's face. "Happy birthday Kiara." Her sweet voice sounded. She gave me a big smile and I laughed out because all her milk teeth were kind of missing. I squatted down to her level, my hand tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Thank you," I said, taking the flowers from her, "you're the best little sister ever." I said, attacking her with tickles; her giggles filled the house but they were cut short by a loud bang. Oh God, no. I pulled Lily into my room, hoping to shield her from whatever was about to go down. "Kiara!" My dad's voice boomed from downstairs, echoing with such intensity that I could feel the vibrations run through my body. "Remember what I told you about hiding?" I whispered to Lily, doing my absolute best to keep my tone calm and soothing, trying not to frighten her with my own fear. Her wide, innocent eyes looked up at me, filled with a blend of curiosity and apprehension. "I should stay till you come back," she said, her voice sweet and childlike, a stark contrast to the chaos brewing just outside the door. I nodded slowly, knowing she was too young to understand the gravity of the situation, and watched as she quietly walked over to my wardrobe ,sat inside it and closed the door. Then I took a deep breath and headed downstairs, where my own personal nightmare awaited me. "Hi, Dad," I said, keeping my voice as low as possible. He shot me a glare that could freeze hell over, the usual aggressive energy radiating off him. It was our routine, really. He always got angry about the littlest things the way I walk, the way I breath, if I was too happy or too sad "Pack your bags... You're leaving tomorrow," he said bluntly, as if we were discussing the weather. My heart raced, and I lifted my gaze to meet his, a flood of confusion washing over me. "Leaving to where?" I managed to stammer out, praying for some clarity. "You're getting married... tomorrow." The announcement hit me like a freight train, and I felt the air abruptly leave my lungs. “What?” "You’re getting married, and you’ll be leaving with them. They’ll come to get you tomorrow, so better be ready," he continued his tone still non channelant I stood there dumbfounded, staring at him, waiting for a punchline that never came. Surely, this had to be some twisted joke, but my dad's stony expression told me otherwise. “You can’t do that…” I started as he slid into a chair, his movements calm and unnerving, as he began arranging a line of something on the table, Coke, maybe. “I’m not getting married to some stranger…” I protested, but before I could finish my sentence, he froze. Oh no. He looked up at me with an expression I was so used to by now , he got up and started walking towards me and I braced myself for it cause I knew what was coming His hand came down hard against my cheek..... Once, then twice. Each slap ignited a fire across my skin, a burning reminder of his fury. Then, he grabbed my hair, pulling it so forcefully that I was yanked back, forcing me to hold the roots to dull the pain. “Now... listen, being married to Don Carlo is the best offer I’ll ever get. The old man just wants something young and flirty in his bed," he growled in my ear “And mind you, if you don’t go... they can bloody well have Lily” He shoved me away, and I stumbled slightly, barely managing to regain my balance. I tried to ignore the sharp sting pulsing in my head as a million thoughts raced through me. Don Carlo... I only met once last week because my Father works at one of his establishments and I had to give my dad his wallet. He had seemed charming at first, but I quickly noticed his gaze was on my breasts the entire time. Not once did he look me in the eyes. I shivered as I felt his gaze on me even now. Disgusting me to my very core. What terrified me the most were the stories I’d heard The stories of how he had been married three times before, and all of his wives had met suspiciously tragic ends. And now my father was trying to hand me over like I was some kind of prize…worse to Lily and she's just 4. "You can't do that to her," I whispered under my breath, tears threatening to spill as I thought of poor Lily. Who was I kidding, though? He would. Running away would be dumb. We’re barely getting by as it is Though I did have some savings but he found out about it last week he took everything after beating me up. I thought about running without the money but that would just put Lily in harm's way. We wouldn't even have a place to stay, and we only eat right now because of the kindness of our neighbors and the old guy who runs the bakery down the street. If I take off, we’d really be left with nothing. But one thing I know about my dad is that he’s willing to do anything for a quick buck, even if it means selling my baby sister and I can never let that happen. I looked up at my dad and said softly, “Yeah… I’ll leave tomorrow. But I have one condition. Lily comes with me.” He looked at me and looked like he wanted to disagree or something. He didn't though. That was it. My father had used me as an exchange to a slimy old man who I would be calling husband from tomorrow. The very man who used to call me princess, he changed after mum died I thought it was grieving some part of me thought we would go back to how things used to be but it's been two years And now he was trading me off to someone even worse. ~~~~~ *Present Time* "You can't still be pouting over this," Maya chimed in, snapping me back to reality amidst the pulsing music. "Come on, we've got a solid plan! He's loaded, and if he can buy girls, he might just pick up another one," she continued, definitely not the quiet, reserved type of best friend. "So, what am I supposed to do while I figure out my game plan?" I asked. "Be a good wife, obviously. But first..." She trailed off with a mischievous hum. "What are you up to?" I probed. "You can't be a 23-year-old virgin, and there's no way you should be hooking up with a guy who's ten years older than your dad," she shot back with a cheeky grin. "It’s time to get you laid... Happy birthday, bestie!