SUCK THE JOY OUT
1412 Words
MELANIE
“Wh…what?”
My cheeks burn with red hot flames as I stare at him, unable to utter a single sensible word.
A lazy smile creeps up to his cheeks as he leans forward, placing a soft kiss on my right knee.
My fingers press against the edges of the table. I can’t take my eyes off him no matter how hard I try. But this…what he’s asking for, I can’t do it.
“Cassian, I…” the rest of my words die in my throat when he tilts his head up, eyes catching mine in a heated stare.
“You don’t have to think about it, Mel. Just say yes.”
Easy for him to say.
He is a man, hot and rich with the body of a god. He has absolutely no bad angles, you could never take a bad picture of him even if you tried.
But me…I’m different.
I can’t stand to look at pictures of myself.
Brandon would always take unexpected pictures when I was feeding Pen, or eating, or sleeping, or taking a walk, or doing a chore as simple as vacuuming, and I always looked horrible.
“You look like a f*****g toad!” He’ll say out loud, and laugh his head off.
Sometimes it was a “cute little piglet”, other times, he was annoyed and called me even worse things.
It’s so bad that my phone is filled with pictures of Penelope doing the most random things, but none of me, not even with her.
Whenever I try to get in a picture, or I even smile, I hate what I see.
They might have all been drunk or horny enough to f**k me earlier, but I’m not about to let myself be the joke of their post-nut clarity.
Whatever has possessed them to look at me tonight would wear off by tomorrow morning, and I would hate for a hideous picture of me to be the reminder of their mistake.
I shake my head, blinking hard to hold my tears back.
“I can’t do that, I’m sorry.” I pull away from him and climb down from the table.
Cassian takes a hold of my hand before I can bend to pick up my underwear and jeans.
I shoot him a glare, but he doesn’t respond, he doesn’t even move an inch, clearly not intimidated by my fiercest expression.
“Whatever he told you, whatever he put in your head, it’s all a lie, Melanie. You can’t let him win.”
That takes me by surprise, my eyes widen for a split second. It’s like he can read my mind, like he can take one look at me and unravel the pain buried deep in my heart.
I pull my hand away from his and clear my throat.
“I’ll have that cleaned up.” I say, not looking at the mess I caused on the desk.
His eyes glisten with amusement.
“What? This?” He takes a finger to the table and wipes it against the wet patch my p***y created.
My throat bobs as he puts that finger into his mouth and sucks on it. He closes his eyes, breathing out like it’s the most delicious thing he’s ever tasted.
My n*****s stand erect, watching him with an eagerness that makes my head spin.
I need to get out of here.
“Well, Uhmm, goodnight.” I mutter, throwing my jeans on.
His eyes are fixed on the curves of my backside, but slowly rise to my face when I repeat the words.
“Goodnight, Melanie.”
Without another word, I hurry downstairs, to the living room, and lay down on the couch beside Penelope.
After tonight, one thing is certain; I need to find a way and a means to get out of here as soon as possible.
~
When I open my eyes the next morning, my head feels like it’s about to split into five different pieces, all more painful than the last.
It doesn’t help that my phone has been ringing over and over.
I thought it was an alarm at first, so I didn’t bother with it. But now, as I stare down at the caller ID, bile rises to my throat, the bitter taste coating my tongue and leaving a frown on my face.
What the f**k does he want?
I sit up and grab my phone from beside me, answering it with one swipe, before pressing it against my right ear.
“Brandon, what…”
“You stupid b***h! How dare you?”
Whatever bit of fatigue that remained in my bones vanishes immediately.
“You think this is over, huh? You think you’ve won? Is that it? You couldn’t take a small hit, so you ran to daddy to end my career? To ruin my life?”
Wait. What?
Brandon is screaming at the other end of the line. The more he speaks, the more his voice croaks.
Is he crying?
“Brandon, I don’t…”
“You’ve won this round, Melanie. But don’t think you can get rid of me that easily. You are still my wife…”
Oh no.
Oh my God, no.
“…You are still a Kingston.” Every word that leaves his mouth is laced with venom, a burning hatred that I can feel through the screen.
“Brandon, I…”
He ends the call.
For a brief second, I can’t make sense of a single thing that just happened.
What did he mean by “I ran to daddy”? I don’t even have a father to…
It hits me then.
Lucas Alistair.
The Alistairs.
My heart pounds against the walls of my chest. I part my lips, struggling to take in air as I look around me.
It’s bright outside, sunlight slipping in through the full length windows of the living room.
A lady in a black dress and white apron is cleaning the couch Penelope slept on.
What’s happening?
“Ma’am?”
That voice, awfully familiar, drags me out of my thoughts.
I look up to find the butler, Alfred, looking down at me with concerned brown eyes.
He’s still as tall as I remember, but with more grey hair now.
“Where…where are they?”
I’m not sure if the feeling coursing through me is anger, fear, or both, but he deems to know better than to withhold information from me.
“They’re having breakfast, ma’am. I've been asked to find out what you want to…”
I spring up to my feet, pushing past him, heading straight to the dining room.
From the door, I can hear their laughter and chatters.
Worse still, Penelope’s voice is happy and loud as she screams.
“No ice cream! Don’t have ice cream!”
Something firm and sharp grips my chest and squeezes it. I step into the room, my eyes sweeping across the circular hall.
Val is seated at the head of the table, and Penelope is right beside him.
Her lips are smudged with maple syrup, her hair is in a loose bun at the top of her head, falling easily to the sides of her face as she laughs.
Cassian is by her left, holding up a spoon of ice cream while she tries to take it away from him. Xavier is intent on distracting her, as he constantly tosses berries her way, making her dodge and giggle.
I swallow the lump in my throat.
I haven't heard her laugh this much since…
“Melanie, you’re awake.” Val says aloud.
The room falls into silence, every head turning in my direction, including Penelope.
Her smile disappears.
Great. I’ve sucked all the joy out of the room with my presence.
“Uncle, can I use the bathroom please?”
Penelope says, turning to Cassian.
He turns away from me and gestures to a worker at the end of the room. She runs to Penelope’s side immediately.
My daughter takes the lady’s hand and walks out of the room, not sparing me a single glance.
The doors close behind them, leaving me alone with these three men who never listen, and are very intent on ruining my life.
I’ll work on winning my daughter’s heart back later. Right now, I have a score to settle with them.
A scowl forms on my face as I take a step forward.
“What the f**k did you do?”
- Writer
