Page 74 of Obsession (Dark Revenge)
We stood there in silence for a while longer before my gaze sought out Jared once more. He had closed his eyes, basking in the last warm rays of the setting sun. It lent him an air of tranquility, almost enchanting to witness. He always seemed either preoccupied or irate. However, in that moment, he appeared entirely present, free from the weight of important matters or plotting his next move against me.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, seemingly aware of my scrutiny, and turned his head to focus on me once more.
“Why are you staring?” he inquired.
“Because I’m genuinely curious,” I confessed with a faint smile.
“You’re just looking for a weakness.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. You always are.”
“We grow up,” I explained.
“You come from a world where it’s important to be a step ahead. I don’t believe you’ve let go of this habit.”
“How about I prove it?” I challenged.
“Oh, how?”
“Tell me something I may be able to use against you, and I will show you I won’t.”
“That would require quite the gamble on my part. You could, after all, choose to use it against me.”
I sighed and crossed my arms, leaning against the railing. “Jared, we are from two very different worlds. We always have been. Yes, we may have been linked together when we were kids because we attended the same school, but we both know I can’t touch you anymore. Even if I knew something about you that could potentially hurt you, how could I use it? Many people thought you were dead when you never returned to school. You live in the shadows now. The reason you can hurt me with my secrets is that I live in the spotlight. You can hurt me because I am someone. You are… not.”
His eyes narrowed, and he shifted his entire body toward me as he drew closer, pressing me back until I found myself against the railing at the far end. He placed his hands on either side of me, effectively trapping me. A gulp caught in my throat, a wave of apprehension washing over me. Had I pushed too far this time? Would he backtrack on his promise not to punish me? After all, I was still his slave, and he had only vowed not to punish me regarding my pool escapade.
"Fine," he conceded.
"Fine?" I echoed, cautiously hopeful.
"You want to hear a secret? A deep, dark one, something no one else knows about?"
"Yes," I replied confidently, feeling a surge of excitement. It felt like a rare privilege that Jared wanted to share such a personal revelation with me. Yet, I had no intention of using it against him. I was genuinely going home after this and erasing this month from my memory. So, what did it matter what he told me? There couldn't possibly be anything he could reveal that...
“My father raped me.”
Chapter 29
-Jared-
Alison wore a smile on her lips when I revealed my willingness to share a dark secret with her, yet there wasn’t much she didn’t already know about me. My past was mostly free of skeletons. I didn’t possess something that could utterly destroy me. When she pointed that out, I grew bolder, realizing that our roles had truly changed. She no longer held power over me. I could tell her things without fearing the consequences, especially since she was already aware of my past assaults. She just didn’t know how many times they had occurred.
As I admitted to the extent of my father’s crimes, her smile faltered, and her eyes widened as they searched mine for the truth. However, this was the truth. She, alongside Vince, was now one of the few people who knew, and this time, I felt no fear in revealing it. Letting her know this painful part of my history somehow made me feel relieved. I knew it was in the past, and once I sent Alison home, she would be, too.
“What?” she whispered.
“You’re right. He didn’t just beat me or whip me with his belt. When he got drunk, he wanted more. He would come to my bedroom, and no lock could stop him. He would tell me I owed him something because I chased away his wife. It didn’t matter that I was his son. It didn’t matter that I told him no or that I screamed. He took whatever he wanted, and left me bleeding afterward to clean up the mess.”
Alison had gone completely pale, and I knew her mind was struggling to accept the truth of my words. But it wasn’t a lie.
“F-For how…” she couldn’t even finish the sentence, her voice trembling.
“Years. Most of my teen years, until I left. Or until I tried to end it all, and Vince found me.”
“Y-You tried to…”
