Page 223 of Unleashed
And then I reached his voicemail. And then I cried until my ribs ached and my eyes swelled shut and the pillow was soaked through.
He's moved on. He said he was done, and he meant it. And I have to stop waiting for a rescue that isn't coming.
By the time I head downstairs, Hudson is already at the dining table. He looks more shattered than I feel.
Except that only one of us spent the night crying.
"Morning," he chirps.
He's in his workout gear, drinking his green smoothie. The kitchen stinks of kale and that nasty protein powder.
"I made you a smoothie. Good for our baby." He nods toward the counter.
I stop in my tracks. "Our?"
"Yeah. It's just there."
I don't move.
His eyes drop from my face to my chest. Land on theAnecklace. The gold chain Ace gave me years ago, the one I've been wearing under my clothes, against my skin, the last physical piece of him I have left.
Hudson's jaw tightens.
"Take that off. In my house, that man doesn't exist. Do you understand? You saw how happy my mom was; I can’t take that away from her."
My hand closes over the necklace as my mouth drops open. I don't take it off. I can’t let this man hold power over me anymore, not when I have a baby to protect.
"I'm not doing this anymore, Hudson. I can't."
I take a step back. My voice is steady, but my hands aren't.
He stands. The chair screeches against the marble.
So, I take another step back.
"I'm going to pack my stuff, and then we're done. This whole arrangement is over."
Gianna's voice in my head.Take whatever he has and burn it. And then run.I'm taking her advice. Not the killing part. Not the accident. I’m not Gianna. So I do what I do best. I’m going to run. Telling myself that whatever he has over me, it isn't worse than this. Nothing is worse than this. I can survive embarrassment. I can survive humiliation. I cannot survive another day in this house, in this marriage, with this man calling Ace's babyours.
The Harper who was scared of him and what people thought of me died the second he called my baby ‘ours’.
"Do not take another step, Harper. Get your smoothie and sit down." He points at the chair, the same way you ask a dog to sit.
"No. I'm going, and you can’t stop me. Release the fucking videos. Do whatever you want because you can’t hold power over me if I’m not scared of it. And I’m not."
A growl erupts from him. He storms to the counter, grabs the smoothie, and strides toward me, shoving the glass in my face.
"Drink the smoothie and stop being a hormonal bitch. We both know you aren't going anywhere, because the second you walk out that door, your life is over. And Ace's. Remember that. You’ll ruin him and your child’s future. Your child will grow up and will know their mom is a whore and their father is a murdering psychopath. I’ll make sure Ace ends up in jail. That whole fucking family."
I take the glass. My hand is shaking. I take one small sip and force it down. It's vile.
He reaches for my neck. His fingers close around theAnecklace, and he yanks hard enough to snap the chain. I let out a yelp as the clasp cuts into my skin. He throws it across the room. It hits the wall and clatters to the floor, the little goldAspinning on the floor.
Something inside me goes very still.
Not calm. Not numb. Still. Something I’ve never felt before.
That necklace is the last thing Ace ever gave me. The last thread connecting me to the girl I was before all of this. And this man just ripped it off my body and threw it at a wall.
