Page 77 of Billionaire Unbroken - Asher
“This was probably hard on her,” I guessed.
“Really hard,” she said in a remorseful voice. “I tried to hide what was happening, but I think she was starting to suspect before my husband tried to kill me. I lived in Houston, so I didn’t see her every day, but we were close. Once the physical abuse started, it was harder to hide those physical injuries. She knew something wasn’t right. She blames herself sometimes because she didn’t know, and I hate that. I did everything I could to keep her from finding out the truth until I couldn’t anymore. When I needed to get out, I finally told her. She had to know becauseI was leaving him. My career was going well at that point. She wanted me to come home, but I knew that was going to be the first place that Jordan looked. I kept the location of my new place a secret out of necessity. I didn’t want to put my mother in the middle of my chaos with Jordan.”
“So you had your escape all planned?” I asked.
“I did,” she shared. “I was just going to take a few things from the house. I didn’t quite make it out before he came home unexpectedly.”
I closed my eyes and tightened my arms around her waist.
She’d been so damn close to escape…
But I had to wonder if it mattered.
If her husband had been that crazy, he still might have found her somehow.
“I never thought he’d try to kill me,” she said in a whisper. “I knew he was crazy and that he wanted to hurt me. I even believed that he could kill me with one of his beatings, but I never thought he’d get a gun and murder me. When I first found out I was pregnant, he actually stopped hitting me. I think he wanted to make sure I was going to stay. But it wasn’t long before he started to accuse me of sleeping with someone else. I wasn’t, but I think he wanted to try to justify what he had planned for the future. He had the gun. He’d obviously planned on killing me and my baby, but he was beyond reason that day. He completely lost touch with reality when he realized I was leaving. Maybe I didn’t plan on getting pregnant, but he knew that I loved my child. I think I did from the moment I knew he existed. I was going to name him Nathaniel Joseph. It’s the name that’s on his headstone. My mom gave him the last name of Ellis because she knew I wasn’t going to want him to take his father’s last name. Ellis is my maiden name.”
Some primal part of me was damn happy that she didn’t carry that asshole’s name anymore.
“How long did it take you recover?” I asked.
“Physically? Almost a year. Emotionally? It took two more years. The PTSD started during my physical recovery. The nightmares started almost immediately after I got out of the hospital. That was a really dark time for me, Asher. I mourned hard for the baby I never got to see, and I blamed myself for him dying even though Jordan killed him. I felt like I should have protected him. I kept telling myself that I should have left sooner. My head was a mess. I honestly didn’t care whether I lived or died. One day drifted into another like that until I finally started to recover emotionally. When I felt like I had myself together, I desperately wanted a new start. That’s why I moved to a place I’d never been before.”
I understood that. Cole and I had done the same thing when we were younger. We’d wanted to escape the memories here in Crystal Fork, so we’d moved to Austin to start over.
“Why Billings?” I questioned.
I felt her shrug. “I wanted a slower pace and somewhere peaceful. I thought Montana would do. I’m not sure why I was drawn here, but it was close enough that I could get home in a reasonable amount of time if Mom needed me. I didn’t know if I was going to stay here forever, but it seemed like a good place to try to get my career back together again. The cost of living isn’t outrageous, and I thought I could survive here until I could reestablish my career. I just couldn’t stay in Texas anymore.”
I wasn’t sure what had brought her to Montana, either, but I couldn’t shake the thought that she was meant to be here.
With me.
No one needed her more than I did.
I might not be the guy she deserved, but there probably wasn’t another guy on the planet who wanted to take care of her and make her happy as much as I did.
Now that I knew the truth about what had happened to her, the desire to keep her safe was completely swamping me.
It was going to fucking haunt me for a very long time that she’d come so close to dying.
“You’re quiet,” she said softly. “That was a lot.”
“I wanted to know,” I reassured her. “But I hate all of the hell you’ve been through, Sierra. I hate the physical and emotional pain he put you through. I hate all of it.”
“It’s over,” she whispered. “It’s been over for a while now. I’ve dealt with most of it. I’m not sure why I had a random nightmare.”
“Because you’re involved with a man for the first time since it happened?” I asked.
“Possibly,” she mused. “I should have told you about my past when I moved in with you. I think I put off talking about it for too long.”
“You can always talk to me,” I told her. “None of this was your fault, Sierra. You were the victim of a man who was sick in the head.”
“I knew that I could talk to you,” she answered. “I trust you, Asher. I think I just dreaded that discussion because I’m happy right now. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy, and I guess I didn’t want to spoil my little happiness bubble.”
“You’re happy?” I asked in a husky voice. “Why?”
“Why do you think?” she said in a teasing voice. “You make me happy, Asher. I was content with my life until you kissed me and made me realize what I was missing. What woman doesn’t want to be with a man who gives her multiple orgasms every night? But it’s not just the physical pleasure, although I have to admit that it’s nice. I know you care about me, Asher. You want me to be happy. You encourage me to reach for my goals. You treat me like my needs are just as important as yours. That’s something I’ve never had in a relationship before. There’ssomething about you that soothes my soul. I don’t know how to explain that, so please don’t ask me exactly what I mean.”
