Pain

Scarlett POV:

After completing a long, exhausting day at my part-time job, I finally arrived home, only to be greeted with a forceful push from Gianna, my stepmother.

It felt as though she had been eagerly waiting for my return, ready to unleash her anger upon me.

My name is Scarlett, and I am the only daughter and child in my family. Oh, and did I mention that I'm a she-wolf? It's an essential part of who I am, though it seems irrelevant in the face of the challenges I endure.

Gianna, or at least the woman who married my father, has been relentlessly cruel to me. The pain she inflicts on me knows no bounds as if I'm nothing more than a punching bag for her frustrations.

I'm twenty-five years old, but she treats me as if I'm a helpless sixteen-year-old. It's suffocating, the way she controls every aspect of my life. I work as a salesgirl in a popular supermarket, and I have to admit, it's one of the few aspects of my life that I enjoy.

To be honest, when I learned about the death of my real mother, Vivian, I felt a strange mix of relief and guilt.

I shed tears for her, but deep down, a sense of relief washed over me. It's difficult to admit, but her absence meant an end to the relentless torment she inflicted upon me.

However, I'm still plagued by confusion. Why did she choose to end her own life? Could it be that guilt consumed her for all the cruelty she bestowed on me?

Even if that were the case, why couldn't she have changed her ways instead of resorting to such a tragic end?

Her death only exposed me to even more torment.

And when my father mentioned bringing another woman into our lives, I immediately rejected the idea.

I knew all too well that it would only bring a new wave of suffering crashing down on me.

I tried to express my feelings to my father, Easton, to make him understand that I didn't need a second mother. But his response was callous, revealing his pain and frustration after losing his wife.

"Are you suggesting that I should satisfy my desires with you, Scarlett?" he asked, his words laced with bitterness.

I was taken aback, hurt by his insensitive remark. He was still grieving, and his emotions had clouded his judgment.

And so, that's how Gianna became my stepmother.

Ever since she stepped foot into our lives, everything changed.

But it wasn't an improvement; it was a descent into an even darker abyss.

I became a constant target of mistreatment, and my father was the only shield I had.

When he wasn't around, the house transformed into a lion's den, and I was the prey.

Every day, I cried an ocean of tears, and each passing minute in this house felt like a journey through hell.

I longed for my real mother's presence, wishing I could have saved her from the darkness and guilt that consumed her.

__

As I lay on the floor, struck by Gianna's violent assault, pain resonated through my body. She had pushed me down, armed with a kitchen spoon, and began hurling questions at me.

"Why are you late, Scarlett?" she bellowed, not even giving me a chance to respond before unleashing her wrath upon me. The spoon struck my body repeatedly, and her words stung with venom.

"So you've turned into a bitch like your late mom? You're out there gallivanting with men in the name of going to work!!" She yelled at me.

She doesn't even know my mom, but she is spewing nonsense from her mouth.

If she was jealous of Vivian, then she could join her in her grave. I couldn't care much, I'll only mourn her death.

I suddenly heard a thud in my head, which made me cry out in pain, and I immediately tried defending myself by telling her the reason why I'm late for work, but she wouldn't give me a chance. She didn't care, all she was interested in was beating me.

"We had so many customers today, that's why I couldn't return early…." I winced as she began hitting all over me with the iron spoon. She couldn't even wait for me so give her my reasons.

She picked up a broom and began hitting me, so I couldn't take it again and tried running, but I slipped and fell, hitting my body hard on the ground, but still, it didn't stop her from inflicting pain on me. She still climbed on me and continued hitting and beating me, and I could only cry, hoping that someone would save me.

My body was aching, she had hit me hard on my head with the spoon, and if no one intervenes, I'll pass out any minute from now.

"Gianna, please stop. You're killing me," I cried, but it only made her happy as she even increased her pace in hitting me.

"I don't care if you die, Scarlett, I want you to die!!" She yelled and hit my head very hard, which made me give a piercing cry as I tried crawling away from her, but I couldn't feel my body. I was getting paralyzed.

She only used the fact about me coming late as an excuse to pour out her hatred and wrath on me.

Luckily for me, Easton, my dad returned and ran into the sitting room and stopped her before she could kill me.

"Gianna, would you stop this nonsense? Would you leave her alone? You wouldn't like what I'll do to you Psychotic woman if you don't leave my daughter!!" My dad kept yelling at her as he dragged her off me.

"Let go of me Easton, I want to teach her a lesson. If you want me to be her mother then let me do whatever I want," Gianna said as she tried breaking free from my father's grasp.

"You are mad Gianna, you're a mad woman, a very mad one," my dad said with clenched teeth as he forcefully dragged her away from me.

She was indeed a psychopath, that's all I could say, and I hate her so much.

My body was hurting, and I was unable to do anything. I was so weak and I hated it. I couldn't even stand, she hates me. She was worse than Vivian.

Looking up with my eyes which were almost blurred from crying, I was met with the sight of my father still pulling Gianna from me.

I could see his lips moving, and I knew that he was talking to me, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Maybe it was due to my senses being in chaos.

But suddenly, I heard him shouting at me to run to my room, and my instinct immediately kicked in, making me rise to my feet, and I ran up the stairs as though I was being chased by a ghost.

I ran into my room and closed my door with a loud thud so that my dad would know that I'm safe in my room before I locked it and crouched to the floor, my back resting on the door as I cried.

I was so confused, was my life a fantasy? Why were such things happening to me? If not for the help of my wolf, I would have gotten so many scars by now, but thanks to it, it has been putting effort to heal me. But I was still passing through pain.

With a heavy heart, I crawled to my bed, before climbing on it, as tears continued rolling down my eyes. I was emotionally and physically hurt.

I lay on the bed as I tried to endure the pain I felt from the beating, as I drifted up to sleep.