Chapter Thirty-Six

Sebastian’s POV

As I held her, gone was the strong woman who would barely listen to me at all. Now she lay there, limp as ever, in my arms, like a lifeless doll, only that she was breathing and whimpering.

She looked broken.

“Shhh, you’re okay…You have nothing to fear. No one will harm you here.” I soothed, holding her close.

“I don't want to ever see her again…” she said between gasps, “not now…not ever…. She's never coming…”

I nodded. “She is never coming back.” I assured her , kissing the top of her forehead.

After a while, she calmed down . Her skin had returned to normal color, but it was clammy and pale compared to its usual rosy hue. Her voice was hoarse and strained. I didn't know what to do. I just sat beside her bedside and tried not to think about anything.

“I am sorry. I know I have said this before but please forgive me for letting this happen to you. I thought she meant well when she reached out to me.” I said softly, stroking the smooth skin of her face tenderly.

She didn't push me away.

“You know most times I blamed myself. Maybe I wasn't being a good daughter enough, that was why they were always so angry with me, so disappointed in me. Maybe if I could make them believe that I was doing my best, maybe they would love me a little, just a little. So I think more part-time jobs, I was lagging behind in school, I didn't study enough, things got bad. Then on my sixteenth birthday, one of my father's friends tried to grab me inappropriately . He tried to put his hands up my skirt…” her voice broke.

I rubbed her back, trying to put the anger I was feeling towards her adopted family at bay. “You don't have to go on if you don't want to, please.” I said quietly, caressing her hair soothingly.

She shook her head. “No, no … I should tell someone about it… I haven't really told anyone other than Victor.”

I frowned at the mention of his name, but kept silent.

“So anyway…He pulled his hand away from under my skirt, grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away, I fought him but he wouldn't let go. So that night I screamed, calling for my parents. I wish I hadn't. When they came and heard my side of the story. They saw it as a business idea and that was the beginning of a greater nightmare than the original” she closed her eyes tightly for a moment then continued.

“They began to come in with different men and made me do stuff while they got paid. It was anything serious at first, blow jobs, handjobs, weird fetish, touching myself , whatever … but after a while they started taking it to new levels. They said it was better for me to be an experiment. That maybe I couldn't control myself and it was dangerous. And I believed them. It scared me. But I did everything they asked. I wanted to make them happy, I wanted them to love me” she swallowed heavily, looking lost. “That was why I did things like drink and smoke marijuana, do drugs that would leave me high enough to blur out most nights . At least then I could pretend I was okay with everything. I knew that they hated me, but I could pretend too. If I pretended hard enough, maybe things would get better. I convinced myself that they cared about me.”

I took another breath to keep myself from exploding. I knew how badly that must have hurt her. I wanted nothing more than to take the hurt away and replace it with something happier. To erase her pain for her. But the reality was that she was hurting and I couldn't magically make it disappear.

“You are hurting, stop talking about it, please.” I pleaded, gently running my hand through her hair.

“I want to let it all out, please, Sebastian.” . Tears were starting to fall down her cheeks. “Please let me talk,”

“Okay” I said simply, pulling her closer, cradling her and letting her talk against me.

“I ran away, I met Victor. We fell in love, at least that was what I thought . And I forgot about them. But soon Victor was back to turning me into what I once was. He convinced me and I assumed he loved me back . I felt special and accepted. And I thought there was no harm in helping us get to the top. After all, we were a team and nobody messed with a team. But then he left me. I was devastated. My world was crumbling around me. There was nothing left to live for. And I ran to you and just like usual your family didn't want me. I was not surprised, I was used to rejection but this time it hit harder than anything else. The last thing I wanted was to run away again but I couldn't stand it any longer. The world I knew disappeared. I considered suicide but somehow Charles… I mean, my grandfather found me.” she shivered.

I pulled her away from my chest and lifted her chin with my finger. “I have heard all of the horrible things but do you know what stood out? You. You are a rare woman Alina Grant, you are strong, you are resilient, brave, and loving. You are so much stronger than those monsters who made your life hell.”

Her lips trembled at my words. For some reason I still remembered her face when she kissed me for the first time. A warm sensation washed over my body.

“I am so sorry that they hurt you. But I am assuring you that no one would ever hurt you again , especially not me. I promise you”, I kissed her forehead once again. “We will stay together, you'll never be alone again. You’ll always have people who care about you, I promise” I promised.

She smiled weakly, snuggling into me. “Thank you, Sebastian.” she whispered, tears streaming down her face.