Chapter Two

ELENA POV

"You heard me. I never wanted this. I never wanted you but my uncle owes your father, and I got stuck playing the doting fiancé."

"But you…" My voice cracked. "You said you loved me. You said….that night on the beach…you said. You said—"

"I lied, Ellie." He snapped

The floor tilted under my feet.

"I lied about all of it," he continued. "From the beach, to the dinners. The way I looked at you. It was an act. You were just… convenient. A favor I should've turned down from the start."

"But your father?" He laughed, "He needs this alliance. Desperately. So you have no choice, Ellie. None. You'll marry me anyway, because if you don't, your daddy loses everything. His business. His reputation. His life. So go ahead. Scream. Cry. Tell him. See what happens."

Sophia slid off the bed, barefoot, and padded toward me.

She stopped inches from my face, her breath smelled like wine and Marcus.

"What made you think he'd ever want you, Ellie?" She tilted her head,"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?"

My stomach turned inside out.

"I mean, really looked?" She laughed. "The tired eyes and messy hair. The way you slump when you walk. You come home from that bakery smelling like flour and desperation, and you expect him to get hard for that?"

My throat closed and I couldn't breathe. My hands were shaking at my sides.

My face was burning not just from shame, but from something hotter. Something that wanted to tear her hair out by the roots.

Don't cry. Don't let her see you cry. I say to myself

But my eyes were already burning and my lips were already trembling.

"You're pathetic," Sophia whispered, savoring it.

Something inside me snapped.

"You bitch….!"

I lunged at her but before I could reach her Marcus's arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back hard. "Ellie, stop! Don't make a scene!"

"A scene?!" I screamed, fighting him over it. "You're worried about a scene? You are truly despicable."

Sophia laughed. A small, sharp sound that cut through the air.

That broke something in me and I clawed at Marcus' arm desperately trying to reach her.

Then everything went white.

Slap.

My head snapped to the side and copper flooded my mouth.

Before I could even comprehend what was happening he shoved me so hard my back hit the wall.

I slid down to the floor, my legs folding beneath me, the cold wall pressed against my back.

Marcus stood over me, his chest heaving.

Then his eyes went wide,he looked at his hand. Then at my face, then back at his hand.

As if he couldn't believe what he had done.

"Ellie…" His voice cracked. "I… I didn't…"

He crouched down to reach for me.

"No. No, no, no." I yelled as I scrambled away from him backward so fast my elbows scraped against the floor.

My back hit the wall again and there was nowhere else to go.

I hugged my knees to my chest, making myself small, making myself as far from his hands as possible.

"Don't," I whispered but my voice was barely there. "Don't touch me. Please. Please don't."

My whole body was shaking.

Marcus froze, his hand hanging in the air between us. For a second, something flickered across his face,he opened his mouth as if to say something then closed it

"Oh my God," he said. "Ellie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean … I just … you made me –"

He stopped himself.

"You shouldn't have lunged at her," he said, quieter now. "You know how you get. You know you push people until they snap."

I stared at him and couldn't believe that the same man who held me together through my toughest days would be the one to lay his hands on me.

"See?" Sophia sighed from the bed. "You're being so dramatic, Ellie. Just breathe and calm down so we can talk like adults."

I touched my cheek it was hot and swollen. "You hit me," I said in disbelief.

He grabbed his shirt from the floor. "You lunged at her. What was I supposed to do?"

"Not hit me."

He didn't answer. He just pulled on his shirt, took Sophia's hand, and walked past me like I was trash.

I pulled myself up slowly, legs shaking, cheek throbbing and I walked out.

Down the stairs. Past the scattered clothes and past the smashed cake samples with their gold frosting smeared across the floor.

I didn't look back.

The cold night air hit my face like another slap. My car was in the driveway.

I was halfway to the driver's side door when my phone buzzed.

A text message.

From Sophia.

I shouldn't have looked but my thumb moved on its own.

"One more thing, sis.' The text said with a photo attached.

I opened it and my knees gave out. I caught myself on the hood of the car, gasping.

The photo was an ultrasound.

And written across the bottom in Sophia's handwriting

Due in six months. Guess who the father is?

The world tilted

I pressed my back against the car door and slid down until I was sitting on the cold driveway. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.

Breathe Ellie Just breathe.

But the air wouldn't come each time I inhaled, it felt like swallowing glass.

I scrolled through my contacts. My thumb hovered over one name.

Tessa.

My best friend since kindergarten, the one person who had my back in this cruel world.

I pressed the call button

It rang twice before she picked up.

"Ellie?" Tessa's voice was groggy. "It's almost one in the morning. What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out, just a choked, broken sound.

"Ellie? Ellie? Where are you? What happened?"

"I'm at home," I whispered. "In the driveway. Tessa, I need you. Please."

"I'm on my way. Don't move. Don't hang up." I could hear her running down the stairs.

Headlights washed over me as Tessa's car screeched to a halt at the end of the driveway.

"Ellie!"

She ran out of her car in her pajamas without bothering to turn off the engine.

Tessa dropped to her knees on the cold pavement beside me.

Her hands grabbed my face "Hey. Hey, oh, babe. What happened?"

I tried to speak but nothing came out, just broken sobs.

Tessa's eyes moved over my face, frowning, and tilts my face to the light and her face darkened

"Who did this to you?" She demanded and I could hear the anger in her voice. "Ellie. Who?"

"Marcus," I whispered