Chapter 31

“Please. Don't… not here.” Dante was coming closer, and Cora had nowhere left to go. Her back was pressed against the tempered glass. A tear slid to the corner of her mouth. She didn't wipe it away, and she tasted salt.“Now you're scared?” Dante caught her wrist and yanked her toward him. “Still trying to get away? Where exactly are you going to go?”“Please don't.”“Don't punish you? You still don't think you did anything wrong?” He pressed her down across his thigh and pulled her pants and underwear down in one motion. The first slap rang through the room.“Someone's going to see us, Dante…”“Go ahead and yell if you want more people to see.” He was needling her on purpose. The window was one-way glass, and the room was so well soundproofed that no one outside could tell what was happening, however loud she got.Cora went still for a moment in fright. Then the pain drove the room itself from her mind. His hand came down harder each time. Her skin felt as if it were burning.“Do you

Chapter 32

After Noah posted Sophie's comic and turned it into a line of merchandise and chat stickers, his fans couldn't get enough. Sophie made a bit of a name for herself among comic artists, too.Offers for sponsored work started coming in. When Noah heard about them, he said, “You're good at this, Soph. But you're still in school. Keep drawing because you enjoy it. Taking a few jobs over winter or summer break is fine. During the semester, I'd put your classes first.”Sophie was so smitten she wasn't about to argue. She turned down the immediate offers and told everyone when she'd be available. That weeded out some of the brands that only wanted to capitalize on the attention. The ones willing to wait were interested in what she could actually do.“Sophie, are you free tomorrow?”She'd just gotten out of class when Noah called. “Yes!” she said without a second's thought.“A friend of mine just opened a restaurant. He's doing a soft opening and keeps asking me to come try the menu. Would you

Chapter 33

The next morning, Theo rang the Hales' doorbell. “Sophie Hale! Are you coming down or what? We're going to be late!”Julian came out onto the balcony and rested his hands on the glass railing. “Sophie's not feeling well. She's taking the day off. Go on without her, Theo.”“Is she okay? Has she seen a doctor?” Theo asked out of politeness.“She's having a little trouble getting around. It's nothing serious. She'll be back in a couple of days. Weren't you just saying you'd be late?” Julian didn't bother to hide much. Their families had known each other since Theo and Sophie were kids. Theo was bound to put it together.“I'd better go, then. See you, Julian.” Theo got the message. He climbed onto his motorcycle and headed for campus.At school, Cora saw Sophie's empty seat. “What's up with Sophie? She hasn't answered my texts. Did she oversleep?”“She's having trouble getting around, apparently.”“What?” Cora blinked at him. “Is it serious?”“Julian got after her. He probably found out s

Chapter 34

“Can we talk?”After dinner, Cora had gone to her room. She looked up as Dante walked in. “Dante…”“The man's hand is going to be fine.” He sat on the edge of her bed and drew her into his arms. “That's been worrying you for days, hasn't it?”“Yeah.” Cora lowered her eyes. She looked as though a weight had finally lifted. “Why was he there?”“Because you were smart enough to catch them cooking the books. They overheard you and wanted to scare you into keeping quiet.” Dante's voice softened. “I don't think you did anything wrong. You did a good job protecting yourself, Coco. You should give yourself credit for that, shouldn't you?”“Yeah, but I hurt him.” All her life, she'd been taught that you talked things through. You didn't hurt people.“Being kind shouldn't leave you defenseless. You keep yourself safe first. I'll take care of the rest.”Tears had already spilled down Cora's cheeks. “Dante, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”“Come on, no more tears. Keep crying and I'll put you over my kn

All Chapters of Mafia's Runaway Stepford Wife: Chapter 31 - Chapter 34

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34