My Husband Sold My Innocence Fifteen Times Chapter 03

My Husband Sold My Innocence Fifteen Times Chapter 03

Ethan turned to Chloe, and the tension in his face melted into something gentle. Even Liam’s hard expression softened when he looked at her.

He smoothed a hand over Chloe’s hair. “All right. If that’s what you want, sweetheart.”

My body wouldn’t stop shaking. Three years of fighting — every escape attempt, every time I’d tried to end it — and none of it had mattered.

The dried-up tears, the pain I’d gone numb to — all of it adding up to a life not worth living. And putting an end to this nightmare took nothing more than Chloe batting her eyes and playing the saint.

Liam was already standing in front of the cage. He let out a sharp sigh, making it clear he was done with me.

“You hear her? She’s giving you a way out. Just apologize.”

“Go home, treat her right, and stop this nonsense.”

Liam ordered the cage opened. I dragged myself out, one step at a time, and looked at him — eyes burning raw, my teeth sunk into my lower lip.

“I’m not apologizing for something I didn’t do. I never touched her — not once!”

I didn’t wait for their reaction. My eyes were already on the dagger strapped to a bodyguard’s hip.

A boot drove into the back of my knee before I made it two steps. I dropped hard, my knees cracking against the floor, and looked up to find Ethan standing over me, fury and disappointment warring on his face.

“All you had to do was apologize! Do you have any idea how hard that was for Chloe? She’s sensitive — and now she’s going to go home and blame herself for this because you couldn’t put your pride aside for five seconds.”

Liam dragged a hand down his face, his voice heavy with exhaustion. “Chloe’s already done her part. What more do you want? Is saying ‘sorry’ really that impossible for you?”

My skull felt like it was filled with wet sand. I stared at the floor for a long moment, then lifted my gaze to the two of them — both looking at me with the same righteous anger, like I was the villain in their story.

Something inside me snapped. A smile tugged at my mouth — not a real one, nothing close — and then a laugh broke out of me, hollow and sharp.

“Fine. I’ll apologize. I will.”

They both frowned, something unreadable flickering behind their eyes, but before either one could speak, I slammed my head into the floor as hard as I could, no hesitation, no holding back.

My vision went black in waves, and for the first time, I felt myself starting to slip free.

But I opened my eyes — still here, still breathing — and both of them were already hovering over me.

Ethan got to me first, jabbing a finger in my face, his voice cracking. “You did that on purpose — with her standing right there! What if you traumatized her for life? Is that what you wanted?”

But underneath the fury, I caught it — a flash of something raw and terrified in his eyes before it vanished behind that glassy look again. He turned and left the room without another word, bellowing for a doctor down the hall.

One by one, everyone else cleared out until it was just Liam and me. His breathing was getting faster, shallower — his eyes too wide, too dark to read.

His jaw clenched so hard I could hear his teeth grind. When he finally spoke, his voice shook. “You want to die that badly? You couldn’t even swallow your pride?”

I didn’t look at him. My only regret was that I hadn’t hit it harder.

“Audrey. We’re going to have a baby.”

The lock clicked behind him. By the time I understood what was happening, his weight was already on top of me.

Every muscle in my body locked up. His hands moved over me, his breath hot and ragged against my neck.

Every touch sent me back to those nights — the auction house, the cage, the men. Tears ran sideways, pooling on the cold floor beneath my cheek.

I fought — thrashing, whimpering, clawing at whatever I could reach — but he was stronger, and only got rougher. The whole time, his mouth kept moving against my ear, murmuring twisted words of comfort.

“The doctor said it — you’re doing this because you feel like you have nothing left to live for. That’s what depression is. But if you have a baby — our baby — you’ll want to live. You’ll stay. You’ll stay with me.”

The fight went out of me in stages. He used me — over and over, like I was nothing but a ragged doll with nothing left to break — and whatever was left holding my heart together finally gave out.