ANGEL
"Arrrrrgh" The scream tore out of me, sharp, raw, and pathetic. Fiery pain exploded from my leg as the sickening sound of bone crunching echoed in my ears.
Through tears, I forced my gaze down.
My leg... it was straight again. Normal.
The bastard had brutally corrected it, snapping my displaced bone back into alignment without warning me.
"You’re one big son of a bitch!" I choked out, wiping my face with an angry, aggressive swipe of my hand.
"Be careful from now on, Angel..." Damien’s voice was a low, smooth taunt, picking at my sanity which was barely holding on by a thread. "Or I won’t have a reason not to break you."
"You’re not touching my leg ever again!" I spat, glaring murder at him.
He paused, his long, calloused fingers casually toying with my bare toes now, brushing against my soft skin. "I wasn’t talking about your foot, Angel."
***
For the next two weeks, I wholeheartedly regretted my impulsive decision to throw myself down the grand staircase.
I’d been stuck in my bedroom, barely able to leave the mattress. It hurt to do literally anything—even limping to the bathroom was a painful, miserable chore. I’d cursed both Jillian and Damien with every disgusting word that existed in the dictionary.
It was day fourteen, and boredom was eating me alive. I had no one to talk to. The mysterious stalker on my phone hadn’t replied to my messages at all. Kevin, my only friend, just wanted to fuck me—he’d been blowing up my phone for days, begging me to meet up with him.
I was completely alone, growing insane in a quiet mansion.
Even touching myself wasn’t working anymore. Sliding my fingers between my thighs just left a sick, hollow feeling of emptiness inside me because, sadly enough, my own fingers weren’t what I craved. I was fucking depressed. I wanted to smash everything in sight. I glared down at my bandaged ankle, hating the ugly white wrappings that had trapped me here.
I guess the only real silver lining to this stupid injury was knowing Daddy wouldn’t let me leave the country in this state. No one had brought up my departure to Europe again, so I assumed I was safe. So, bye-bye, private school.
Surprisingly, Damien had been unusually tame these past few days. Brooding, silent, and cold. The exact version of Damien I was used to dealing with.
Every time he came to my room to check on my ankle’s healing progress, he didn’t talk to me at all. He just checked my foot with those large, heavy hands, did his job, and left without saying a word.
But instead of feeling relieved, it made me horribly anxious. Was I overthinking it? It felt like the unnerving calm right before a massive storm wiped out everything.
It wasn’t just Damien acting weirdly—Jillian was, too. She was actually minding her own business for once instead of plotting against me. Even though I was itching to start a fight with her, she didn’t give me an ounce of her attention. Weird.
As for Daddy, it was the absolute worst. He barely came home at all. When he did, it was usually late at night after I was already asleep. And he was always gone before I woke up in the morning. But I knew he came into my room every single night, because the rich, lingering trace of his expensive cologne always greeted me the second I opened my eyes.
It left me completely confused. Was he avoiding me? Was he disgusted by me? Or was he really just that busy with syndicate business?
I never even got the chance to ask him why work was suddenly so dangerous and chaotic. Was I just being self-centered like Jillian always accused me of?
It was already noon when the distinct, deep rumble of a familiar car engine echoed from the driveway. Daddy was back early!
My heart did a happy flip. I practically leapt from my bed, wincing as a dull throb shot up my healing leg. I paused to quickly check my reflection in the full-length mirror, smoothing down my hair before hobbling out of my room as fast as I could. I just had to see him. Heaven knows how desperately I missed him.
I followed the low trail of voices down the hallway to his private study. Two familiar male voices were arguing behind the thick wood.
Before I could reach the handle, the door burst open. Damien stormed out, his dark grey gaze flicking straight to me for a split second before he brushed right past me in fast, heavy strides, not even bothering to acknowledge me.
A tight frown marred my face as I limped into Daddy’s study.
Vincenzo looked up the second I crossed the threshold. A lit cigarette was dangling between his lips, sending thin wisps of gray smoke swirling around his sharp face. His dark features looked exhausted and deeply agitated.
"What did you guys fight about?" I asked softly.
He stayed silent, just staring at me. For a tiny moment, I thought I saw a flash of raw sadness flickering in his cold eyes.
Then he spoke.
"You’re leaving tomorrow."
The entire room crashed down on my head with those three words. My mind completely froze, refusing to function. My ears rejected the sounds, but my brain had already processed the brutal reality.
Before I could speak, Daddy closed the distance between us, his strong arms wrapping firmly around my body. The dark smell of tobacco and his cologne flooded my senses. Any other time, I would have been floating on cloud nine from his touch. But not right now.
"No matter how far away you are, just know that I love you a lot, Angel," he murmured, his fingers clenching tightly around my shoulders. "You’ll always be my little girl..."
He pulled back slowly, but I shook my head violently, looking up at him with eyes brimming with hot, angry tears.
"But I don’t want to go anywhere without you..." I croaked out, my voice cracking. "Daddy, you know I love you, right? Please don’t send me away!" I was fully sobbing now, the tears spilling over my lashes.
His hand moved to the back of my head, his fingers tangling into my golden hair as he pulled me close. He leaned down, his soft, warm lips pressing against my forehead. And stayed there. His grip grew firmer for a second. Then two.
"I love you too, Sweetheart," his deep voice was thick with heavy emotion.
No. He didn’t fucking get it! My love wasn’t sweet or innocent like he was thinking. He didn’t love me the forbidden way I loved him! He was my entire world—I couldn’t survive without him!
"Daddy, please! Don’t make me go!" I begged, wrapping my arms frantically around his waist. "You know I don’t love you like a daughter loves a father! I love you like—"
His fingers instantly dropped from my hair, falling limp to his sides.
Daddy took a harsh step backward, ripping himself out of my grip.
"You’re leaving at first light!"
The icy, iron-clad order knocked the breath straight out of my lungs, completely smothering the rest of my confession in my throat.
Words could never describe the agonising pain that shattered through my chest at his cold rejection.
Daddy didn’t want me anymore.
He was abandoning me.