Dashiell had come home.
He was waiting for his wife to return, but since Thea still had work, she hadn’t come back right away.
Besides, she had no idea he’d be there at all.
It was already nine at night, and Dashiell was still waiting.
His irritation grew by the minute; Saphira really did have no sense of shame.
He assumed she was out at some nightclub enjoying herself, and to think his grandfather had been completely fooled by her.
That spoiled girl needed to be taught a lesson so she’d stop doing exactly as she pleased.
He hadn’t wanted this marriage to begin with, but her behavior could still ruin his reputation.
Thea, unaware he was even there, crept into the house as quietly as she could.
Luckily, the staff were already asleep, so the coast seemed clear.
She slipped into the bedroom without making a sound, closing the door behind her with relief flooding through her.
“Is it really appropriate for a married woman to come home this late?” Thea jumped at the sound of Dashiell’s voice.
She let out a startled cry and spun toward where it had come from.
Her eyes went wide when she found him sitting on the sofa, staring straight at her with a sharp, unreadable look.
A glass of liquor sat in his hand, and the dim lighting of the room made her throat go dry.
“Y-you’re back?”
Why was he here?
Hadn’t Saphira sworn he’d never even show his face?
“Don’t bother pretending to be surprised, Saphira. Even though I never wanted this marriage, is it really appropriate for you to be out at nightclubs and come home at this hour?”
“I-I wasn’t at a nightclub!” She knew that was one of Saphira’s habits, and clearly, so did he.
“Don’t think for a second you can fool me.” Dashiell rose and started toward her.
Thea swallowed hard again and took a step back.
She’d much rather avoid him entirely than deal with whatever this was.
She was terrified something she’d been dreading since the night before might actually happen.
“I’m not lying to you!” She kept backing away, but Dashiell didn’t stop, not until her back hit the wall and she had nowhere left to go.
“Everyone knows exactly what you like to do, Saphira!” He was standing right in front of her now, pinning her with that sharp stare.
He studied her closely, and again, something about her felt slightly off, though he couldn’t place what.
“And what exactly does everyone know about me?” Thea lifted her chin and met his gaze head on.
She couldn’t afford to back down, couldn’t let herself look afraid, because any hint of fear would only make him more suspicious.
“Everyone knows you love your nightclubs, Saphira. Don’t think you can fool me, I’ve heard everything about you.”
“That’s just gossip, people trying to ruin my reputation.” Her eyes followed his hand as it reached toward her hair.
“Oh?” He leaned in slightly.
“So everything I’ve heard is just gossip?” He brought a strand of her hair to his face and breathed it in, watching her with that same piercing stare, forcing her to swallow hard again.
Her heart was pounding, a clear sign that something was very wrong.
This man was dangerous, and she knew she needed to get away from him immediately.
“Answer me, Saphira. I’ve heard so much ugly gossip about you, that you love to party, that you go through partners like they’re nothing. Is any of it true, or is it all just gossip?” He wanted to see how she’d try to deny it.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m still a virgin, so don’t believe every rumor you hear!” She had to defend her friend’s reputation somehow, even though she had no idea whether Saphira was actually a virgin or not.
“Oh? So you’re still a virgin?” A woman who supposedly cycled through partners, still untouched?
Saphira really was a skilled liar to say something like that with a straight face.
Did she really think he wouldn’t dare check for himself?
“I am still a virgin, so get out of my way!” Thea shoved at his chest, but it was a mistake.
“Then I’ll find out for myself.”
“Excuse me?” Before she could even process what he meant, Dashiell had already pulled her against him and crushed his mouth against hers, rough and unyielding.
Thea’s eyes flew wide.
For a moment her whole body froze.
It was her first kiss, and awareness only snapped back into her when she felt his hand slide beneath her clothes.
“N-no. Let go of me!” She shoved at him again, but it was useless.
Dashiell lifted her off her feet and carried her toward the bed.
“Stop, you don’t even want this marriage, so don’t do this to me!” She fought to break free.
“I just want to find out whether what you said is true or not.”
“I-I’m not a virgin, what I said before was true, I’m not a virgin anymore!” Stupid.
She was so stupid.
“I’ll check that myself.” Dashiell dropped her onto the bed.
“Ah, that hurts!” Thea cried out in anger.
She tried to scramble away, desperate to escape before things went any further, but Dashiell wasn’t about to let her run.
He had already lost himself to his fury, and with his powerful build, there was nowhere for her to go.
“Get off me!” She pushed and kicked, but it was no use; she simply didn’t have the strength to overpower him.
He caught both her wrists and pinned them above her head, locking her in place so she couldn’t move.
Then he kissed her again, harder this time, determined to teach her a lesson for daring to lie to him.
“Stop, please stop!” Thea begged through her tears.
This wasn’t what she wanted.
She’d agreed to marry him in Saphira’s place, but she had never agreed to take her place in this too.
“Don’t play innocent with me, Saphira. This isn’t your first time, so don’t pretend otherwise. Besides, we’re husband and wife now, so there’s nothing wrong with me finding out for myself whether what you said is true!”
“I don’t want this. You shouldn’t be touching me like this, let go of me. I already told you I’m not a virgin, so you don’t need to check anything!”
“Good. Then I won’t hesitate to enjoy a body that’s already been used, and you should know, I’m doing this because I still refuse to accept this ridiculous marriage!”
“Please, just let me go if you can’t accept this marriage!” She had to save herself from the man she’d only pretended to marry.
“Too late.” Dashiell claimed her mouth again, with no gentleness left in him at all.
He treated her roughly, convinced she deserved nothing less.
If Saphira could so easily enjoy herself with other men, he reasoned, then she could just as easily endure this with him.
“Stop, please stop!” Thea kept begging, but his desire had already overtaken him completely.
Her clothes were torn away without care.
Dashiell took what he wanted from her body, deaf to every plea she made.
He told himself it was nothing more than an act, Saphira’s desperate performance to make him stop.
He had no idea how much his cruelty was hurting her, not until their bodies finally came together and he felt something entirely unexpected.
He met resistance, real resistance, and he watched Thea cry out in pain the moment he pushed through it.
She wept beneath him, begging him to stop.
For a moment, he went utterly still.
What was happening?
He knew exactly what it felt like when a woman was a virgin, and what it felt like when she wasn’t, and there was no mistaking it now: the woman beneath him truly had been untouched.
Had the rumors about Saphira been nothing but lies all along?
He felt his certainty crumbling into confusion.
“It hurts, please, let me go!” None of this was supposed to happen.
She had never intended to give herself to him like this, and now she was left facing something she’d never wanted at all.
Thea wept, sobbing uncontrollably, mourning the innocence that had just been torn from her by her best friend’s husband.
Who was there left to blame?
“Don’t move so much, I’ll go slower.” As if that could undo any of it, how could she possibly stop what was already happening?
Dashiell moved slowly now.
Thea felt as though something inside her had shattered.
Why?
Why had everything come to this?
She never could have imagined that Saphira’s ruined reputation would become the very thing that trapped her in this nightmare, caught in a cruel game she should never have been part of.