Richard’s wife sat quietly at the breakfast table. She glanced toward him when he entered. "Don’t you kids have to head to school?"
Both children went silent. His son turned first.
"We were just leaving." He reached for his sister’s arm.
"But—"
"We’re leaving."
The girl caught the warning in her brother’s expression and stopped arguing. Naomi gave them a little wave.
"Have a good day."
"Bye, Aunt Naomi."
The children disappeared toward the front of the house.
"Is it done?"
Naomi swallowed. "Uh... I..." She rubbed her palms together. "I came to explain the situation."
His eyes narrowed. "What situation?"
Naomi took a breath. "I don’t have to get married anymore." She hurried on before she lost her nerve. "I mean, obviously I’m already married, technically, but that isn’t what I mean. Dorian doesn’t want the divorce immediately because of all the publicity. I’ll be able to pay back my father’s debts myself at the end of the six months."
"And how much will that total be?"
"Five hundred thousand dollars."
Maybe Richard would finally see that this solved everything. Five hundred thousand dollars was a ridiculous amount of money.
Surely enough to clear whatever remained of her father’s debts. For the first time in years, Naomi had walked into this house with an actual solution.
Richard gave a small chuckle. He looked at his wife. "She thinks..."
Another laugh escaped him.
"She..." Richard turned back toward her and his fist came with him.
Naomi barely saw it. Pain exploded across her face. Her head snapped violently to the side, and she stumbled from the force of the blow. Her ears rang. She tasted blood. She stared at the floor, too shocked even to speak.
Slowly, Naomi lifted a trembling hand toward her face. Across the room, Diana had gone pale.
"You think five hundred thousand dollars can pay your father’s debts?" Richard demanded.
Naomi stared up at him from the floor. "I have been paying for over ten years!" she shouted. "For over ten years, Uncle Richard. Every month. Every single month, money disappears and somehow the debt is still there." She pushed herself slightly upright. "So how much is it exactly?"
Richard answered with his foot. The kick caught her before she could protect herself. Naomi cried out and curled inward.
"Richard!" Diana yelled and shot up from the breakfast table.
"You stay out of this!" Richard snapped at his wife and turned back to Naomi. "You fucking cunt."
Naomi looked up at him, breathing hard.
"You will dissolve that marriage and marry into the Sterling family. Do you hear me?" His voice echoed strangely in her head.
Dissolve the marriage. Do exactly what he wanted.
Again.
Always.
"Why?"
Richard’s eyes narrowed. Naomi swallowed and forced the words out.
"Why do I have to?"
He took a step toward her.
"Why do I still have to marry him?" She could barely recognize her own voice.
It sounded shaky but the question was there now. She had asked it. And once it was out, she could not take it back.
"I can pay the debt myself."
Richard turned toward his wife with a bitter laugh. "You see how she repays me?" He gestured toward Naomi as if she were some ungrateful child. "Uhn? You see?" He stepped closer.
Naomi tried to move back. She wasn’t fast enough. Richard bent down and grabbed a fistful of her hair.
Pain ripped across her scalp. Naomi cried out as he dragged her upward. Naomi grabbed at his wrist.
"Let go of me!"
He hauled her onto her feet. Tears filled her eyes, partly from the pain and partly from the humiliation of standing there while he treated her like she was nothing. Richard leaned close. "Your father owed millions of dollars. He made bad investments. Millions. Do you understand me?"
"I have had to give up my finances to cover for it."
Naomi breathed through the pain.
"Now, if your slut of a mother hadn’t shot him in cold blood, he would be here to handle his stupidity, would he not?"
Whenever Richard wanted to hurt her badly enough, he reached for that story. Her mother had killed her father.
Her mother had gone to prison. Her mother had destroyed everything. Naomi had carried that shame for years because Richard had made sure she never forgot it. She looked at him. "Then let me take it off your hands. I am old enough now. I’m not a child anymore." She swallowed. "send it to me."
for the first time, she wondered why the idea bothered him so much.
"it’s my debt," she continued, "then let me handle it."
Richard shoved her. Naomi stumbled backward. Her shoulder hit first. Then the side of her face connected with the wall.
She gasped and nearly dropped to her knees again. Richard straightened his jacket.
"Fine. Since you are a big girl now. I will send the collectors your way."
Naomi’s heart stuttered. Richard picked up his keys.
"That’s one less thing for me to worry about."
Naomi remained against the wall, breathing carefully. Part of her wanted to call him back.
Collectors.
Who were these people? How much money did they want? What had she just done? For years, Richard had told her he was protecting her.
That without him, people would come after her. Now he was finally giving her exactly what she had asked for, and somehow it felt like another threat.
Richard opened the door and walked out of the house. Then Diana rushed toward the kitchen.
"Oh my God." She yanked open the freezer.
Naomi wiped at her face and looked down at her fingers.
Blood.
Diana grabbed a bag of ice and wrapped it quickly in a kitchen towel. "Come on," she said, hurrying back. "Come sit, Naomi."
Her eyes were already red from the tears. She pushed herself away from the wall and walked slowly toward the breakfast table.
Everything hurt.
But beneath all of it, one thought would not leave her alone. How could she have been paying for ten years and still owe millions?
Naomi lowered herself into the chair. Diana pulled another chair closer. She lifted the wrapped ice carefully. Naomi flinched when it touched her cheek.
"You know better than that, Naomi," Diana said softly.