Declan

Chapter Sixteen

 Lexi~

As much as she hated to admit it, Asher had nearly succeeded. She definitely felt broken and was unsure of how much fight she had left in her as she sat in the booth at Spades. He had been just as awful as he had promised all evening at the hotel.

As soon as he had her behind closed doors he immediately tried to force himself on her. She pushed him off and slapped him across the face as he attempted to force his tongue down her throat. It was an action that had earned her what felt like broken ribs.

The worst part was Asher was calculated with his abuse. He only struck her in places that her dress would cover and chose the long sleeved option to hide the multiple handprints he had left behind.

He spent most of the evening trying to force himself on her, but she fought him every step of the way. Her whole body ached from the way he grabbed and scratched at her flesh in an effort to restrain her.

After three hours she was exhausted but had been successful in her fight to keep him from taking her against her will. 

He finally seemed to lose interest in the battle and allowed her to drag her bruised and bloodied body into the shower to clean up. As soon as she looked to survey the damage to her body, she wished she hadn't. 

Her flesh was red and angry and she had claw marks covering her breasts and inner thighs. She could only see one of the bloodied bite marks he had given her but she knew there was at least one more. 

Bruises had started to appear in various places and her ribs were already turning purple. 

She dabbed away dried blood from a deep cut on her hip where he attempted to cut away her panties with his blade, but had sliced into her skin instead. 

How much longer could she keep this up? 

Sobbing in the shower from a mixture of pain and despair, she didn't know if she could go many more rounds with Asher. She hoped that some part of him was just as exhausted as she was, but she knew that wasn't true. He had loved every second of hurting her. Every scream, every moan, every tear brought him disgusting satisfaction. He smiled and taunted her, even laughed at her as she cried. He was an absolute monster and she feared he was nowhere near finished with her.

He left her untouched as she did her make up and hair wanting her to look perfect, but she could barely move when it was time to go to Spades. Asher angrily helped steady her and took most of her weight as they walked through the lobby before throwing her into one of Diego's town cars.

Seeing Declan at Spades brought her so much joy she thought her chest would explode, but she couldn't show it. She couldn't reveal the truth. Unfortunately the joy she felt quickly dissolved when she saw how pained Declan was. His voice was stern and steady as he spoke to Asher but his eyes were sorrowful and desperate.

Hurting Declan felt worse than any beating Asher could dish out and she pleaded with her eyes for Declan to forgive her. 

As much as it pained her she understood why Declan acted the way he did, but that didn't mean it hurt any less to see another woman's hands on him. She couldn't stop the tears as they fell down her cheeks at the pain on Declan's face and gave him a silent nod as acknowledgement. 

You can hurt me if you need to Declan. I'm so sorry.

Asher didn't let her anguish go to waste and took great pleasure in amplifying her pain once he saw her tears.

He forced her to watch while he whispered how utterly worthless she was. "Look how much he likes that. How much better she is. You are nothing Lexi" he hissed into her ear as her world crumbled around her.

As soon as Declan was out of sight she wanted to give up. All the fight in her felt like it left when Declan had and the hurt she felt seeped deep down into her bones.

Knowing what Asher had in store for her when they returned to the hotel gave Lexi motivation to save her strength. So She shut down and retreated to the farthest, safest place in her mind and stayed there until the sound of Declan's voice pulled her to reality. 

He was passing by Asher's friends and approaching the table with fire in his eyes.

"So this is really what you want?" he snapped as he stood in front of Lexi.

He was angry, wanting answers that he deserved but she couldn't give him.

"Yes," she said from her seat at the booth.

"I just needed to hear you say it."  

His heartbroken eyes pleaded for answers. 

Fearing that this was her last chance she made a bold decision and prayed it wouldn't cost either of them their life. She jumped out of the booth and turned to face Declan but immediately felt the cold metal of Asher's gun against her thigh, hidden by the seat of the booth.

"Let me explain," she pleaded as she reached out to touch his arm. He flinched under her touch attempting to pull away again but she tightened her grip to stop his movement.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

The cold metal dug further into hip as she spoke.

"But I want to be with Asher. He's the reason I get up in the morning. Since I've been on this trip I can't eat, I can't even sleep because of him. He's the one I choose and I hope you understand." 

She pleaded with her eyes, willing him to understand.

Please understand Declan. Please see me.

"Oh I understand perfectly," he bit out as he wrenched his arm out of her hold and turned to leave, bumping into Diego's men on his way down the steps and out of sight.

Lexi sunk back down into the booth next to Asher completely and utterly defeated. The blow she had just delivered to Declan was a knockout punch and she knew he wouldn't be back. I can't do this alone. Declan I need you. 

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