*Check trigger warnings before reading!*
I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
"Look at her body! I would kill to have it," a woman told her friend dreamily as I passed them, and I resisted the strong urge to roll my eyes at her statement. I did not choose to have this bony body, but she did not need to know that. I just smiled at her and kept walking to the car waiting for me.
"Welcome back, Miss Amaryllis." My dad's driver opened the car for me, and I stepped inside after I thanked him. He was doing his job, and I appreciated his help. "Are you heading home now?" he asked, driving from my office building.
"Yes, Robert." He nodded, and I looked out the window at the skyscrapers and admired the architecture as we passed by them. Whoever thought of these shapes was a genius, and the people who helped build them were dedicated.
Look at that bridge between two buildings... how did they do that?
Suppose I could do Bunji there! That would be awesome.
But what if the rope snaps?
I guess that's why they don't do Bunji there.
It would be extremely dangerous but fun.
Oh, I need to plant my flowers in the garden today!
"Miss?" Robert called, waiting for me to step out of the car. I did not realize that we had arrived.
I smiled, grabbed my bag, and patted his shoulder. "Thank you. Say hi to the kids." I rushed to the entrance, hoping that no one was home, but of course, Murphy's law happened. I saw Mia sipping tea and eating cake while staring at the entrance from the kitchen.
So not creepy.
Do all stepmoms look so constipated all the time?
I guess not... just mine.
She needs to get her face checked...
Oh wait, she did.
That's why she looks like that.
"Here comes the anorexic bitch," Mia snarled, thinking she would get a reaction from me.
I smiled at her. "Lovely to see your fat face, Mia. I think you should cut on the sugar for a little while. You look like you're going to explode," I commented as I grabbed an apple. Mia was a beautiful thirty-five years old, and I loved getting under her skin.
I did not have anything against body fat; I loved it actually since I lacked it, but she was insufferable. To my defense, she hated my guts when she stepped inside the house, saying that I was annihilating all her sugar daddy's money.
I never got a taste of my dad's money unless it was for his benefit, but I was not complaining. I had a roof over my head and one meal a day to sustain me, so I was grateful enough to ignore her not-so-nice remarks.
Mia's face turned crimson red, and when she was about to lash out her insecurities at me, Dad walked through the front door. I ignored him, as I knew he had nothing positive to say to me, and walked to the garden to plant my flowers.
"Verena!" He followed me after a minute, looking angry as always. His smile outside the house deceived his supporters and investors, but I knew better.
I rolled my sleeves above my elbows and grabbed a shovel. "Yes?" I acknowledged his existence but did not give him my full attention. I got to work as he stared down at me.
He stomped his foot on a muddy spot, and I resisted the urge to laugh. "You fucking whore, that is no way to talk to your mom!" he yelled, chest raising out of anger. I simply chuckled at his words. I got used to them. It was not new.
He hated me, but I was indifferent toward him, which was worse than hate, in my opinion.
"Dad, be for real. She will never be my mom. I am twenty-five, she's thirty-five... do the math," I joked, feeling so happy. I did not let him ruin my day. My flowers were so alive and pretty, which was a good enough reason to be happy.
"Verena," he warned, but I shrugged him off. "Look at me when I speak!" I rolled my eyes yet looked at him so he could get his colorful speech out of his system for the day and leave me alone. "You're so worthless and stupid. All you do is smile when you're being insulted. Don't you have any self-respect to say something?" he asked, breaking the box I laid next to the flowers. It was a good thing I removed my angels from it. He did not value anything other than money.
I sighed and rubbed my dirty hands with my pants. "Whatever I say, you deflect. I learned my lesson not to argue with thick-headed people. Leave me be." At this point, I lost my smile and stared blankly at him.
People thought I was his precious treasure, but money and his reputation were his treasure. Being an alderman in New York with businesses to run made him colder behind closed curtains. Less human.
I was his biological daughter; I secretly did a DNA test once to make sure. However, he treated me worse than he treated homeless people. He was not kind to them, so imagine how he was with me. His verbal abuse was enough to thicken my skin over the years.
He was a narcissistic, egoistic robot, and I learned to tolerate his antics.
"Did you see Heath today?" he asked, defeated that he did not see tears. I stopped crying years ago and would not give him the pleasure of seeing me crumble under his abuse.
I almost gagged at the mention of that name and dug my shovel deeper into the ground. "No, and I hope I don't see him... like ever."
Dad scoffed. "He's your boyfriend. He has the right to see you whenever he wants," he reasoned and crossed his arms, already sweating under the sun. He was not used to standing outside for that long without his umbrella.
Queen crap, right?
"I might be his girlfriend, but he is not my boyfriend," I countered, getting irritated that he was disturbing my happy hour. Heath Hemlock was the boyfriend Dad chose for me to upgrade his social image. I did not get a say when the relationship was decided five years ago.
If you can't beat them, infuriate them... That was my motto with them.
"What bullshit is this? He is your boyfriend whether you accept it or not. He told me you haven't let him kiss you. Five years. You've been together for five years. Verena, if you don't let him, I swear-"
"You swear what? Hit me? Nothing can be worse than your daily dose of serotonin for me. Cut the crap, and don't get your nose into my business more than that. Heath is my escort outside the house for the cameras, but I'll never willingly touch him." I grabbed the last flower and decided to plant it near the swing, far from Dad's reach, because he never climbed the hill, which was perfect for me.
I removed my heels and climbed the hill with the box and other materials. I glanced back at him, but he was nowhere in sight. "Finally!" I prepared the ground for my beautiful angel and planted it. "You will grow up and be the prettiest of them all," I whispered and laid on my back, forgetting that my back was not in the right state to do that. I winced when the rocks hit my back and wanted to curse, but I decided that Heath was not worth it.
He whipped me last week, as per usual.
Heath's physical abuse started right after we were declared a couple to the public. I refused his advances every time he tried to touch me inappropriately, so he thought that whipping me with his belt would make me cave in and give up my innocence.
Five years later, he still had not succeeded.
He gets his pleasure by hitting me, I suppose.
I tried to tell Dad once, but he dismissed me before I could say anything, so I gave up and took in all the beatings. If it gave him the sexual release he so desperately wanted from me, so be it. He knew I would ruin his reputation if he raped me.
I could still expose him for the abuse, but I decided to wait for the perfect moment to do something.
Later that night, I made my move.
~~~
10.11.2023
Hello :)
This is my newest book. What do you think of the first chapter?
As stated before, I will update once a week, mostly on Fridays.
Stay tuned, and I hope you enjoy!