Chapter 15: Respect

Long after Larissa was gone, I stood there, tears filling my eyes. I clenched my fists, my lips parting, my body going cold. I hated that woman for every single word that came out of her mouth. For everything she did to me. And for how much she reminded me of my own mother. Maybe it wasn't her fault that she reminded me of the worst person in my life, but she did.

I slowly sank to the floor, my chest clenching with familiar pain. The sort of pain I got every time I remembered that dreadful night four years ago. Everything my mother had said. Everything that man had done to me. The gore. The blood. The screams. The way I had to forget about myself and take my father to the hospital...

I closed my eyes tight, my chest heaving with a need for air, my body trembling. The tears started to run down my cheeks fast, and I fell back, my hand falling straight into the cupcake mess on the floor.

I couldn't quite care, however, as I sat there, my knees brought to me, my lips quivering hard, my hand lightly going to my hair.

I started to slowly tug at the strands, my chest heaving, my lips parting. The pain shot through me, and I wished it could grow painful enough to numb the one inside. Grow painful enough to kill me completely inside so I wouldn't feel much more.

"Annalise?"

I blinked, the tears now wetting my lips, my chest heaving. I couldn't feel or hear much, and everything seemed to blur in front of my eyes.

"Annalise."

I couldn't reply. I didn't have the strength to. The tears were running even faster now, and my body was hardly keeping its composure, my heart crushing again and again.

Suddenly, a pair of hands cupped my face, and I swallowed, drifting between anger and helplessness.

"Annalise. What happened to you?"

Sin's voice was much clearer now, his eyes wide as he took me in. Maybe if I felt better, I would wonder if he was worried for me. Right now, I cared for nothing.

"Shit," he cursed, then moved, pulling me into his arms.

I swallowed as he lifted me to the bed, then let me rest on it, his eyes taking me in. I moved slowly, my hand coming to my chest.

He held my hand back, his grip tight. "Where are you going?"

I turned back, yanking my hand away from him so his fingers tore into my flesh, drawing blood. His eyes darkened, and he met my eyes, his brows furrowed.

"Let me go," I said through clenched teeth, then slowly walked towards the bathroom. I went into the shower cubicle, my hand wrapped around me. I reached for the switch and turned it on, then stayed under it, my eyes wide open, my lips parted.

I could see the images form behind my eyes. The way everything had unfolded, and the night I had lost everything. I slowly went down, my hand clasped over my mouth so my yells were muffled, my eyes closing as I tried to keep the tears away.

My chest heaved hard, and I could hear my own helpless whimpers, my father's yells. I didn't deserve that. Neither had my father.

But he died. And I ended up... violated. Wronged.

The cubicle suddenly opened, and I looked up. Sin had gotten into the shower, his eyes thin as he watched me. I felt my lips quivering hard as he slowly leaned to my height, his eyes taking me in.

They were cold, expressionless. I could only wonder about the sort of betrayal he had felt to feel absolutely nothing, and I hoped to reach there. So this wouldn't haunt me anymore. So this wouldn't break me anymore.

Slowly, he pulled me to his body, my head resting on his shoulder, his hand wrapped around me, his scent filling me up.

"What are you doing?"

The water pelted down on us, and it was the only other sound apart from the whimpers I tried to suppress.

"Cry," Sin said, his hand tightening around me. "Then tell me who the fuck did this to you."

I moved, my eyes meeting his. "What is it to you? I am just one of those trashy humans you can use and dump. That's how you see me. You think you can step over me and make me do your dirty work, while your dirty little bitch comes around. You think I am one of those whores you can use to distract yourself till your wife decides to come back to you."

His eyes darted across both of mine. "Is that what she told you?"

"Let me go."

His grip tightened around me, and he brought me closer, his breath fanning my skin. I met his eyes, and my chest heaved with the awareness of the proximity between us.

"I may look at you however I wish to, Annalise. It doesn't matter. But on paper, you are my wife, and you are going to get the same sort of respect that a woman who met me at the altar will get."

I took his expression in. He didn't look like he was bluffing or joking, or worse, trying to calm me down. He looked completely serious, his eyes thick with a rage that I believe reflected off my own.

He turned off the shower, his hand grabbing my wrist.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't reply as he pulled me up, then dragged me out of the cubicle. We were both dripping wet, my hair clinging to my neck, and his falling into his eyes.

I saw him as he grabbed his gun and, without stopping, pulled me out the door. I gasped as we went down, and we walked through the large hallways and the stairs.

People stared, but Sin neither stopped nor seemed to care. We got to a massive door, and it immediately opened. Sin pulled me into the massive hall that seemed like it was being decorated for something.

My eyes caught Larissa and her husband standing with a few other well-dressed people. Larissa had changed, and she wore an elegant smile.

Sin walked seamlessly through and only stopped, right behind the couple.

"Aldo," Sin said, as he adjusted the gun in his hand.

Aldo turned, and he immediately started to say something, but Sin was faster. He brought the gun to Aldo's forehead, his eyes thin.

"What the fuck did I tell you about taming your woman?"