A Billionaire's Mistake

30|Rough

Chapter Thirty: Rough

Lincoln

I set her down on the bed and grab her one of my t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants to change into. The clothing engulfs her, and if this were under better circumstances I'd tell her how beautiful she looked in my clothes, but instead, I go into the kitchen to make the cocoa, carrying two hot and steamy mugs back into the bedroom a few minutes later. When I pass one over to her, she sends me a grateful smile as I crawl into bed and sit cross-legged opposite of her.

She circles the rim of her mug with her fingertips, taking a few sips before she says, "I get uncomfortable talking about what happened."

"You don't have to tell me. I'm not expecting you to, but if you need someone to talk to about it then I want you to know that I'll be honored if it's me."

She nods and stares down into her mug, pursing her lips before she finally lets out a sigh. "When I was in high school, back in LA, I met this guy in a youth group at church. My parents were really religious, or are, I should say, and I remember being so scared to even talk to a boy, but he was persistent. It was like he was infatuated with me, and couldn't even keep his eyes off of me. At the time, I thought that was romantic, but later I realized...it was dangerous that he was so into me.

"He called my dad and asked for permission to take me on a date, and I thought that was the sweetest thing. We went bowling, and he was so attentive, so considerate, and so...perfect. It was almost too good to be true."

My body is already prickling with an absolute fury that someone had the nerve to make her feel like that and break her down at the same time. I'm trying to keep my rage under control, but I'm clutching my mug of cocoa with so much force that my knuckles are white.

"Six months into our relationship he was pressuring me about sex. He'd get frustrated when I wouldn't go further than third base, but I had promised my parents that I'd wait until marriage. I had a purity ring, I mean hell, I was only fifteen. His dad was the pastor of the church for crying out loud, so I never understood why sex wasn't more meaningful to him. I assumed his parents brought him up to understand it was a sacred thing, you know? Maybe that's why I stayed and kept giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking he'd change."

I'm not able to let her talk about this any longer without holding her in my arms. I lean over to set my cup of cocoa on the side table and tug her into my lap. She smiles softly and rests her head on my shoulder before she continues.

"The summer after I had turned sixteen, he asked me to come over to his house. His parents were off on a trip of some sort, so he had the place to himself. We were making out, and he was on top of me, and he tried to put his hands in my pants, but I...I told him to stop. I didn't want it to continue, but he—" She chokes out a sob but somehow finds the strength to keep talking. "He pressed me down into the mattress and I remember not being able to breathe. I tried to pry him off of me, but he was too strong, and he wouldn't let me move, and the weight of his body was suffocating. There are nights when I'll still wake up with that feeling. Like a ton of bricks is on my chest."

The nightmare. I clear my throat to try and keep my emotions at bay, placing a kiss on the top of her head to try and give her the reassurance to continue.

"Sienna..." I wipe away a tear that's fallen onto my cheek, not quite sure if I'm able to hear the rest of her story. I want to be here for her though, so I let out a deep breath and run my fingertips up and down her back, sending her the courage to finish.

"When it was done, he told me I'd never belong to anyone else, and when I got home, I was so shaken up. Visible bite marks were all over my body, and I collapsed in the foyer of my house right in front of my parents, sobbing uncontrollably. I begged them to take me to the police, to let them know what he had done to me and file some sort of report, but my parents wanted to keep it under wraps. His father was the pastor of the church, and my parents told me no one would believe me if I tried to report it. They cared more about our family's reputation than me and I—" She loses it now, letting her tears flow on my bare chest.