“And if I say no?”
William raises a bushy eyebrow, as if he knows I’d never dare.
“If you said no, you’d be a very foolish girl. I’ll ruin your meat-headed boyfriend, then I’ll ruin you. And don’t for one minute think that at least you’d have each other… because after I’m finished with him, he’ll never want you. Not ever. Do you think he’d really want someone who willingly entered into an incestuous affair with her very own uncle and enjoyed it so much?”
Bile rises into my throat as he pulls out a pack of pictures and shoves them across the table.
It’s me. Giving my own uncle a blow job.
From the angle of the camera, you can’t see that my hands are bound behind my back. All you can see is the tattoo on my shoulder, a unique identifier. The twisted anchor, the words. Fluctuat nec mergitur. It’s most definitely me.
And it’s most definitely my uncle. His wrinkled hand is on the back of my head, forcing me to take more of him in my throat… and his very unique signet ring is on his finger.
My uncle smiles pleasantly as he tucks the pictures back in his pocket.
“There’s more. There are many of you fucking me, you little whore,” he tells me, each word icy. “And I don’t care if it gets out… you were of legal age and if anyone questions me, I’ll simply say that you’re a wanton whore who pursued me for years and in a moment of drunkenness, I gave in to you. If you look at the pictures, it certainly appears that you’re enjoying yourself.”
I wasn’t.
I wasn’t enjoying myself. I was trying to get through it, to not die on the inside.
But he’s right. You can’t see that on the pictures. In the pictures, my make-up looks smeared from passion, not from tears. You can’t see how my hands are bound, you can’t see the lash-marks from my uncle’s whip.
You can’t see any of it… except for a girl having sex with her own uncle.
William stares at me, very sure that I’ll be compliant. “Even if Brand still wanted you somehow after I ruin him,” he says calmly. “He’ll never want you after he sees what a fucked up slut you are.”
Reality crashes down around me, ugly and hot.
No one in their right mind would want me after seeing those pictures.
No matter how I look at it, I’ll lose Brand.
But I can’t let Bran
d lose everything… not because of me. He’s worked too hard to forget his own ugly past. It wouldn’t be fair if he lost everything now.
“You have until midnight tomorrow night to leave that cottage,” my uncle says pleasantly. “I’ll meet you at your apartment in California. I know you kept it, even after your father said to let it go. It doesn’t matter. It’ll come in handy for us. We’ll put it to good use until our flight leaves from LAX for Abu Dhabi.”
I can’t control my vomit.
I lean to the side and heave, over and over. I empty my stomach, then stand up again, wiping my mouth with my hand.
“I see we have an understanding,” William nods. “Good. I’ll see you in California, my dear.”
He turns and starts to leave, but I stop him.
“What kind of monster are you?” I whisper. “I’m your flesh and blood. You held me when I was a baby. You’re the criminal, not Brand.”
William actually laughs, but it’s hardened and ugly. “Nora, you and I both know you tried to seduce me from the time you were small. Those bathing suits you used to wear… you always made a point of walking away from me in a way that showed off your tight little ass.”
Bile bubbles up again. “My ass was little because I was a child,” I spit. “I never tried to seduce you. You’re a sick fuck who preys on children.”
William stares at me innocently. “I have never preyed on children,” he defends himself. “I didn’t have my way with you until you were an adult, my dear. That’s not a crime.”
“No, but it’s an abomination,” I tell him, all the while fighting the nausea again.
“To each their own,” William says easily. “You have until midnight tomorrow night to leave for California. Don’t be late.”