Chapter 1
Katie
The sudden bang on the other side of the room woke me.
“I shouldn't have slept over at his place,” I muttered to myself, still half asleep.
“Caleb, wake the fuck up. What's all that noise about?”
I reached over to tap the certain someone sleeping beside me, only to be greeted by nothing but cold sheets. I was now fully awake.
“Caleb, where are you?”
I looked around the room but couldn't find him. He had just wished me a happy birthday, and we'd eaten cake a few hours ago. I remembered saying I was sleepy, so we both decided to head to bed. But where could he be?
I stepped out of the bedroom and headed straight for the kitchen.
“Could he be planning another surprise for me and doesn't want me to know about it?” I thought, smiling foolishly.
My handsome boyfriend, Caleb, was always so thoughtful and caring.
I was about to enter the kitchen when I suddenly heard strange noises coming from the living room. It sounded like two people making out, but I refused to believe what I was hearing. Caleb couldn't be cheating on me, at least not on my birthday.
No. It couldn't be.
He would never do that to me, right?
I pushed the living room door open slightly, only to find a woman on top of Caleb. Both of them were naked, and her moans filled the room.
No. Not my Caleb.
He was my only escape from reality, the only person I could run to whenever things got really bad at home.
Tears filled my eyes as I watched them. He seemed to be enjoying it too. I watched as the woman's eyes rolled back while he gripped her waist.
I couldn't bear the pain anymore, so I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed his car keys after leaving a note that read, “I hope you're happy with your new fling. Don't expect your car back. Fuck you.”
I hurried into the BMW and drove off, heartbroken, but I refused to cry.
I'm a strong girl.
I walked into my parents' house, trying to hide the pain on my face, but my stomach churned with unease.
My mom was sitting by the front door looking devastated, and my dad was pacing back and forth, rubbing his bald head aggressively. He only did that when he was in deep trouble.
Why was everyone looking so worried this early in the morning?
I checked the time again to make sure I had read it correctly. It was just 6:30 a.m.
“Mom, what's going on?”
My mom jumped, startled. She hadn't noticed me come in, which was unlike her. She looked at me, burst into tears, stood up, and hugged me tightly.
“Happy birthday, Katie. I'm going to miss you. Please enjoy your new home,” she whispered.
“Dad, what's wrong with Mom? What's going on? I'm worried.”
My dad stopped pacing for a moment, stared at me, then resumed pacing.
“There's no time left. He's going to be here any minute, Katie,” my dad said in an agitated voice.
“Who's going to be here? What's going on?”
My mom burst into tears again.
“Okay, Katie, honey, your dad did something really bad,” she said between sobs.
“Let me guess. He's owing someone money again?”
She nodded.
“How much this time?”
I sighed. I guessed I'd have to work my ass off again to pay off Dad's debts.
“The amount was too much to repay, so he offered you as payment instead.”
He used me as what?
My biological father used me as payment?
I stood there in shock. I couldn't speak, move, or even blink. I simply stared at my dad with pure hatred.
For years, I endured the beatings whenever he came home high, smelling of weed. I endured the insults, the abuse, and the violence. Every day, his addiction grew worse. Mom and I took him to rehab, but nothing changed.
I've worked my ass off at a local bar downtown while my mom worked for a small company that treated her like shit. We did everything we could to keep the family together, to cover my dad's shame, and to hide the fact that his respectable public image was a lie. His company had fallen into massive debt because of his addiction.
But selling his daughter to another man was the final straw.
I tried so hard to love him, to see the good in him, and to convince myself I didn't hate him.
But that was a lie. A big fucking lie.
He doesn't care about me and never will.
“I hate you, and I promise I'll expose you. You know exactly what I mean, Adam Williams.”
One thing I knew for sure was that my dad hated seeing his perfect public image crack, even a little. I was going to enjoy breaking it apart piece by piece.
“Now listen to me, Katie. Don't you dare try anything stupid. It's not my fault I'm addicted. Blame your mother instead. She's the reason I slept with another woman that night, the woman who introduced me to the shit I'm addicted to now. She couldn't satisfy me, so I looked elsewhere.”
How could my dad be so pathetic?
A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.
I opened it to see a man dressed in a black tuxedo staring down at me.
I shivered slightly.
“Mr. Williams, Mr. Aalir is waiting.”
I looked at the time on my phone again. 7:00 a.m.
