“I’ll speak to you later, sir.”

My father nods to me, and then leaves.

That’s it? That’s all he has to say?

My heart breaks a little more.

~*~*~*~

Grunt, grunt, grunt.

I close my eyes, hating that I hate this—but I do. I hate it.

Jacob is inside me, thrusting hard and fast, with no care whatsoever. This is what our sex life is like. He fucks me; he doesn’t make love. And even then it’s not the kind of fucking you dream about. It’s emotionless and cold, and it feels awful. I’ve no doubt Jacob could be a good lover if he actually thought of anyone but himself. It’s not how it works, though. He only cares about getting off and going to sleep.

“Avery,” he grunts. “Are you close?”

Not at all.

“Yes,” I lie.

“I’m going to . . .”

He lets off a ragged, long groan and release himself inside me. I close my eyes, trying to tell myself it’s okay. This is how it’s meant to be. No one ever has sex like the romance books. They don’t. No man ever cares that much.

Jacob rolls off me and slips out of the bed to dispose of the condom. When he’s done, he returns with pajama bottoms on and slips back in. He lies beside me, not holding me, not stroking my hair or telling me how much he loves me. He hasn’t once, not once, asked how I’m dealing with today.

That’s because he doesn’t love me.

I’m just a part of his big plan.

CHAPTER 12

AVERY

I lift a pre-packaged dinner, stare at it, then throw it back before staring around the store. Jacob is out of town, again, with work and I’m alone. I’ve decided to make myself dinner and maybe watch some movies, but I can’t think of anything to have. Sighing, I find some chocolate and throw that into my trolley.

“I thought dancer didn’t eat chocolate,” A voice says from behind me, and I smile.

I turn and see Nate and Macy. Nate is smiling at me, god damn that smile.

“I eat chocolate when no one is watching,” I say, grinning.

“Daddy and me are getting chocolate, too, Avie,” Macy says, smiling up at me.

“That’s good, honey,” I say, ruffling her hair.

“So, how’d you go with your dad the other day?” Nate asks, leaning against his cart and watching me.

I shrug. “He lectured me and then went home.”

Nate frowns. “Charmer.”

“You could say that,” I snort.

“So you’re buying chocolate...because...”

I shrug again. “Jacob is out of town and I’m bored.”

“You could come and watch Frozen with us, Lena is out of town too and we’re having a movie night.”

“Oh, I don’t think I should go to your house,” I say.

He stares at me, his eyes scanning my face. “We’ll come to yours then.”

I jerk my head up. “To watch movies?”

“Yeah.”

“With me?”

“No, with the dog.”

I laugh nervously. “Okay, sure, I mean...yeah.”

He chuckles softly and turns to Macy. “How would you like that, shorty? You want to go to Avie’s?”

“Oh yeah!” she squeals jumping up and down.

“Let’s go pick some real chocolate then,” he laughs, looking down at the contents in my cart.

“What’s wrong with my chocolate?” I pout, abandoning my cart to follow him.

“It’s awful and cheap.”

“It is not cheap,” I gasp. “Watch your mouth.”

He laughs loudly and we continue walking. We get some chocolate and candy, then turn to head out.

“Oh look,” Nate says as we go past the women’s clothing section. “Granny panties.”

I turn to him, rolling my eyes as he plucks a pair off the shelf. “Are these your size?”

I notice out of the corner of my eye that two older women are staring at him in shock. With a grin, I turn to face him fully and my mouth drops open. I force my bottom lip to quiver. “I’ve been trying,” I wail. “You told me I’d lost enough weight, that you loved me as I was.”

His face pales and his mouth drops open. “What?”

“How could you?” I cry, turning away from him.

The older women pass us and they shoot him some serious glares. I hear the word “Pig” muttered as they disappear. Nate turns to me, a murderous but playful expression on his face. “Oh you’ll pay for that.”

I laugh loudly and take Macy’s hand, rushing off. “Come on honey, let’s go.”

I hear his laughter behind me and I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

~*~*~*~

“Oh god, this movie,” I groan, covering my ears.

Nate leans in closer. “Let it go, let it go!”

“I’ll beat you, Nate,” I snap, glaring at him.

He grins and turns to Macy, who is asleep on the couch. She never made it through.

“Can I put her in your bed for a while?”

“Sure,” I say, standing.

He stands beside me and leans down, scooping her into his arms and carrying her down the hall after me. We lay her in the bed and I get an extra blanket to place over her. She shifts and groans slightly, but drops right off to sleep. We both sneak out.

“Do you want a drink?” I ask, walking into the kitchen.

“Sure,” he says, leaning against the counter.