When I was little my mother used to sing to me all the time, but that was all before she got addicted. It was fun times—those I could remember. We were close but then she met a man and he changed everything. I went from enjoying dinner with her at the dining room table to eating alone in my room. She didn't tuck me in anymore because she was barely home. I had to learn how to do things on my own. Every day that passed she lost more of herself.

One man after another. One worse than the last. I hated them all.

I waited until I was old enough to leave and I never looked back. I never tried to remember the good times, until now. Until here.

I was still tied to the chair in the darkness. It was hard to tell how much time had passed. It could've only been a few minutes, or hours, or days. Maybe even months. The man with the foul breath brought me food and water twice. He watched me while I ate and the moment I was done, he'd tie my hands again and left me alone. My bladder was killing me but when I asked to use the toilet, he'd told me to: 'Piss my pants.'

The longer I stayed in the room the more I realized a few things.

One was the fact that I was more like Avery than I realized and the second was the fact that I was no better than her. She played both brothers—made them think that she loved them but in the end she probably only wanted one.

Truth was that I loved both men. I wanted them both, but I could only have one and the one I could have was being hurt by me because I couldn't stay away from the one I couldn't have. I was hurting Silas more than Avery had hurt him.

Ethan was hurting too, but for a whole other reason. He chose to mate Avery after she killed his child and created a wedge between the two brothers.

Tears filled my eyes when I realized that I was doing the exact same thing. Having phone sex with Ethan might have been the last straw for Silas. He probably hated me as much as he hated Avery. The way I reacted when I found out about them. . .I winced. When Ethan told me that the baby wasn't Silas's, I should've gone to talk to him. Instead I stayed with Ethan.

If Silas decided to walk away it was my own fault.

When I got out of here, I needed to make things right. No matter how hard it would be to stay away from Ethan, I'll try my best.

Silas was my future and I needed to set things right before I lost him for good.

***

My body jerked when a loud bang echoed around the room. I slowly opened my eyes and blinked rapidly at the sudden light that was directed right at me. I couldn't see a thing beyond the light but I knew I wasn't alone in the room any longer. Eyes were burning into me but I couldn't see them.

Movement had my head snapping to the left.

Dread flooded me when a familiar laugh suddenly filled my ears. I would recognize it from anywhere. The laugh belonged to the man who had made me run. It belonged to my tormentor. A man worse than the devil himself.

"My little girl," he muttered. "How much you have grown. Look at you!"

He stepped in front of me, blocking the bright light. I still couldn't see him clearly but I could tell that the years hadn't been good for him. He had aged and grown a beer belly. I bet he'd have a lot of grey hair and wrinkles now.

"Who's the lucky bastard who got to stick his dick in that—?"

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

I recognized his voice as the man who'd had kidnapped me. It's been a while since I've seen or heard from him. He stormed up to the man in front of me and pushed him away.

"I asked you a question! What are you doing here?"

"I was searching for the bathroom," he lied. "I heard her screaming so I came to investigate."

Liar, liar pants on fire. They both turned to face me. I was thirsty and hungry. Somehow I dozed off. When was the last time the man came to feed me? Licking my lips, I shifted as much as I could while being tied to the chair. Colour flooded my cheeks when I felt the dampness of my pants. Now I knew why my bladder wasn't about to burst any longer.

I peed my pants. This was so embarrassing! At least nobody was here to witness it.

"What are you doing with her?"

"It's none of your business."

"I'll buy her from you."

My heartbeat increased. It would be my worst nightmare coming true. He wouldn't care about my baby. He'd kill it as soon as he or she was born. I've already lost Silas; I wasn't going to lose my baby.

"N-No!"

The men ignored me.

"I'm already getting a lot more for her than you would be able to pay."

"I'll double it."

The man scoffed. "Where will you get twelve million?"

He chuckled. "Come, let's go talk business."

"Don't do it!" I yelled. "Silas will pay you anything you want."

I hoped he was still willing to pay for me. When they left, the lights were left on. He made sure to close and lock the door behind them. I couldn't hear anything outside of the room—not with the door closed. It was back to sitting in silence. At least it wasn't dark.

***

"There," he muttered as he pushed the door open. "This should be a little more comfortable."

It was better than being tied to a chair, but not much cleaner. A small thin mattress lay on the floor close to a wall that had chipped paint and cracks all over. It smelt, badly. Maybe the chair was better than being locked in a smelly room with no windows.

"Do you like it?"

I glanced over at him. He was smiling brightly and looked quite happy. I hesitated. He's been nice so far, but what if I angered him and he decided to hurt me. My mother had dated a lot of men like that. I was no stranger to them being happy one minute and murderous the next.

"You don't like it." His smile dropped. "Silas said it'll take him a few hours to get the money so I just thought to make you a little more comfortable."

Hope flared. "You spoke to Silas?"

He nodded. "He called me like the note instructed. Once he brings me my money, he can have you."

"Thank you." What else was there to say? The man was talkative, but for how long? "Do you maybe have a room that doesn't smell?"

His brows dipped. I raised my hand and pressed it to my stomach.

"The smell won't be good for the baby."

His eyes instantly dropped to my stomach. I forced myself to stay still when he moved. He placed his hands on my stomach and smiled. I hated having him this close and touching me. It scared me to have him this close to my baby. What if he decided to push me? One fall and I could have a miscarriage.

"The other man—he wanted to give me fifteen million for you." His eyes darted up to mine. "He said he had planned to kidnap you, but I got you before him. Your mother owes him money from what I could understand. He wants you to work for him."

"Work for him?"

He stepped back and turned. "Follow me. I'll take you upstairs to a nice bedroom. Don't try running! I don't want to harm you but I will if you make me."

"I won't try anything."

He had one of his men blindfold me before he led me towards an elevator. My stomach dropped when it started moving. When it stopped, someone grabbed my arm and led me forward. Doors opened and closed before we climbed a set of stairs. A few more steps and I was told to stop.

I listened carefully when they started speaking. Their voices were muffled which made it impossible to understand a thing.

"Move forward."

Nobody gripped my arms to guide me. I held my hands out in front of me as I took small steps forward.

"Stop!"

My body jerked to a stop.

"When the door's closed you can take off your blindfold. Don't think about screaming or breaking the window. We'll hear you and nobody can help you if you're dead."

The door closed a moment later. I listened as the lock slid into place and then reached up to pull the blindfold off. Well this room was much better than the other one. Not only was it clean, but it had an actual bed and a bathroom. All I had to do was wait a few more hours then I'd be home.

I'd be able to fix the mess I made.