hapter 10 What Have I Done to Deserve This?
I struggled desperately, calling out for help as despair began to consume me.
“Enough!” Marcus finally intervened, pushing Lance away.
I knew he detested others touching his possessions, though he did not truly care for me.
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He treated me as if I were a worthless possession of his, and in response, I found myself on the floor, a pitiful figure, tightly clutching at my clothes.
Marcus, losing interest, regarded me with a cold look and commanded everyone else to leave.
Feeling the heat of Marcus’s wrath, Lance and the others hastily exited, leaving just the two of us in the room.
Marcus stood up
and kicked me in disgust. I heard you went to see Nicholas today. Are you that desperate? Rushing to offer yourself to him, letting him take advantage of you?” he hurled the words at me venomously.
Nicholas Wheeler, a senior from my university, had been pursuing me persistently.
I went to see Nicholas that day because he was about to leave to study abroad.
That day, he had talked about securing a place for me to study abroad, encouraging me to think it over. Even though my feelings for him were not strong, he valued my talent and was prepared to wait for me in Maldoria.
His offer moved me.
I knew Marcus did not love me, nor would he ever marry me.
I told him I would think it over because, at that time, I was still clinging to the faint hope that my years of devotion might eventually win me a bit of affection from Marcus.
Yet, that night, any remaining hope I had was crushed, driving me to utter despair and firming my resolve to leave.
“Madeline, has he touched you?” Marcus, in a drunken and erratic state, demanded an answer.
Clinging tightly to myself, I stayed silent.
“I’m asking you a question!” he yelled, his fury manifesting as he kicked the coffee table violently and glared at me with intense anger.
Shaken, tears began streaming down my face as I shook my head.
“I’m warning you, Madeline, you will not see him again. Do you understand?” His grip tightened on my hair as he warned against further contact with other men
I nodded quickly, fear evident in my eyes, but he was not finished yet.
He scrutinized me with revulsion, his eyes brimming with contempt.
“Marcus, I never asked your mother to arrange our marriage. She brought up our engagement herself. She asked me…“I stammered, the fear intensifying as I met his hostile gaze.
Desperately, I tried to explain.
My shirt, torn open by Lance, hung loosely, adding to my disheveled appearance.
Soaked and looking miserably cheap, I felt utterly exposed.
His rage appeared to deepen as he grabbed a bottle of wine, dousing me with it. “You’re disgusting. Co clean yourself up.”
With my eyes closed, I let him mistreat me, convincing myself that I somehow owed him this degradation.
Tonight, I would settle this supposed debt.
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Chapter 10 What Have I Done to Deserve This?
Tomorrow, I plan to apply for the study abroad opportunity.
I was determined to leave.
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I hoped that enduring this mistreatment would somehow lead him to let me go, but he seemed possessed by some darker impulse, seizing my chin and kissing me forcefully.
I had thought I would repulse him, yet each time he demeaned me, he only continued his torment.
In the privacy of the club’s room, he touched me without regard for my feelings.
“Marcus, please, can we
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home?”
I pleaded desperately, but my plea fell on deaf ears.
As the waiter opened the door, I shrank back into Marcus’s arms, overwhelmed by fear and humiliation.
Feeling dirty, cheap, and utterly degraded, I was at a loss.
“Get out!” Marcus barked furiously.
The waiter quickly shut the door in horror.
Yet, I could not erase from my mind how the waiter looked at me. He was looking at me as if I were nothing more than a cheap prostitute.
“Marcus!” I cried out, my hand striking him across the face. “Why are you treating me like this? What have I done to deserve
this?
“What have you done? Bella is still in the hospital because of you, and you dare to say you’ve done nothing wrong! You might as well be dead, Madeline!” He snapped, seizing my chin roughly as he accused me.
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