The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
[Book 2] Chapter 22

Trigger warning. This chapter may prove upsetting to some readers. Please do not read if this may trigger you. Lorelai POV

I wake up with a throbbing headache and pain shooting throughout my body as I climb out of bed and head to the bathroom, feeling grateful to see that the other side of the bed is empty and that Jackson has left for work already without waking me and prompting me to make him breakfast. I ache all over. I barely have the stamina to shower and dress before I'm sitting miserably at the kitchen table with a bowl of cold cereal for breakfast, my appetite non-existent.

I covered my bruises with my foundation. An age old trick, although why I bothered I wasn't sure. It's not as though I was likely to have anybody visit me anyway. I didn't have any friends and as for family, I almost snorted at the thought. As if anybody in my family were going to be troubled enough to replace me. The only thing that they would have cared about back then would have been the lack of income and even now, I doubt that has changed. I picked up my spoon and then let the cereal fall back into the ball, feeling my stomach churn at the thought of eating.

The apartment was in miserable condition. I eyed it and sighed. Jackson would want it cleaned for when he got back. I never knew what hours he was working or even where his work was. I frowned, realizing not for the first time how foolish that seemed. What kind of girlfriend didn't know what her partner was up to? He'd been jealous last night of Knox, enough to hurt me and while he'd apologized and done his best to make up for it, I wasn't wholly convinced he was going to remain changed. I'd been through this song and dance many times before, yet I couldn't bring myself to try and leave.

"I might as well start cleaning" I begin to mutter with a resigned sigh.

It was unbearably lonely, I thought with a grimace, being in the apartment with nobody else to speak to or call and vent with. How long had it been like this? How long had I been content with merely myself for company up until now? When I had been dancing as a stripper, it hadn't been as noticeable because I had been sleeping through the day, but now that I was working more ordinary hours, it was blatantly obvious how pitifully lonely and pathetic my existence was. I shook my head and shuffled to the sink, putting my still half-full cereal bowl in the sink.

The

What good would it be having friends when you know that Jackson would never let you have them over anyway? voice inside my mind was terse and brash. I tried not to wince at how brutally honest it was. Instead, I focussed on one task at a time, while trying not to push my body too hard. Maybe if I showed some initiative and some kindness towards Jackson, he might appreciate my hard work for once. I picked up the various beer bottles scattered around the apartment and put them in the recycling bin before starting with the various clothes that were anywhere but in the correct hamper. It almost felt like I was back in Knox's room, I thought slightly amused as I cleaned up the mess.

Except that Jackson intentionally leaves you this mess whereas Knox's is more to do with carelessness and distractions. Not to mention Jackson is your boyfriend while Knox isn't.

I scowled and then bent to pick up something from the floor, my hand sweeping below the couch and my fingers fastening onto something cold and slimy. I wrinkled my nose and pulled the offending item out, only to gasp out loud in shock. No, no, no, Jackson wouldn't do this to me, would he? He had always maintained I was the only one for him. He had always been faithful. But what other explanation would there be for a used condom to be underneath the couch? It could be days or weeks old. It was impossible to tell. I flung the offending item away from me, shuddering and fighting back the urge to cry.

Why are you crying? Jackson doesn't deserve your tears. Are you going to confront him over this? You know he's only going to lie or turn this back around on you the voice taunted as I scowled and wiped my eyes.

Maybe I was mistaken I thought dismally. Maybe there was a perfectly rational explanation for the condom being in the apartment. Maybe Jackson had lent the apartment out to some friends of his while I was at work? I was grasping at straws in my desperation to believe that he wasn't capable of cheating on me and hurting me at the same time.

Did you think because he hits you that he's not going to f**k other girls? You're living in a fantasy world Lorelai. He has you wrapped around his finger. You believe everything he tells you because it hurts too much to look too deeply underneath. How does it feel to know that even Jackson is a lying bastard and that his words are no better than any other man's?

I try to shake the voice away as I grab a dustpan and sweep up the condom, just as I hear Jackson opening the door. He's back. I grit my teeth, my back straightening as I turn to greet him. There's a wolfish smile on his face.

"Hey baby" he greets me nonchalantly as though he's happy to see me, "I missed you. A short day at work today" he adds with some satisfaction, a grin across his face "which means more time to spend with you."

He notices how tense I am and a frown appears on his handsome face as he creases a brow and takes a step back, the door closing with a click behind him. "What's wrong?" he asks oblivious to what I have in my hands.

"What's wrong" my voice is dead, my eyes blank as I stare at him "What's wrong?" I repeat, my voice going dangerously quiet "Why don't you tell me, Jackson? What the f**k is this?" I snap, showing the condom to him as he stares at it and then at me, his face whitening ever so slightly before he takes a deep breath and smiles viciously at me.

He shrugs unrepentant "I wondered when you were going to replace any evidence," he says blithely as I gape at him "I guess now I don't have to work so hard at hiding the affair" he adds.

"Affair?" my voice is chilling.

He c***s his head at me "Come on Lorelai, don't be so naive" he says calmly "You will always be the only one for me, that's never going to change, but a man has needs you know and you can't exactly service me while you are at work. This way we both win. The woman means nothing to me" he says dismissively.

He acts as though the discussion is over, heading to the refrigerator and peering into it, before taking a beer and shutting the door, grabbing a bottle opener and cracking it open, taking a swig, and eyeing me calmly.

"That's all you have to say" my voice is barely above a whisper "that she means nothing to you so I should just accept it?"

I can't believe my ears. He narrows his eyes at me. "I don't appreciate that tone of voice Lorelai," he says icily "You might do well to change it. I use this woman to scratch an itch when you can't. No biggie" he shrugs and heads to the sofa, sitting down and putting his feet on the coffee table while I try not to strangle him.

Is this what my life had become? I wanted to weep at the irony of it. "I won't live like this" my voice cuts through the tension of the room as Jackson looks over his shoulder, surprised by the finality of the tone of my voice "I refuse to live like this any longer." For a moment there's silence. I pat myself on the back for speaking up. Jackson's face is inscrutable. He slowly puts the beer bottle down on the coffee table with a heavy thud that makes me wince. I refuse to back down though. I stare him straight in the eyes as he gives me a slow smile and stands up.

"So brave all of a sudden Lorelai" he sneers as my lower lip begins to tremble and I realize too late, that I've pushed him too far "Since when do you think you can order me around?" he asks, grabbing me by the back of my hair and yanking me towards him as I let out a cry of pain.

"Let go" I shout, trying to wrestle free.

I feel him grab my wrist, my eyes widening as he begins to ruthlessly turn it. "Jackson don't" I shout frantically "If you break it I won't be able to work" I add, beginning to push and shove at him, the pain in my wrist getting worse by the second as I panic at the look in his eyes.

s**t. He's going to break it. I pant and beg with my eyes. He stops just short of turning it all the way and eyes me. "Beg me" he growls.

I stifle a sob. My wrist is killing me. "What?"

"Beg me" he snarls.

"Please let go" I choke out, "I'm sorry Jackson. Please" I plead between quivering lips.

I was a coward. Just like that, I folded. All he had to do was use violence against me and I folded. His eyes were gleaming as he surveyed me. My wrist is throbbing and my eyes are watering with tears.

"Little b***h" he snaps, "thinking you can make demands. Why I ought to" he raises a hand and I flinch, instinctively cowering away.

He grunts and then I hear the sound of his zipper slowly being pulled down. I swallow hard. He grabs my chin, his fingers hard and unyielding, forcing me to look directly at him.

"Now you're going to apologize" he growls as I stand there sobbing, unable to look away "in a time-honored tradition between women and men and you better make it good" he warned as I felt his hand beginning to push me down onto my knees so that my eyes were level with his member that was beginning to harden as I looked at it "because if you don't, I'll finish breaking that wrist of yours" he warned and I knew he meant every single word he was speaking as tears trailed down my cheeks and I felt the last bit of dignity I had left leave my body.