“We can make our own money to pay off the loans. No matter what, we can’t do something that goes against our conscience!” Amy was desperate for cash too—she’d racked her brain for ways to earn more. But even so, there were lines she would never cross.
She’d been with the company for two years now. She knew exactly how Sylvia treated her and the rest of the staff—she wasn’t blind.
Harry’s temper only flared hotter at her words. “I’ll ask you one more time: are you going to do it or not?”
“No, I—”
Smack!
Harry’s palm crashed against her cheek, knocking her back against the sofa. His face twisted with rage. “I’ll ask you again: are you going to do what I say?”
“You hit me?” Amy clutched her stinging face, eyes wide with disbelief and fury. “Who do you think you are—”
He didn’t let her finish. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he yanked her head back and slapped her again. “After all these years together, you’d take a stranger’s side over mine? Maybe I should beat some sense into you!”
He struck her several more times, then kicked her hard in the ribs. “Well? Are you going to do it? If you can’t bring in money, what damn use are you to me?”
Amy screamed in pain, scrambling to get away, but Harry caught her by the hair and threw her to the floor. He didn’t stop—two more kicks landed squarely on her stomach, his face contorted in cruelty. “You’d better do as I say, or you can forget about ever leaving this apartment!”
Her phone had fallen to the ground in the struggle. She reached for it through the haze of pain, but Harry kicked it away.
“I’m done, Harry! I want to break up!” Amy sobbed, her voice shaking.
That only enraged Harry more. He unleashed a fresh barrage of blows, fists and feet, until Amy was curled on the floor, weeping and begging. “Please…please stop, I’m begging you!”
Finally, out of breath, Harry stepped back, glaring down at her. “So? Are you going to do what I told you?”
Amy lay sprawled on the floor, her face swelling and mottled with bruises. She turned her head to look up at him, terrified but stubbornly silent, her teeth clenched.
Harry’s expression darkened. He kicked her hard in the back. “I’m talking to you!”
“Aaah!” The scream tore from her throat as she broke down, sobbing.
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