Chapter 333:
“I told you already—I’m not going to beg him for your sake. I’ll earn it myself, just give me—ah!”
She didn’t get the chance to finish. Hayden’s fist tangled in her hair, and he slammed her head into the door with brutal force. A sudden rush of blood streamed down her forehead.
“Who do you think you’re fooling?” he huffed derisively. “No money from Brandon? What are you doing then, selling yourself on the side?”
“I’m not!” Millie cried, fighting to break free.
Hayden forced her head down and spat in her face, his breath reeking of alcohol. “Still playing innocent for Brandon’s sake? That’s rich. It’s been two years already—what, you’re just his little simp?”
Millie thrashed wildly, gasping, “Let go of me!”
Hayden’s hands clamped down harder. He slammed her head against the door, then the floor—again and again, a dizzying rain of blows.
Summoning every ounce of strength, she twisted around and sank her teeth deep into his flesh. Hayden howled, jerking his hand away at last.
She broke free, scrambling across the floor on her elbows and knees, her vision swimming with blood. Everything blurred red. Blindly, she reached for her phone, fumbling for the emergency call—anything, anyone.
Hayden’s fist shot out, knocking the phone from her grip. “You fucking bitch! You dare bite me?” he spat, face twisted with rage. “See if I don’t beat you to death!”
He hurled a string of curses at her, his voice echoing off the walls. “Last time, he swooped in and saved you. Where is he now, huh? Go on, call for Brandon—let’s see if he comes running this time! Why are you crying now? Realized nobody’s coming for you, haven’t you?”
He crouched over her, breath hot and sour against her cheek. “The day your mother married me, you stopped being a Bennett. You’re a Grant now. Don’t even dream of getting away, Millie. Not in this lifetime.”
The rain battered the windows, its roar swallowing her sobs as blood and tears streaked down her face.
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Agony radiated through every inch of her body, so sharp and relentless she could hardly draw a breath.
Helplessness burned inside her, a poisonous self-loathing for her own weakness—she despised how powerless she was to fight back.
Hayden, eyes blazing and reeking of alcohol, slammed her with a force that made her bones tremble.
For one terrifying moment, she truly believed she wouldn’t survive.
Just before her vision faded to black, a shadow crashed through the door—someone familiar, voice thunderous with rage. “Hayden, I’ve warned you!” Brandon’s silhouette filled her blurry gaze—he’d come for her again. Somehow, the desperate number she’d dialed…
The connection between them was undeniable. He’d stormed in, ripped Hayden away, and swept her into his arms.
Five years ago, on that rainy day, he had murmured into her ear, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Now, in the gentle hush of the seaside restaurant, Millie tried to steady herself with another sip of wine, the rim trembling faintly against her lip.
“He has every reason to laugh at my misery,” she remarked quietly, setting her glass aside with a shaky breath. “He hates me that much. A decade locked away.”
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