Chapter 4

A faint, deliberate cough drifted through the open doorway. Blake was making sure they knew she was there. The sound slithered into Audrey's ears like a venomous snake, wrapping tightly around her frayed nerves.

Audrey's entire body went rigid. She pressed her hands flat against Dozier's solid chest, her fingers trembling against his dress shirt. "Stop," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Please."

She was begging for the last shred of her dignity.

Dozier's muscles locked. He paused, his head turning slightly toward the dark hallway. A complicated, unreadable emotion flashed across his dark eyes.

Audrey let out a shaky breath. Her tense shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. She thought he would stop. She thought his obsession with his childhood sweetheart would save her.

She was wrong.

Dozier's gaze snapped back to her. He lunged forward. His large hands clamped around both of her wrists like iron shackles. He slammed her arms down onto the mattress beside her head. The brutal display of absolute physical power crushed her fleeting hope into dust.

He lowered his head and crushed his lips against hers. He swallowed her muffled cry of protest. There was no passion in the kiss, only a cruel, punishing need to dominate and possess.

Audrey thrashed wildly in the dark. Her legs kicked against the tangled sheets. Hot, angry tears spilled over her eyelashes, tracking down her temples and soaking into her hair. The humiliation burned her skin like acid.

Outside in the hallway, the sharp sound of a fingernail dragging slowly down the wooden door frame echoed into the room. The physical proximity of her abuser amplified the psychological torture of the moment.

Dozier reached down and grabbed the collar of her silk nightgown. He pulled hard. The sharp sound of tearing fabric ripped through the quiet room.

Audrey squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her teeth down hard on her lower lip. She tasted copper. She refused to make a single sound. She would not give the monster outside the door the satisfaction of hearing her break.

Dozier pushed her legs apart and entered her. There was zero tenderness. It was a cold, mechanical execution of his marital rights. A sharp pain shot up Audrey's spine, making her curl her toes in agony.

Out in the hallway, Blake apparently couldn't take it anymore. A loud, heavy thud echoed as a decorative ceramic vase was knocked off a pedestal table, crashing onto the carpet.

The sudden noise made Audrey flinch violently. Her breath hitched in a loud gasp.

Dozier didn't even pause. The noise seemed to fuel his anger. His grip on her hips tightened, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh.

Audrey went completely still, refusing to give him any reaction. Her passive resistance seemed to infuriate him more than her struggles. He leaned down, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. "You're stiff as a board," he mocked, his voice a low, cruel rasp.

His words stripped away her final mental shield. He was destroying her from the inside out.

The agonizing minutes dragged on until Dozier finally pulled away. He rolled off the bed, his breathing heavy. Without a single backward glance, he walked straight into the master bathroom. The heavy glass door slid shut.

Audrey lay motionless on the ruined sheets. She felt like a discarded ragdoll. The sound of the shower turning on hissed through the room. She stared blankly at the dark ceiling, her eyes completely hollow.

The hallway was dead silent. Blake had retreated. The psychological warfare had drained every ounce of energy from Audrey's body.

She forced her aching limbs to move. She dragged herself to the edge of the bed and opened the bottom drawer of the nightstand. She reached past the clutter and pulled out the plain white 'Vitamin C' bottle. She popped the cap, tossed a tiny birth control pill into her mouth, and swallowed it dry.

The bathroom door clicked open. Dozier walked out, a white towel wrapped low around his waist.

His dark eyes immediately locked onto Audrey holding the plastic bottle.

Audrey's heart leaped into her throat, choking her. Her fingers trembled violently. She forced herself to casually place the bottle back into the drawer and slide it shut.

Dozier's eyes narrowed, but he didn't ask. He walked to the closet. "Pack a bag. We are leaving for the Hamptons estate first thing in the morning. Family gathering."

Audrey gripped the edge of the mattress. "I'm not feeling well. I can't go."

She desperately needed physical distance from him and his family.

Dozier turned around. His face was carved from stone. "You are Mrs. Hodge. You will fulfill your obligations to this family."

He used the weight of his family name to chain her to the floor.

The next morning, Audrey sat at her vanity. She applied a thick layer of foundation to hide the dark circles under her eyes and the pale, sickly color of her skin. She put on her armor. She walked downstairs, her face a blank, emotionless mask.

In the living room, Blake was already waiting. She wore a pristine, tailored Chanel tweed suit. She stood next to Dozier, looking every bit the perfect society wife preparing for a weekend getaway.

Audrey stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She stared coldly at Dozier. "Why is an outsider coming to a private family gathering?"

She drew her final line in the sand.

Dozier adjusted his expensive watch. "Grandma Augusta missed Blake. She specifically asked for her."

He used the matriarch's blatant favoritism as an impenetrable shield.

Blake stepped closer to Dozier and wrapped her hands around his bicep. She leaned her head against his shoulder and shot Audrey a brilliant, victorious smile. She was flaunting her untouchable status.

Audrey didn't waste her breath arguing. She turned her back on them and walked straight toward the private elevator. She kept her spine perfectly straight, using her posture to hold her shattered pride together.

The three of them sat in the back of the stretched Maybach. The air inside the luxurious cabin was thick and suffocating. The car merged onto the highway, speeding toward the Hamptons, dragging Audrey deeper into the abyss.