My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 15

chapter 14
BELLA’S POV

“I don’t need your compliments,” I said through clenched teeth.

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

Henry’s expression darkened. Then his hand came down hard across my face. The sound echoed in the room as he slapped me. Pain exploded in my cheek. I barely had time to gasp before he grabbed my hair and jerked my head back.

“You little bitch,” he snarled. His breath reeked of alcohol. “If I tell you to drink, you drink.”

I struggled. My scalp burned where he held me. “Let me go-”

He slapped me again, harder this time. My ears rang. I tasted blood.

“Acting all high and mighty when you’re just a fucking convict,” he spat. Then he grabbed a bottle of wine from the table, twisted the cap off, and forced it against my mouth.

I tried to push him away, but his grip was iron. The liquid flooded down my throat. I choked, gasped, coughed but he covered my nose and my mouth, forcing me to swallow. My stomach burned. I could barely breathe.

“Stop!” I tried to scream, but the wine filled my mouth again. It spilled down my chin, soaking my dress.

Kathy was beside me now, holding my arms down. This was the girl who I took the fall for. This was the girl who was supposed to be my sister yet here she was, holding me down for a man to hurt me.

“Don’t fight it, Bella,” she hissed. “Just do it. It’ll be over soon.”

Her words made me freeze. My sister. The person who should have protected me. Here she was, helping a man humiliate me.

I wanted to hit her, to scream, but my body felt weak. My vision blurred. The room felt like it was spinning.

When I started gagging violently, Henry finally let go. I dropped to the ground, coughing and gasping. It felt like my lungs were burning. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t get enough air. My throat burned, and tears blurred my vision.

Henry laughed above me. “Look at you. Not so high and mighty anymore, are you?”

Kathy chuckled softly beside him. “See, Henry? I told you she’s not as tough as she looks.”

I was shaking, trying to crawl backward. But there was nowhere to go. They had me cornered. My back hit the wall. My head was spinning from the alcohol.

I was weak and had no tolerance for alcohol. Without my wolf, my body couldn’t burn it off like before. My limbs felt like they didn’t belong to me.

Henry crouched and grabbed a fistful of my hair again, yanking my head up.

“Your face looks better with my handprint on it,” he said cruelly, tracing my cheek. Then his eyes narrowed. “What’s this?” He pointed at the small bruises still visible on my neck. “Looks like someone else likes it rough too.”

“Let me go,” I whispered.

He smirked. “You’ll get more of those before the night’s over.”

I tried to pull away, but he just laughed. His phone started ringing. He ignored it, shoving it in his pocket.

“Kathy,” he said, without looking at her. “You’re smart. I’ll talk to the writers about giving you more screen time.”

“Thank you, Assistant Director Henry,” she said sweetly. “I knew you’d understand.”

I felt sick. I felt scared to my stomach. Panic gripped me so tightly that it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

When I tried to speak again, nothing came out. The alcohol was twisting my insides. My stomach twisted.

“I feel sick,” I managed to whisper.

He shoved me away roughly. “Then get away from me.”

I fell to my knees again, holding my stomach, gasping for air. Kathy turned to him and laughed nervously. “Don’t mind her, Henry. My sister isn’t very smart. Please be patient with her.”

Disgust filled me. Kathy, a wolf, was bowing and scraping before a disgusting human man for fame and money. Wolves were supposed to be proud and strong. Yet here she was, selling me off like trash.

She lowered herself to….this? For what? Money? Influence? To be famous?

Henry’s phone rang again. He silenced it.

Henry stood there, shaking. “Who the hell is she?”

I didn’t wait to find out what he’d do next. I pushed myself up and ran. My knees almost gave out, but I forced my legs to move.

Kathy didn’t stop me. She was still frozen, listening to the echo of the call.

I wanted to scream, to tell everyone what he did, but my only thought was escape.

I reached the door, grabbed the handle, and stumbled into the hallway. Behind me, I heard a loud slap and Kathy’s cry. Henry had probably slapped her.

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this mess!” Henry roared.

“Why did you hit me?!” Kathy screamed back.

“You trying to set me up? Who’s behind your sister?!”

“I don’t know!” Kathy cried. “She has no one! She’s nothing!”

Their voices faded as I stumbled down the corridor. My lungs burned. My vision spun. I could barely feel my legs.

I stagger again and my eyes feel dizzy. That’s when I realized that I had been drugged. The wine. They drugged it.

My pulse raced. My head was heavy. The hallway blurred.

Shapes moved around me. From my point of view, it felt like the edges of the world were fading.

Then, a dark figure appeared ahead. He was tall with broad shoulders. The figure looked familiar.

An arm wrapped around my waist and I was being pulled up against a hard body. My feet were moving but I didn’t feel them touching the ground. I was so lightheaded and dizzy.

I was being guided through the doors and before I knew it, I was outside.

I would panic about being carried but I knew the shape and height of this man. Even without my wolf senses, I knew him.

“Kane…” I whispered weakly.