Judith

He shoved me off his lap like I was nothing. My knees hit the carpet hard, pain flaring up my shins, but I barely had time to wince before his hand clamped around my wrist. His grip was strong, dragging me across the room as if I weighed nothing.

The bed loomed, and then I was bent over it, face pressed into the sheets that smelled faintly of lavender and smoke. The mattress dipped under his weight behind me, the frame creaking in protest.

My chest rose and fell in sharp, frantic bursts. My body still pulsed from what he’d just wrung out of me on the couch, raw and trembling, but it wasn’t enough for him. The clink of his belt cut through the silence, metallic and sharp, each sound a nail hammered into my ribs. My stomach knotted with dread and want.

His fingers yanked my panties aside, and then he was inside me with a brutal thrust that ripped the air from my lungs.

I cried out, the sound muffled by the sheets beneath my face. He didn’t pause, didn’t give me time to adjust. His rhythm was merciless from the start, hips slamming into mine with a force that rocked the bedframe. Each thrust sent me forward, my breasts crushed against the mattress, my hands clawing desperately at the sheets.

The fabric tore beneath my nails as I tried to anchor myself, but there was nowhere to hide. His pace was punishing, each movement stretching me, filling me, bruising me from the inside out.

Tears stung my eyes, soaked the sheets beneath me. I wanted to scream for it to stop, but my throat betrayed me, breaking into gasps and moans that sounded too much like pleasure. My body quaked under him, heat pooling low in my stomach again, traitorous and consuming.

He held me down, spreading me wide, his grip branding my hips. I could feel the sweat beading at my temple, my hair sticking to my face as the sound of our bodies slapping together filled the room, wet and vulgar.

“Stop,” I tried to whisper, but it came out broken, lost beneath the relentless slap of skin. I wanted him to slow his thrust down. I wanted him to go faster.

My legs trembled, muscles burning from the strain, but I couldn’t pull away. Every brutal thrust only forced me deeper into the mattress, burying me under him until I felt like I was dissolving, no longer myself but something he had made.

Heat coiled tight inside me, sharper with every movement. My vision blurred, my nails dug deeper into the sheets, and the shame of it was unbearable. I could feel the edge rising, closer, until I was choking on the sound of my own sobbing moans.

I bit the pillow to hold it back, but the orgasm tore through me anyway, savage and unstoppable. My body convulsed around him, trembling, clenching, as wave after wave of unwanted pleasure shattered me.

He groaned low behind me, the sound guttural, his hips driving harder, faster, wringing every tremor from me until I was sobbing into the sheets, shaking with humiliation and satisfaction.

And then he spilled inside me, filling me as his pace faltered into a few last brutal thrusts. My body sagged beneath him, boneless and ruined, my face pressed into damp sheets, my breath ragged.

When he pulled out, I felt raw, hollowed, the ache spreading through me like fire. The silence that followed was worse than the noise of the bed creaking as he stood, the soft rustle of him pulling his clothes back into place and leaving, while I lay sprawled and broken.

I couldn’t move. My thighs trembled, my body still pulsing with aftershocks I didn’t want, heat still curling low in my belly even as tears burned my face.

The worst part? My body wasn’t finished. Even now, it still wanted more. More of his kisses. More of his touch.

My body was still trembling when I forced myself to roll over and collapse onto my back. My skin burned, raw and damp with sweat, the sheets clinging to me like another layer of humiliation. Every nerve felt exposed. I closed my eyes, just for a moment, trying to catch my breath.

The sound of a phone notification caused my eyes to snap open. I was able to quickly locate the phone in the dark room because of the soft glow of the screen. It was on my dresser. I hadn’t even noticed it before. I dragged myself up and went to get it before coming back to collapse on the bed again.

It was my phone. The one I left with Perez, Janet’s assistant. He must have given it to someone and somehow it found a way here.

I thumbed through the message app until I landed on the new message from Perez.

“This is the password to the house. You may want to pick up some of her things. It could be useful.”

Useful? My chest tightened, fury exploding immediately and crawling up my throat like bile. Useful. He was sitting in safety, sending me passwords, while I was here, broken and used, trapped in a bed that reeked of smoke and Domenico’s cologne.

Without thinking, I hit call button. The line barely rang before his voice came through, sounding almost annoyed.

“Why are you calling me?”

The words made something snap inside me.

“Why didn’t you tell me who he was?” I hissed, my voice low and trembling, every syllable dripping venom. “Why didn’t you tell me that Domenico is not some business man but a goddamn—” My throat closed, the word strangled by rage. “Mafia.”

“He’s a business man,” Perez sighed dismissively, like my anger was nothing.

“Don’t you dare lie to me.” My nails dug into the hard case of phone, my hand shaking and my voice rising, “He is not a regular business man!”

“Judith,” he called slowly, “I am not the one who asked you to take your sister’s place. In fact, before two weeks ago, I never knew you existed. It’s not in my place to tell you anything. Why not call your sister and ask her any questions you may have?”

“You!” I dragged in a slow breath, walking myself to calm down so I don’t snap and start yelling like I really wanted to. “Janet said I should ask you a questions I may have. She said you’ll have all the answers.”

There was a long pause on Perez’s end before his voice finally came through, low and hesitant.

“I’m sorry, Judith. But your sister lied to you. I was kept in the dark, just as I’m starting to realize you’ve been kept in the dark too.”

“Fuck!” I cussed, my temper rising again but this time, I could not pour it all out in Perez because I could hear the sincerity in his voice. He was telling the truth. Once again, Janet had played on my stupidity and pushed me to suffer the consequences of her action.

I wonder where she was right now. Was she in some fancy hotel swimming in their pool and cackling madly about playing me again.

“Is she even pregnant?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Pregnant? Is who pregnant?” Perez sounded confused.

“Janet. She’s pregnant. The innocent child is one of the reasons I decided to take her place.”

“Janet is not pregnant.” He said, his voice filled with pity, “I don’t know what she told you but she’s definitely not pregnant,”

“But I saw her baby bump and the ultrasound,” I said, my voice coming out in a rush.

“Then it’s all forged. The bump, she might be wearing it,” Perez said it so casually like it was something to be expected of Janet. It was. I was the idiot who refused to see it.

I could hear my heart shattering loudly. My throat closed up as tears of rage filled my eyes. I was nothing but a stupid fool in my sister’s eyes. She pretended so well, making me believe her.

“So there is no black man and she and Domenico are not even in love. There is no baby either,”

“I do not know much about Janet and Domenico’s dealings. I just know that they are not in love. Janet is forcing him to marry her because of something. I feel like there is a secret Janet is holding over his head.” Perez explained. “Just know this Judith, you’re now in the midst of a huge battle you know nothing about just by pretending to be your sister. Everybody in Domenico’s family is her enemy. So you need to be careful. Keep your head down if you want to survive. You can check out Janet’s house when you find the time. See if you can find anything. Good luck.”

With that he ended the call, leaving me reeling with the new information I’ve just discovered.