Damaged: A Dark Bully Romance (The Primes Book 2), page 1
Damaged
The Primes
Linie Bener
Edited By: Norma Gambini
Cover Artist: Prism Designs
Copyright © 2023 by Linie Bener
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Contents
1. Damaged
2. Book Description
3. Trigger warnings
4. Chapter 1
5. Chapter 2
6. Chapter 3
7. Chapter 4
8. Chapter 5
9. Chapter 6
10. Chapter 7
11. Chapter 8
12. Chapter 9
13. Chapter 10
14. Chapter 11
15. Chapter 12
16. Chapter 13
17. Chapter 14
18. Chapter 15
19. Chapter 16
Damaged
Book Description
Power, seduction, desire, and twisted revenge.
This is the theme of my life.
A prime heir whose family's enemies want revenge on me, risking my blossoming relationship with Christian.
But I refuse to be a victim, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep him by my side, even if it means making personal sacrifices that could break us both.
I know I can't face it alone, with danger lurking at every turn.
With the help of my allies, we'll rise above this conflict and ensure that we come out victorious.
This is not your typical romance. It's a story of obsession, danger, and intense sexual chemistry, with dark themes and triggering content. For mature readers 18+. No cheating.
Please read the trigger warning.
Christian and Catherine's journey will conclude in book 4, where we'll discover whether their love is strong enough to withstand the ultimate test. Next book is about Rome's story.
Trigger warnings
This book contains offensive language, drug, and alcohol use. It also contains descriptive torture, graphic violence, and death scenes with graphic sexual encounters, attempted rape, and mention of child molestation.
Chapter 1
Catherine
“Elizabeth! God, are you okay?”
Mother’s voice held a hint of hysteria, while Father’s face contorted in anger. One would believe they were concerned parents, but it was all an act. I'd laugh hysterically at their acting skills if I weren’t too shocked at their arrival.
At least my late grandmother didn’t bother pretending. She was blunt, cold, and she didn’t bother mincing words while my parents pretended to care. However, they were cowards and only looked out for themselves.
“What are you doing here?” I asked in a sharp tone. This prompted Christian to lay a hand on my shoulder.
“We heard . . .” Mother's voice croaked as she choked back tears.
“Are you okay?” Father regarded me with a solemn expression.
I sneered at the fakeness and exhaled harshly. “Why do you care? You said it was my duty to be a good wife to William Arnoult. You didn't care the last time he abused me. Why should you care if his father did this to me?"
My mother reached out to touch me and said, “Eliza—.” I jerked away because I didn’t want her comfort. My emotions were still raw, and I couldn't fake being nice.
They needed to wait until I was better to get their fake daughter back because they loved it when we all acted like one happy family.
My eyes burned as I held back tears. Their presence here dredged up the emotions I kept under a tight leash. “If you’re not here to free me from my betrothal to William, you can leave.”
Father's eyes lowered.
This made me angrier. How dare he act contrite. Why couldn't he fight for me like a normal father would? “It’s not that easy,” he said.
I let out a sardonic laugh and gave them a harsh stare. “There is nothing else I want to say to either of you.” My tone held a hint of dismissal.
“I—” my mom persisted, but I firmly shook my head. I'd had enough of this crap for one day.
She looked pitifully at my dad, but he avoided eye contact. Mother's shoulders rolled forward, and she sighed in defeat.
Good. No more pretending. To me, they might as well be dead. I had too much pain to bear, and I didn't need them adding to it.
“Wait.”
I side-eyed Christian, ready to snap at him. Didn’t he understand how much I wanted them to leave? But the intensity of the way he stared at my mother stopped me.
“Arnoult Senior did this to Izzy and Leah.” He pointed at Leah and me. My mother cast her eyes toward Leah for the first time, whereas my father kept his gaze fixed on the ground.
“He wanted you,” Christian said in an accusatory tone.
My mother's eyes widened, but Christian continued. “He was using them as leverage to get to you.”
My father’s eyes jerked up while my mother stared at Christian with an unreadable expression.
“What did he want?” Father asked in a sharp tone.
I hated that he showed more emotion about this than my current state. My weight shifted, wishing they’d leave. The feeling of loathing bubbled, and I wanted to hurt them. I wanted them to feel how much they hurt me, so I said, "Because of your treachery, Arnoult Senior exacted his vengeance on Leah and me."
Mother stiffened until her tears revealed her true feelings. When Dad saw Mom crying, the wrinkles around his eyes deepened. Did she still have feelings for Senior?
With a scowl, father nodded at Klause and Christian, then reached for my leg, but stopped short of skin contact. His expression softened as he looked into my eyes and said, "I'm glad you're recovering."
That's it? What a fucking joke.
My pent-up rage flared, and I opened my mouth to yell at him, but he spun and marched out the door. My mom sobbed and then bolted after my dad without saying another word.
My throat tightened, and the room fell silent. Only after Christian dried my eyes did I realize I had been crying.
I hated that I still cared.
I should let them go, but the tenacious ember of hope always sparked whenever I was around them, and it hurt just as much each time.
As Christian stroked my hair and drew me close, I lost all composure and burst into tears. It felt like I had lost my parents all over again. Try as I might to pretend, I still waited for the day they'd fight for me and show me how much they loved me.
“Iz, are you okay?” Leah asked.
With a firm nod, I angrily wiped away the tears. I felt like a fool because they'd never change. To my parents, the only thing that mattered was their precious status. They showed I was alone and couldn't count on them to stand up against Arnoult Senior.
“Iz? You haven't said a word.” Christian touched my face gently with his finger, and I smiled to reassure him I was okay. I took deep breaths until I mustered the numb emotion I'd been saving for my parents. “Sorry. Yes, I’m fine.”
I rested my head on the pillow to avoid Leah’s and Klause's probing looks until my eyes closed in exhaustion. Nobody attempted to start a conversation with me, and I only opened my eyes long enough for the nurses to do their jobs. I could hear Christian and Klause's muted conversations, but I was mostly unconscious. Eventually, I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up the next day, I felt more like myself and grinned at the doctor. Even more so when he formally approved my discharge.
After several agonizing weeks in the hospital, the nurses unhooked me from the wires.
I immediately leaped out of bed and dressed, despite Christian arguing with the doctor. He didn't think I was ready to leave, but I packed my bags and tried to ignore the pain of my protesting injuries.
Christian wore a scowl, but my face was plastered with a broad smile the entire way home. Then, in the living room, I suddenly lost all control of my body and fell to the ground while screaming in agony.
"Izzy!" Christian rushed to my side. "Are you okay? Someone call an ambulance."
After several minutes of taking slow, deep breaths, I mustered up what was probably more of a scowl than a smile. “I’m fine, promise. I just need to rest.”
Christian’s eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to argue, but I attempted to get up. There was no way I was going back to the hospital.
"Stop." He carried me off my feet and took me to my room. I gritted my teeth through the pain because if he knew how badly it hurt, he'd demand a doctor check me out immediately.
He tucked me in bed, but I kept my eyes shut. I felt his eyes on me for several minutes before he left. When the door shut behind him, I let out a hiss of pain and curled into a ball.
I popped a couple more pills, burrowed deeper into the pillow until my breathing evened out, and I fell asleep.
The pain was gone when I awoke, but Christian wasn't there.
Not wanting to repeat yesterday's blunder, I got up slowly and hobbled to the shower. The shower took me twice as long because I had no muscle strength or coordination, but I did it independently, so I still counted that as a win.
I picked up the hairbrush and looked in the mirror to study my face. I avoided my reflection in the hospital because I needed to be strong for Christian and Leah.
There were two identical, angry red slashes on both my chee
My pale complexion, under eye circles, and the deadened gaze looked disturbing. With a tilt of my head, I ran the pad of my finger along the cut.
The sudden pain made me jerk, and it was like I'd been transported to the basement. I felt the blade sting as Arnoult Senior slashed at my cheeks, heard his fists connecting with my flesh, and felt the agonizing pain that followed.
The hairbrush clattered loudly against the wood surface. My hands clenched around the sink as I struggled to rid my mind of the images. The noxious smell of chemicals in the basement and the metallic taste of blood invaded my nose.
I squeezed my eyes shut and took deep breaths, willing myself to forget that night. A shiver ran down my spine when I thought about the twinkle in Arnoult Senior's eyes. I realized then that he was crazier than his son, William. I remembered his crazed mutterings as he talked about his relationship with my mother and the betrayal she committed when she fell in love with my father.
The most crushing blow was when he finally admitted that he was the one who arranged my engagement to William. Because of his thirst for revenge, I was subjected to nearly a year's worth of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
I’m not in the Arnoult basement. I’m home and safe. These were the words I chanted until I could block out the dreadful memories.
When I opened my eyes, I yelled at the image staring back at me. I was furious that I'd fallen victim to an Arnoult again and wasn’t strong enough to fight him.
Utterly frustrated by my current state of weakness, I let out a few sobs of agony as I tried to make sense of what had happened to me. Tears prickled the wounds, but I allowed myself to feel the injustice.
This was done to me because of my mother. It felt like I was sinking under the weight of all my suffering.
I just wanted this to stop.
I needed it all to end.
Sobs shook my shoulder as I tried to catch my breath. My chest felt like it was closing in on me and I was suffocating from the pain.
How many sufferings could I endure?
Others envied the wealth and power I was born into, but it was a curse I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.
When the door to my room closed, I knew Christian had returned. I tried to slam my jaws together to stifle the noise while I gathered myself.
If I could endure William’s abuse, I could get through this, especially with the triplets, Tilly, Ally, Leah, and Christian, by my side.
After I splashed cold water on my face, I picked up the hairbrush.
My hand trembled, and I struggled to grip the handle, so I had to use both hands to brush my hair. However, my muscles tensed up when I tried to reach the back of my head and I dropped the hairbrush with a clatter onto the sink.
“God dammit!” How could I return to school if I couldn't do the simplest things?
Another wave of tears washed over me, but I wiped them away—no more. The Arnoults had taken enough.
A look of unwavering resolve met my eyes in the mirror. My days of being a helpless victim were over, and I was taking back my power. My naivete convinced me I could fight the prime and keep a piece of me, but I was wrong. To triumph over evil, I must embrace my inner darkness.
A sinister smile spread across my face before I limped back to my room and found Christian on my bed.
He looked up from his phone and sized me up, something he had done regularly after the incident. My heart skipped a beat each time, and I doubted I could ever get used to knowing someone loved me unconditionally.
With Christian by my side, I could handle anything.
His gaze was laden with concern as he asked, “Everything okay?”
I nodded in response and crawled into bed. I lay on Christian's chest with a sigh and felt my body relax. The warmth of his love burned away the pain. His determination to ensure my safety inspired confidence and fortitude.
Christian hugged me closer and asked, “Are you sure you want to go back to school so soon?” Christian refused to go to school without me. Same with Klause. Both of them were impervious to reason and refused to change their minds.
Thanks to Ally and Rome, we weren't behind since they brought us homework daily. Klause and Christian begrudgingly did theirs to help Leah and I get it done sooner. If that wasn’t the case, neither could be bothered.
We all needed to return to our lives and get past this nightmare.
My fingers paused from tracing Christian’s chest. “It’s time, Christian. I’d been gone for far too long.” Even if I wanted nothing more than to remain in the protective bubble we had created over the past few weeks, eventually, I would have to learn to stand on my own again. Plus, I refused to give the psycho any more of myself. He had robbed us of too much time already.
Christian's brows drew together, but then he looked down and gave me a smug grin. “How about I make you a deal? When you can brush the back of your head and don’t scream in pain, then we’ll go.”
Crap. “You heard that, huh?”
His arms tightened around me. “Yeah. I was hovering by the door and could see the rats’ nest on the back of your head.” The cocky bastard said it with no hint of shame.
At least, that was all he heard. If he had heard me losing it, our conversation would have gone differently.
“You want to get some food?” he asked.
I agreed and gingerly made my way out of bed. Christian let me go at my pace and waited for me to catch my breath whenever I needed to.
Luc, Mason, Noah, Tilly, and Edgar were gathered around the table. Tilly seemed relieved to see me. When Noah gave me a sandwich, I thanked him with a grin.
After I had settled into my seat, the talk shifted to security. I kept my head bowed, because everyone had been unbearably protective. Tilly threatened to have a tracking chip implanted in me and the idea was met with enthusiastic support.
My jaw dropped in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”
Mason shook his head firmly while Noah said, "Why would we joke about your safety?"
Edgar added, "I think it's a brilliant idea."
The rest of the room ignored my protest, so when the discussion turned to the schematics for the chip. I gave up trying to argue and stopped listening.
Losing my appetite, I got up and left. They were so engrossed in the discussion that no one noticed, and Christian didn't follow me back to my room.
He and Klause had been pestering Leah and me about ramping up security, but they didn’t understand that Arnoult Senior wouldn’t be deterred. A prime’s power knew no bounds.
Christian resumed the conversation when he entered the room and looked annoyed that I wasn’t on board with the idea.
This wasn’t the first time we’d argued about this. He stubbornly dismissed my need for independence even after I implored him to understand that I had to figure out how to defend myself.
However, he and Klause were stubborn primes, and they believed they could control everything and guarantee our safety. Unfortunately, I knew otherwise.
“This is for your safety, Iz.” Christian's voice contained an undercurrent of exasperation.
“We’ve discussed this already.” I didn't even try to hide my irritation.
A knock on the door had my shoulders dropping in relief because I was tired of debating this issue. “Come in.”
Leah wobbled in, protecting the incision on her stomach and ignoring Klause’s guiding hands. “I’m sick of my room,” she said. I was grateful to see her walking around because Arnoult almost killed her that night. He kept beating her to force me to submit. I knew he couldn’t kill me outright because I was an heir, and he would want to prolong my suffering, but I had been terrified for Leah.
Klause watched her with a darkened expression. It was the same look I saw on Christian whenever I cried out in pain.
“We walked to the living room, but the triplets and Tilly assaulted me with questions about a chip they plan on implanting in all of us,” Leah said with an incredulous tone.
Klause said through clenched teeth, "She decided she wanted to walk down here instead."
