Chapter 14
“Don’t push your luck, Dexter!” Ryder stepped forward, gripping Dexter’s collar
with a firm hand. I was worried things might escalate to blows, so I stepped in
front of Ryder, “Thanks, Ryder, but you should go. I’ll get in touch some other
time.”
Ryder, not wanting to make things hard for me, shot Dexter a furious glance,
“Phoebe, sort out the stuff we talked about ASAP. Stay away from this guy as far
as you can.”
I nodded, “Will do.”
Ryder drove off, and I stood there, not looking back..
“Phoebe, have I been too nice to you lately?” Dexter stepped closer, grabbing my
wrist and dragging me toward the garden shed.
I looked at him with fear, unsure of his intentions.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from Ryder? Did my words just go in one ear and
out the other?” Dexter’s voice was laced with anger.
“I’ll talk to Hailey to call off our engagement. I’ll leave Sea City,” I was so scared
that I stepped back and watched him nervously.
“Oh, thinking of running away? Phoebe, you’ve made a mistake and there’s a
price to pay. You think you can just leave and that’s atonement?” Dexter sneered.
“But you told me… to leave,” I cried, asking why he was doing this.
“You had your chance to leave before you pushed Melody down the stairs like a
witch. I gave you that chance and you squandered it. Now it’s too late!”
“I didn’t do it; how many times do I have to say it before you’ll believe me? Why
won’t you believe me?” I sobbed, begging for his trust and compassion.
Dexter seemed indifferent, his eyes filled only with rage. He snatched my phone
and locked me in the shed, “Reflect on your actions in here. When you agree to
come to the hospital and apologize to Melody, I might let you out.”
I was crying, pounding on the door, begging Dexter to let me out.
But he refused, and no one in the Fitzgerald family dared to release me.
I don’t know how long I cried; I just huddled in a corner, afraid.
The shed light was broken, and Dexter knew I’d been afraid of the dark ever
since our parents passed away. Yet he chose this dark, confined space to punish
me.
He always did that, using what he knew scared me the most to threaten me. He
was exploiting his hold over me, bullying me time and again.
Chapter 14
The fever got worse, and I lay against the clutter, not knowing how long I’d slept.
If the housekeeper hadn’t been so compassionate as to tell Halley, I might have
died in that shed that night.
The next morning.
“Dexter, what did Phoebe do that you locked her in the shed?” Hailey confronted
Dexter angrily.
“Melody’s in the hospital and she’s just out of danger!” Dexter’s voice barely
contained his fury. “Mom, it’s your coddling that spoiled her. She’ll become
lawless if this continues!”
I lay in bed, feeling groggy while listening to Dexter and Hailey argue outside the
door.
“She dared to push Melody down the stairs, and that’s attempted murder! If
Melody pursues criminal charges, Phoebe could end up in jail!”
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Hailey fell silent. After a long pause,
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Dexter was pushing Hailey away.
I gripped the sheets in fear and didn’t dare make a sound.
If Hailey left, Dexter would have free rein.
Curled up under the covers, my whole body trembled. What to do? I mused.
Dexter wouldn’t let me go.