Read Online Swapped by Brynn Paulin, Keaton Quist - Free Book Online

Still, it reminded me of something else I had to do.
    Determined to cut my tenuous tie with Jayson, I pulled off the “engagement” ring and set it in the middle of the side table. There was nothing else on the smooth wood surface; Jayson wouldn’t miss it. I ran my finger over the empty space on my left hand. He wouldn’t miss it, but I couldn’t say the same. In just a few hours, he’d captured me, and I would never be the same.
    * * * *
    “It’s about fucking time you slunk in here.”
    I froze at the rabid voice coming from my darkened living room. Tom. I hadn’t expected him to be home. The drapes were pulled and he hadn’t turned on the lights. I hadn’t seen him when I’d stepped inside.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked.
    “I live here. Have fun fucking my boss?”
    “Have fun fucking Sizzy?” I returned. I wasn’t giving him quarter. I might have been gone longer than him, but he’d plunged me into this.
    “Yeah. She’s a way better lay than you.”
    “And yet you’re alone here. She didn’t come home with you?”
    “No. You know, she’s not even Jayson’s wife.”
    “Uh-uh,” I replied, smiling with my news. “She’s a prostitute, Tom. See what you’ve sunk to?”
    “Yeah, well, I’m married to a whore, so what difference does it make?”
    I glared at him, reminding myself that he’d dropped me into Jayson’s clutches then walked away without looking back. “Did you even look for me before you left?”
    He sniffed. “Why? So I could see you fucking him? Sucking his black cock like the slut you are? I don’t think so.”
    I shook my head. This abuse wasn’t really new. I should have left him a long time ago, but I’d always thought if I could fix things, if I could make things better, if I was better, the marriage could work. I saw now that it hadn’t worked in a long time.
    “I’m just here to pack a bag and get some of the stuff I want to keep. I’m going to my mother’s,” I told him. We could argue and he could demean me all day—if I let him. I wasn’t going to. Turning my back, I headed for the hallway. I’d just get my things, and I’d get out of here. If I never had to see this man again, it would be fine.
    I shouldn’t have turned my back on him.
    I slammed into the wall with an “oof”. Tom had flown across the room at me, enraged that I wouldn’t be cowed by his bad behavior. Cold fingers wrapped my neck and my head slammed into the wall while he squeezed my throat and shook me. I clawed at his hands, but he was too strong. I…couldn’t…break his…grip.
    He was just…too strong. My vision grayed as I frantically tried to get free. I pulled weakly on his wrists one last time then my arms dropped to my side. A strange roar deafened me as I slumped, and I wondered if that was the sound of death coming for me. For some reason, Tom released me, but I seemed to float. Then I was on the floor, but I hadn’t slammed into it. I was just there on the wood laminate._Heading {
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    My eyes closed. It was too much to comprehend. I was too…something.
    * * * *
    “Baby, come on.”
    The voice sounded like Jayson, but he was at work. I’d left him.
    I moaned and tried to shake my head to clear my scrambled thoughts, but I couldn’t move.
    “No, baby, stay still.”
    Jayson again.
    “Oh just leave her alone. She’s not worth the air she breathes. Just a worthless slut. Although you liked her cunt well enough, didn’t you?”
    “Shut up,” Jayson growled.
    I opened my eyes and looked up at him. I was resting with my head on his lap while he glared murderously at Tom. “If you want the severance pay I’m going to give you, you will shut the fuck up.”
    “You mean the money for buying my slut wife,” Tom retorted. Obviously, he was a stupid asshole. Even I knew Jayson was on the verge of killing him.
    “No, it’s the money to get your slimy ass out of my life and out of Malory’s life. Unless you