Free Forbidden Paths by P. J. Belden Page A

finally be set free.
     
    Well, I’m free from selling my body to men to get even with my family. I’ve been in the paper so many times. Every time it became three against one.
     
    “Read this!” My father yells throwing the paper at me.
    Picking the paper up from the floor, I flip it over to see the front page news.
    ‘Heiress Faith Harper at it again. Seen exiting a hotel with two smiling men.’
    All I could do was laugh. This was the exact reaction I hoped to get from them. Even knowing what was going to come from both my antics and my laughter, I still couldn’t stop the swell of ‘take that’ in my chest.
    Even as I watched Tony stalk toward me, the smile was still plastered on my face. I just didn’t care anymore. If he kills me today then I wouldn’t complain. Maybe there is some sadistic part of me that longed for my death. Only in my death would I be able to be free from all that haunts me.
    “You find this funny do you? You’re making a joke of yourself.”
    “No,” I shake my head, still smiling. “I’m making a joke of you. Read the article. They’re happy to see me embracing my youth,” I laugh.
    He smacks me. Even the pain throbbing in my head right now, didn’t stop the smile from staying on my face. I was getting what I wanted.
    “You’re a whore,” he hisses.
    “You made me that way,” I hiss right back.
    I see out of the corner of my eye, him ball his fist up. Please hit me you sick, fucking bastard, I scream inside my head.
    “Hit me you fucking coward. Hit me! I can see from your fists you want to. Hit me! Nothing’s ever stopped you for hitting or raping me before.”
    He laughs. “You call that rape?  You’re mine.”
    “I’m not yours. Never have been yours. And yes I call that rape. It was not a consensual act.”
    “You’re reaching…”
    “And you’re a rapist,” I hiss.
     
    It was after that he left claiming a business trip. My father tried to lock me in my room, but when all the staff there hated all of them, it didn’t take long for me to get out. I’ve been away from the house for two weeks now.
    Lia has been so nice to let me crash with her. It’s a construction site. Most rooms were under renovation leaving only one bedroom usable at the moment, but we share the bed no problem… Well, until she starts playing with herself in her sleep. Yeah, I high tail it out of there and sleep on the couch. My guess is it’s the mystery guy she’s hooked on.
    Thankfully, Lia has also been coming with me to my appointments because being alone for these is a scary thought.  I’m now twelve weeks along. Lia has yet to tell me the name of the guy. She said after this.
    “Lia!” I call. “You home?”
    “Yeah. In your new bedroom.”
    I walk in the direction her voice is coming from to find Lia going through clothes. “What are you doing?”
    “Trying to find something sexy, but will hide that slight bump you have going on,” she nods to my belly.
    Looking down, I run my hands over it. “You can hardly tell. Unless you know what you’re looking for.”
    “Trust me a man will notice right away.”
    “So, what time is it?”
    “In two hours. We need to hurry because I still need to swing by and pick up Hazel.”
    We begin a mad dash to get ready for tonight. Tonight’s theme is Masked Choice basically we start out in masks and as the night progresses we choose whether to stay masked or reveal ourselves to our partners.
    Like the masked party we did a couple months ago, we have been assigned letters to correspond with our partner. She has hosted eight of these since my first, but thankfully I hadn’t been included in any of them but this one. My last one.
    It’s as we are headed for Hazel’s, we were talking about how my appointment went, that she lays the bomb on me.
    “It’s what!” I stare at her in shock.
    “It’s the same guys from the last masked party we had.”
    “You mean the one where I got pregnant,” I hiss.
    “Yes, I figure if you