Flagrant: An Inferno World Novella

by Ally Vance

  “Well?” she asks expectantly, and I guiltily screw up my face.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t looked yet. I’m afraid of what the answer will be. Though, I guess in a way I already know what it’s going to say. I just can’t bring myself to face it,” I admit, letting out a shuddery breath.

  “You can’t put it off forever. Look at it,” she urges.

  Twisting my hands, I let out a groan and pick up the test. My hands are shaking, and my heart feels like it’s going to break through my rib cage, it’s beating so hard and fast. I look at the little window and the plastic testing stick slides out of my hand, hitting the floor

  I glance up at Jocelyn and whisper, “Positive. I’m pregnant.”

  She picks it up and looks at it to confirm before dropping it in the trash. She washes her hands and I follow suit, and when I’m done, she pulls me into her arms.

  I can feel her shaking against me as she whispers, “I’m so sorry. I was hoping for your sake it wouldn’t be positive.”

  I laugh hollowly. “Me too. Thanks for being here with me.”

  “We’re family, and you needed me. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I leave the bathroom, feeling like I’ve got a lead weight in my stomach instead of a baby. Walking down the hallway I try not to imagine I’m heading toward a firing squad; although, if I were, at least the outcome would be a predictable one. I ran away when I was unknowingly carrying his child. I’ll be lucky if he forgives me, but I’m foolishly hoping that maybe he’ll be less inclined to punish me at the risk of hurting his unborn baby.

  I’m burdened with the knowledge of what resides within me. I know in my heart it’s wrong, yet somehow I want it anyway. That conviction carries me forward, even though the survival instinct in me is hollering at the top of its lungs for me to turn tail and run. I’ve nowhere to run to, though, and when my only other living relative learns what has become of her son, she’ll wish nothing but harm upon me too.

  I’m trying so hard to keep myself composed. Knowing what Pater has given me, and what I’m going to give him in return, I want to shed the heavy weight of despair I’m carrying and exchange it for a feeling of happiness. But my mind rebels at the possibility of him loving his unborn son or daughter in the way he loves me. I push that thought from my mind, bringing my focus back to the here and now. I’ve got to survive whatever’s coming for me first.

  The family room is empty when I arrive. Gregory’s body is no longer lying in there, but his blood still stains the flooring. I’m just about to take a seat on the couch when Pater bellows loud enough for the whole house to hear.

  “SOFIA! Get your ass upstairs, we’re going to have a little chat.”

  I stop in my tracks, gulping down the lump in my throat that refuses to shift. Whatever he has planned for me, he wants it to be private, and he wants everyone to know I’m in deep fucking water with him right now. My cheeks heat as I make my way out of the room and up the stairs, recalling what happened last time I was up there. I somehow doubt this will be the same...but then again, with him, who knows what he’s got planned.

  My palms are sweaty and my hands begin to shake the closer I get to the second floor. All the doors are shut, apart from one, just like they were last time. Pater is leaning with his shoulder against the doorframe of his bedroom with a hard to read expression on his face. I’m not sure what awaits me in there, whether good or bad, all I know is it’ll be delivered by Pater. Steeling myself as best I can, I approach him while trying not to look nervous. But, if his predatory grin is anything to go by, I’m completely failing.

  Drawing closer to him, I see his golden-brown eyes darken until they’re nearly black. My breaths are coming more rapidly, and I fist my hands at my sides to try and control the shaking. I walk past him and into the bedroom. He closes the door behind me and locks it, every click resounding in my eardrums like gunshots. I’m more tense now than when he interrogated me and took my virginity, and I’m more on edge than when he asked me to come up here the first time, and on that occasion, I wasn’t in trouble with him or preparing to receive a punishment.

  I don’t realize I’ve stopped moving until I see Pater walk past me and sit down on the bed. He doesn’t say anything, and I know he’s waiting to see if I’ll have the guts to move closer. Not wanting to let him down any more than I know I have already, I close the distance until I’m standing in front of him. Even sitting, he somehow manages to tower over me, or at least, it seems that way because of his intimidating and all consuming presence.

  “Sit down, and start talking, Sofia. You’ve got something you need to say and make sure you skip the bullshit. I’m not in the mood to hear excuses.”

  “I’m sorry, Daddy. I shouldn’t have run and disobeyed you. I broke my promise to you when I did. I swear, I don’t know why Gregory said what he said. He made a snap judgement when he found me throwing up in that bathroom. I wasn’t about to take any damn test he offered me, not after what he did to me. He hurt me, Daddy. He shut me in the bathroom, pinned me against the tiles, and he raped me. I couldn’t stop him.” I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my sobs, and my tears flow freely, soaking my skin.

  “So you’re telling me that you didn’t run away from here while knowingly carrying my child. You didn’t even suspect just a tiny bit that it was a possibility, when I’ve filled you up with my dick and cum on more than one occasion? It didn’t even cross your mind? I find that very hard to believe, and I’ll be honest with you, Sofia, you’ve given me very little reason to take your word for it,” Pater says in a hard voice, fixing me with a steely stare.

  “I swear, I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have run away if I did. I didn’t know before, but-but I do now,” I stammer, wiping my face, and looking up at him.

  Pater raises an eyebrow expectantly, indicating I should continue and to hurry up about it.

  “I took a test downstairs in the bathroom when I was getting cleaned up, and it was positive...I’m pregnant,” I finally admit, somehow keeping my voice steady during the terrible revelation that will bind me even further to Pater and my family.

  I wait with bated breath for his response, watching him closely for any change in his expression.

  “You’ve made me a very proud father, Fia. You’ve been a good girl by doing what I’ve asked of you today when you killed Gregory, and even better you’re giving me a baby. I think that calls for a celebration, don’t you?”

  Pater smiles, and his eyes search mine for a moment before he leans forward and kisses me firmly on the lips. Reaching over me, he slides his hands beneath my thighs and lifts me onto his lap so I’m straddling him. Surprise renders me speechless, but when he assaults my neck with his mouth, I moan deeply and automatically tilt my head back.

  “There’s my good, sweet girl, Fia,” he growls.

  When he palms my ass and pulls me closer, I can feel the thick erection that’s tenting his pants, and I let out a soft cry of pain as my ass throbs, reminding me again of what Gregory did to me there.

  Pater grabs hold of my t-shirt and rips it off me, discarding it on the floor. He continues to ravage me with his mouth while pressing his palm possessively over my stomach where his baby is growing. I surrender to his touch and little whimpers escape from me at the feel of his mouth roaming over my skin.

  Gripping my ass, he stands and turns to lay me down flat on my back on the large bed before divesting me of the rest of my clothing. He strips off his shirt, and dropping his pants, he exposes his cock. I barely have a moment to look before he roughly pulls me toward him and drives into me to the hilt. I let out a yelp as he stretches my pussy, filling me completely.

  “That’s a good girl. Now look at me and take it all, baby,” he encourages, starting to move until he finds his rhythm and is pounding into me hard and fast.

  His stare penetrates me as deeply as he does, and the wetness building in my pussy makes me want to scream with despair at the pleasure he’s
slowly unleashing. I hate myself for enjoying what he does to me and curse my continued inability to hate him. With every thrust into my body, Pater is wrenching apart my soul and revealing the darkness within, so I can view it with my wide and fearful eyes.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I lie on my daddy’s bed in a daze with my legs still parted, and his warm cum slipping out of me. Pater fucked me to the point of exhaustion, taking out his exaltation at my pregnancy on my body. It’s been hours since I ate, and I’m feeling the effects of it in my inability to focus, not to mention the rush of endorphins flowing through me from what just occurred.

  “Get dressed, Fia,” he says, and I move slowly to obey.

  My entire body aches from the exertion and strain that has been put on it since I woke this morning. Once dressed, Pater scoops up my sore, pliant body into his arms and cradles me to his chest before standing. Looking up at his face, fear flits through me at warp speed when I see that the passionate pride has been replaced by a cold, stern expression. Pater is angry, and my mind sluggishly tries to work out what I’ve done in the past ten minutes to cause such an abrupt change.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, forgetting myself and breaking yet another of his rules, but surprisingly, he answers my question.

  “I may have rewarded you for giving me something I want very much, but it doesn’t excuse what you did. You still ran, and you still broke the rules. It’s all about trust, Sofia, and you’ve proven, time and time again, you can’t be trusted. So, I’m going to have to take precautions,” he says.

  At his harsh admission I immediately start to struggle, trying to get out of his arms, but he only tightens his hold further. I don’t want to go back to the oubliette and the dark, narrow captivity that awaits disobedient children at the bottom of that hole.

  “Please, no, don’t put me back down in the pit. I fucking swear, I won’t disobey you again. I won’t run away. Please, Daddy, I can’t go back down there!”

  “I’ve got something better in mind. I’m not going to risk one of my other kids being swayed to misbehave and help you out of there. No, you’re going to stay up here, nice and close, where I can keep an eye on you and fuck you whenever I choose. You’ll be fed, warm, and able to keep my kid safe in that belly until he or she is ready to come into the world. Then maybe, maybe, if you’ve been a good girl during that time I’ll let you out, and we can do it all over again, Fia.”

  Confusion sweeps over me, mingled with the fear he’s evoking in me. Carrying me along the hallway he sets me down but maintains a firm grip on me to stop me from running, not that I’d be foolish enough to try at this point. He proceeds to pull a set of keys from his pocket and unlocks one of the mysterious doors that none of us have ever seen behind. No one knows what lies beyond them except Pater, yet in a moment, I’ll soon be privy to one of those secrets.

  He opens the door, and I peer inside as curiosity gets the better of me. It’s a simple room, not unlike the one I have downstairs, but there’s a stark difference between this one and mine. In the corner is a simple wooden crib, and I realize in that moment exactly what he intends.

  “Please don’t lock me away, Daddy,” I beg.

  I grab his arm and stare up at his face, imploring him to reconsider. I don’t want to be caged and imprisoned in this room throughout my pregnancy and probably after. Pater pries my fingers loose and pulls me into the room that’s going to be mine from this point on.

  “Your momma ran away from me when she was pregnant with you. After lying about her miscarriage, she then ran off with my cousin and hid you away from me. If I’d known the truth, then nothing on this earth would have kept me from finding you. Now you’re here where you belong, and you’re going to stay where I can keep an eye on you. I’m not letting you out of my sight, baby girl. Now, be good, and keep the noise down unless you wanna spend most of your days up here choking on my dick just to keep you quiet. Hell, I may have to do it anyway. Why waste this pretty little mouth of yours?” he says, gently running his thumb over my lips.

  I’m gasping quietly. Small sobs are trapped inside me, held captive by a thread that’s beginning to fray and split. He’s locking me away, so I can’t run from him again. I turn away, and my movement causes his thumb to swipe across my cheek, cutting a path through tears that I hadn’t noticed were falling.

  Pater strokes my hair, threading his fingers through the strands before fisting them in his grip, and forcing me to turn back to face him. He presses a fierce and possessive kiss against my mouth, but I’m too lost in my despair to respond until he tightens his hold, and growling against my lips, he uses his tongue to probe his way into my mouth, just as he has done to my soul. He’s burrowed deep under my skin and into my body and heart, and I haven’t got it in me to deny his wishes anymore. I once again surrender to his will, and he kisses me deeply until I’m dizzy and breathless.

  In the haze he leaves behind when he releases me, I lose focus on everything, drifting in the emptiness within my soul. That is, until I hear the slam of the bedroom door and the click of the key in the lock, as he seals me inside this hellish prison with nothing but my aching heart and the life we created, growing slowly within my body.

  Epilogue

  The weeks have slowly dragged by, and with each one, my body has changed and swelled with our baby. I don’t know whether Pater and I are having a girl or a boy, but my only hope is that the baby is healthy and happy.

  I’m tired of the room he insists on keeping me confined to. The en suite bathroom means I don’t need to be allowed out to use the toilet or keep myself clean. Once I’d stopped screaming, crying, and begging, almost daily, for him to let me out, he finally did. I treasure the rare days he allows me to wander the house and stand outside where I can feel the sun and wind on my face.

  In the beginning, whenever he left the house to run errands, Vaughn or Jocelyn would sneak upstairs to talk to me through the bedroom door. Those moments were few and far between, but they helped keep me sane when the silence and loneliness would become too much to bear. Recently, it’s just been Jocelyn who comes to visit me. Whenever I ask her where Vaughn is and why he hasn’t been to see me, she refuses to answer and sometimes stops talking altogether. But even her silent presence on the other side of the door is a comfort.

  Pater comes to see me often, bringing me food, clothes, and other necessities. His visits usually end with me on my knees and my mouth wrapped around his cock, or with him leaving me sprawled on my bed well fucked and full of his cum.

  As our baby grows and I feel it move and kick, so does my love for this unborn innocent. Mom would hate that I'm trapped like she was, and I wish she was here to help me with the pregnancy. Maybe it's better that she isn't here to see me like this. I'm sure she'd be disgusted that it's Pater's child growing inside me, and horrified that I'm unable to truly hate him like she did. I’m balanced on the razor sharp edge between love and hate for the man who made me. I’m trying to fan the flames of hatred to life, and they’re blooming stronger in my heart with each passing day, but no matter my feelings, I belong to him as his daughter, his wife, and soon to be mother of his child. I only hope that when our baby comes into the world, he will decide to keep me too.

  Months later, I wake up moaning with pleasure from a delicious dream to find Pater between my legs, his cock buried inside my pussy, slowly fucking me and moving in and out of my body. He presses a hand over my mouth when I let out another soft moan, and jerks his head meaningfully toward the crib where our baby boy, Tyler, is sleeping soundly. The slickness builds the longer he fucks me until he’s coming hard inside me.

  Pater doesn’t remove his hand from my mouth and his heavy breaths blow warmly over my face as he looks deeply into my eyes. I gaze sleepily back up at him, wondering what’s prompted this late night visit. He pulls out of me, and sits up. Running a finger down my face and neck, I shiver as tingles spread through me at the light touch until he closes his hand around my throat, squeezing tightly and
cutting off my oxygen.

  Leaning in close to me, he presses a soft kiss on my forehead and whispers, “Sorry it has to end like this, baby. But even though you’ve been so good lately, I still don’t trust you. I’ve no need for kids who can’t behave and do as they’re told.”

  Tears leak from my eyes as I reach out to try and stop him, to make him let go of me so I can breathe. I stare up at him in horror at the betrayal as he slowly suffocates me with his bare hands. Turning my head as much as he’ll allow I stare through the bars of the crib to where Tyler is sleeping peacefully,

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of our son. I’ll raise him right, and he’ll be a great man like his daddy is. Sweet dreams, Fia.”

  My innocent baby boy dreams on, completely unaware that merely feet away his momma is choking on her last breath at the hands of his father.

  LUKE

  As I cradle my son to my chest, rocking him gently to sleep, I look over at my sleeping wife whose sexy, swollen belly curves the bed sheet with the soon to be latest addition to our family. I do sometimes regret killing Fia, and I suppose it would’ve been ideal to have her here to look after the baby while I’m having my way with Jocelyn.

  However, once she was no longer weighed down with her pregnancy, I couldn’t trust her not to try to escape. Plus, with Jocelyn now free of the oubliette, there was the risk that the two of them would collaborate and succeed in doing what Jocelyn’s been trying to do to me for years.

  I could’ve kept her locked away in my rooms or down in the oubliette, but with Jocelyn now pregnant, and my young son to raise, I’ve no need for any other wives to breed and raise my children. Jocelyn has long since proved herself capable of being a doting and loving wife for me, and the perfect mother for our baby and my son. Fia was fiery, but Jocelyn’s spark will always burn the brightest. She always has and always will come first in my heart.