Chapter 39

• As the first punch is thrown at her belly, Melina doesn't even pretend it doesn't hurt. Screaming at the top of her lungs as his iron-ringed knuckles punch her stomach, Melina hunches forward, forcing her stomach in as her ribs burn; her face snaps backward as James punches her chin.
• "James, please, I am beg…." Melina's words get choked in her throat as James punches her square in the face. A splitting pain shoots through Melina's nose as it breaks in two. Melina tastes the metal in her mouth as blood pours out of her nose.
• "I wonder if he will still love you once I make you ugly," James says, punching her in the stomach again.