He Finally Touched Me, But Called Her Name

on Adela as she surfac

ing wa

lling of expensive whiskey and a clo

away, her hands mee

w even in the dark. Cedar and tobacco. Her husband, Caden-a man

er ear, a ragged whisper

ist

ade. He was drunk and thou

way, to escape. But he wouldn'

assion, but of possession. Of release. The silk

topped

e tear tracing a silent path from t

g windows. Adela woke to a deep, soul-crushing s

dressed in a flawless bespoke suit. His eyes

small plastic case onto the duvet in f

voice was devoi

ception. The humiliation of the night before cr

hard. "Caden, you wer

accident to get pregnant? To escape your che

marriage was a transaction, an agreement she'd signed to cover her grandmoth

s, her voice a raw whi

ience s

mped around her jaw, forcing her mouth open. The pressur

then grabbed the glass of water from the

and the bitter pill slid down. Tears she co

form with pure disgust. "Don't forget what you are. A wife

lored cuffs, as if he had jus

will personally drag you to a clinic

without a backward glance. The heavy s

ized her stomach. She scrambled to the bathroom, collapsing in front of the t

ection in the mirrored cabinet. Pale face, empty eyes. A

s a gilded cage, her only human contact the housek

c. But a deep fatigue began to settle in her bones, and waves of nausea would hit her

the sink, a terrifying thought pie

rom the back of the medicine cabinet. She'd bought it months

. Time stretched, each sec

stick, squeezing her eyes shut. She to

Bright, sharp,

silent gasp. The test slipped from her n

as pr

ll come. Was it a sick joke from fate, or the beginning of an even deepe