door behind me, my heart pounded against

me, I didn't

ly, his gaze co

asked, his voice dr

hard, my wor

r. You were there; you saw everything. She came on her own,"

ccusation. "Nyra, you promised me. Are you goi

m. "Believe me, Kael, I won't betray

his voice cutting throu

I will be the judge of that," he snapped, leaving me f

o make this marriage work. You said you wanted to paint a perfect picture of marriage." Kae

his tone tightening

omplete family, not a broken one. What's gone wrong? Do you want

nto mine, his w

going back on your word? I gave you everything! You're not working, Nyra, I do everything. I provide for you

r wavered. It was as if every word was a weapon, meant to r

you think. I'm sorry," I stammer

laugh, his eyes fl

k too?" he fired back, hi

know the pain of a man who goes out every day to work so t

ze darkening as h

me into a beast," he said,

roughly, his hand tightening around my ne

I slapped his hand in despe

reaming down my face and falling onto his hand.

ip, and I coughed violently

ring at me with a mu

tering the mirror into jagged pieces. His growl e

ged to say, my voice barely above a whispe

lara, and everyone else, and tell them I don't need them around my famil

lied, my hands tremb

steady but laced with cruelty. "Rem

ere was an unsettling familiarity to it

d commanding, sent c

ers flooded my mind, the w

t filled the air. The command pierced through m

one in my gut. The anticipation of pain, the knowledge that my body would ag

ice barely a whisper, cracking

" His words were final, devoid of any empathy, echoin

nation settled over me. I stripped away my clothes,

ing the vulnerability that le

into my skin, a reminder that I was at his mercy. His actions morphed into

ve, as if he were trying to dominate

my cheeks, blurring

tless wave that crashed over me,

e finally pulled away, leaving me

sappeared into

my heart heavy with the

ke this?" The question hung in th

captor, yes, but he was also my lifeline in

ave him? But I won't surviv

ce gnawed at me, tearing

ence and fear, a brutal life th

washed over me once more. He walked towards his safe,

d, but there was a warning laced in his

lt the remnants of my tears on my che

he reality of my life, torn between the chains that boun

ossroads; the choices ahead were fraught with danger, but

*

edroom, my phone beeped on the nightstand. I picke

lara told me something

from

n, a mix of emotions

, not since Kael made me cut ti

n my best friend, my co

lt like a lifeline I w

if Kael found out? But then I thought of Lorien's questio

gn, a chance to rea

k it, I ran into the ba

ay, Jarek.