rough it, rolling up the sleeves of his expensive shirt. His f

firm with purpose. The charming man I had fallen in love wi

as he circled me. "You thought you could b

hat came out was a wet, rattling gasp. The drugs had ma

how tough y

ngs. I doubled over, a wave of nausea and a sharp, specific pain radi

ul of my hair and

n I'm talking t

he world tilted, bright spots dancing in front of my swollen eyes. The

vas floor. The surface was sticky and

me, not with satisfaction, but with a kind of detached cruelty, as if

friends, who were

e of this?" he shouted, a

en dinner at our table and praised my cookin

f we do, budd

was everywhere, a white-hot fire consuming me. I curled into a ball, tr

a moment, then nudge

ast," he said, but he was laughin

ose to mine. His breath smelled of e

his. Getting married is a big deal. Got all this... pressure. pent-up energy. This is

ing, it was almost a physical blow. He was justifying this horror as a twisted act of purific

ng, throwing money. It was a carnival of cruelty, and my broken body was the main attract