My Hero Husband, My Monster

ss career to save my life. His vow-"I can't lose Ellen Strong on

. The man I loved was replaced by a monster who worship

liated my father to dea

n bank, having my kidney removed witho

r's grave, pouring his ashes on th

d, hard resolve. The hero who once saved me was gone, leaving

y own death. The world believes Ellen Strong died in a plane crash. Five years later, m

pte

e was a hero

heir to the Wallace real estate empire, but because he

hat up for me

ward the stands where I sat. Blake saw it. Without a thought, he swerved his bike, taking the impact hi

if he regretted sacrificing his championship f

but his words echo

onships," he said. "But I ca

s a retired factory worker, a kind and devout man who couldn' t believe his daughter had married into such a world. But Blake' s l

Norman ente

imed to be the last descendant of a forgotten European mystical lineage. She spoke of energies

e was me

powerful, but he felt purposeless. Celesta saw that void and filled it with her nonsense. She to

st believe her;

I was moved to a guest room. He said it was necessary for his spiritual journey. Celesta

bedsheets had to be hand-washed with soap made from olive oil blessed by moonlight. Her meditation chambers

wn "purification." He said my humble origins made my soul heavy and th

a strange obsession he would eventually get over. I clung to

ered the day my fa

e, his pride and joy. When he saw Celesta, he offered he

led as if he

g," she declared, her voice ringing with

d demanded a "cleansing." Blake, my husband, the man who had on

ordering him to apologize to the "spirits of the house" for his intrusion. My father, a man of q

screamed, I cried, I remind

as cold, a mask

" he said. "Celesta is cleansi

She looked at the simple cross my father always

owerless god," she sneered. "It is

dyguard to rip i

en my fathe

ity. He died on the cold marble floor of that mansion, clutc

d for Blake d

hen that the man I married was gone, replaced by a monster. The abuse didn't stop. It escalated. When Celesta was diagno

cherished possessions-his books, his worn-out armchair, the photos of my mother

as trapped on the second floor, my ankle twisted in the chaos. Blake ran past my room. Our eyes m

stial Orb! It wi

om to save one of her worthless "sacred

und what I needed: proof. Celesta was a complete fraud, a con

o take on her behalf-another one of her cruel errands. The flight was s

ent flight to a small town in Oregon. I left

be on crashed into the oce

ong died

broke through his delusion, Blake Wallace exposed Celesta. He used his immense

world, punishing himself in a

. And I would