My Marriage: A Million Lies

to be an impossible love story. I was the rebellious artist who h

iage was a lie, a charade designed to protect his fragile sister-in-law, Kala.

letting me endure his family' s scorn for bein

"accidents" that left me scarred. They systematically broke me, forcing me to give

licate. Not like you." He thought I was strong enough

as the celebrated artist 'Lark.' And when he came crawling back, begging for forgiv

pte

sa Va

o take the hits, not protect the vulnerable." Eli' s voice, cold an

where he was my hero and I, his vibrant, rebellious artist, had chased him across continents.

gating his ancient, traditional family, a gilded cage I' d gladly entered, thinking it was the price of true passion. I had fallen deeply, com

his face a mask of his usual controlled composure. But this time, I saw it differently. It wasn't d

of the Drake conglomerate, old money, old rules. Our worlds were supposed to collide

Elyssa, had recoiled, her lips thinning to a pale line. "Drake women uphold tradition, Carissa, not... deface it." I had scoffed, looking to Eli for support, but he had merely given a

arrangements last minute, replacing them with dusty classical sculptures. "This is how we do things," she'd stated, her voice as unyielding as granite. I had fought back, loudly and publicly, c

us since our wedding day. I' d bristled under their expectations, arguing for choice, for our own timing. Eli had always seemed to side wit

ting me from my wifely duties. I had exploded, my voice echoing through the silent mansion, declaring that my body was my own, my choices mine to make. Eli had walked in

anded like a fist to my stomach. "You know, Carissa

hased, the man I had believed in. He was criticizing my very essence, the fire he had once claimed

y he' d let me be humiliated, the way he' d allowed me to be framed for crimes I didn' t commit, all while standing silently by. Each tim

laid bare. I had inadvertently overheard a conversation, a hushed exchange between Eli and his family lawyer

their attention from Kala. Now, we need to finalize the framework for

had spun in my head, a diz

ys strong enough to take it. She thrives on defianc

? Thrives on defiance? Was that all I was to hi

the vasectomy? Still holding up, I p

ng for a child, of feeling inadequate under the family's watchful eyes, of silent tears shed in the steri

eatening to buckle beneath me. This wasn't just betrayal; it was

the, mocking my shattered illusions. My love for Eli, once a burning inferno, chilled instantly, solidifying i

t was all a terrible misunderstanding. But as I watched him, his gaze st

hat moment, so consumed was he by his callous conversation. His eyes, devoid of any

laced by a searing, metallic taste of vengeance. My face, my muscles, became stone. My eyes, once bright with love, now held a dangerous, chilling glint. He had u

day he ever thought I was