ce slithered through the phone, smooth

n-Enzo's phone burning in her grip, the shower steam still clinging to the air. S

laugh. "Oh, I must have

r chest heaving. "It's too late to deny it

ack in it, like she'd been caught. "I don't k

and desperate. "Don't be a coward. Tell m

cating. Then, a whisper. "Bianca.

gh tears she didn't realize were falling. Her stomach churned-anger, shame, betrayal twisting together like a knot she couldn't untie. She'd known Enzo was slipping away,

ght of the house, the wedding, the promises they'd made. Ten years of love, of choosing him, of en

, water dripping from his hair. He froze when he saw her, the phone s

d since that diner day. But now she saw something else-lies, shadows, a stranger we

stepping c

r tongue. "Bianca Falco. She called you

but something colder. He crossed his ar

, cracking. "I'm your wife, and some woman's calling you l

owing a tantrum. "What does it ma

like a punch. "Not a big deal? You're f

that we haven't been happy. I love you, you know that. But I'm

t feel like hers. "Different needs? Are you serious? I'm your wife, Enzo! You

loud, stinging, and it sent her stumbling back. Her cheek burned, her vision swimming with sh

she whispered,

"What, I can't hit you? You're my w

rising, defiance sparking throu

e gasped, clutching the edge to stay upright. He grabbed her shoulders, hitting her a third time, his

s wasn't the man she'd married. This was a monster. "What if I

the bad. That's marriage. You wanted this life-the

her skin, but she jerked away, her heart poundi

eared her scalp as he dragged her across the room. She screamed,

oor slammed shut, and she heard the click of the lock. "Stay there," he growled through the

e curled into herself, the closet's tight space pressing in, suffocating. She thought of Mia, sleeping innocently, unaware of the nightmare her

ets, his late nights, because she loved him. But this? The affairs, the violence, the way he locked her away like a dog? It