His Cruelty, My Despair

erile. It was the condo on the east side. My personal belongings were packed in boxes st

ied frown on her face. "Chloe, your heart rate is erratic, and your blood pressur

hest had subsided to a dull, constant ache. It was

g to create a new routine, to find a way to live in this new, empty lif

pid, foolish hope. But it

mug smile on her face. "I hope I'm not interruptin

Olivia?" I asked, b

she said, trying to peek around me into t

lmost funny. "He has a strange

ny charity gala. It's a big event." She paused, letting the implication hang in the a

etense. "The ones Ethan gave you for your anniversary last y

Ethan had designed himself. He had told me it represented the years we had b

aid, my v

sh, Chloe. They're just things. You los

lway. Two large men in security uniforms a

," Ethan said, his voice cold and

's door to take a gift he had given me

voice trembling with rage. "

he security guards. "She's been unwell. She might not be thinking cl

enaline, a primal need to protect the last remnants of my life. I tried to block their path,

hrough the ringing in my ears, I could hear Olivia' s panicked, fake cry

han, blinded by his infatuation, rushed to her

on the floor with my head throbbi

ontrol. "She's unstable," he said to the guards, his voice loud and clear for anyone in th

lating anger. "I have no choice. For her own safety, she

property. The one with the basement apartment.

y own husband was imprisoning me

led me to my feet, their grips like iron on my arms. They dragged me out

a look of stern, false concern, her wit

ion. They forced me down a set of rickety wooden stairs into a damp, dark basement. The air was thick with the sme

bag of stale crackers onto the mattress. "The b

ing into place echoing in the darkness. I was a prisoner. I was alone in the cold, damp