My Heart, His Cruelty

“The phone buzzed frantically during my board meeting. It was my mother, her voice a shredded mess, whispering, "He's here. At the university. He's making us..." before the line went dead. "He" was Gustav Bradford, the man I loved, the man who was destroying me. I raced to Westwood University to find my parents on their knees, humiliated, with Gustav standing over them, beautiful and terrifying, beside his therapist, Estelle Strong. Estelle, his new everything, whispered lies about my parents disrespecting them, while my father, a man who debated world leaders, bowed his head in shame. My mother sobled silently as a drone live-streamed their humiliation. When I confronted him, Gustav, with a chilling smile, ordered his guard to break my father's leg. A sickening crack echoed, followed by my father's agonizing scream. Then, my mother's. They both lay broken. The love I had for Gustav shattered, replaced by a cold, vast emptiness. "I will kill you," I whispered, the words tasting like poison. He just smiled, kissed my cheek, and left, telling me he'd be home for dinner. That night, my parents, in a desperate act to free me, took their own lives. My scream was soundless. I called Amit, my friend, for the drug that would make me look dead. I had to die to live, and I had to live to see Gustav Bradford burn.”