th the smell of betrayal and the chilling words Issa had just uttered. Marcus, scrambli

ane, Issa?!" he spat,

eet, made a pathetic whimper. "Ma

her tear-filled eyes now coate

aced with nothing but fury.

e began to awkwardly untangle herse

d of remorse. "Don't you dare speak to her like

very bed you defiled?" She took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. "Marcus. You

nights, the 'stress' of work, the cold shoulders you give me every time in our own bed. And I believed you! I blamed myself! I thought

first time-not as the loving husband she remembere

id godforsaken marriage. I am done pretending to be okay. And just

ried out of the room like a terri

To where? What do you have, Issa? You have nothing withou

d hardened Issa's heart. He truly believes I

dy even with the brewing sorrow, "and that's mo

ed from the kitchen doorway. It was Marcus's mother, Evelyn. Her arms were crossed, her eyes narrowed in satisfaction. She had always mad

n, though her eyes gleamed with malice. "Oh my... did you finally decide to leave? Good dec

d with controlled anger. Not w

someday." She walked past the woman, leaving t

ful packing. Just necessities. A few clothes she could change into, her wallet, her phone. Each i

face now hard, his earlier feigned compos

e." His voice wasn't apologetic; it was laced with flat anno

ed by my audacity to leave. He truly believes I owe him, that I'm suppose

I'm leaving." Her v

rasp of the zipper slicing t

we me, Issa. This house. Everything

her arm, his grip familiar

ld no fear; it was totally replaced by a co

ll away, but hi

sound tearing from her throat

bable feeling, she landed a hard kick to his shin.

ignoring his pain-and snatched her bag as she we

er heart pounding drastically against her ribs. She threw her bag into the back

ke that, she sped down the driveway

indshield, exactly like the tears that now coursed silently down her face. She was weeping, not with the r

stination in mind-only a desperate need to go as far as possi

ally, she

ed through the rain-streaked window, tapping furiously on the

ut through the sound of rain,

eam a final, desperate No!-a deafening crash eru

and brutal, twisting the l

in. A powerful arm circled around her neck, dragging her o

ain exploded

en, da