Love Was My Cage, Not Salvation

ce

run. I remained perfectly still, a statue in the encroaching

closer. I felt his hand reach out, about to grab my s

re letting the bugs in!" Paige's

e air an inch from my shoulder.

my back. He must have decided his unease was just para

ht. He turned his attention back to me, a faceless shadow in h

g a stranger, but the words landed on me like a f

I saw him pause to straighten a small, crooked stepping stone on the patio path. It was an unc

nt action, the final piece of

rried. I had been so full of hope, so excited for our future. "Whe

read in his eyes. "Not yet, Grace," he'd said gently

. The timing was never

ed, deliberately and silently, back into the cover of the woods. The

replaced by a chilling, resolute calm. The grief was still there, a mas

sting, loving wife, h

survive in the harsh world of the

riend, Liam, who was also my lawyer. I called him from

me into his conference room, no questions asked. I laid

. "I want to disappear. I want to sign away everything. My s

When I was done, I pushed the phone towards him. "And I want you to

house, Caleb was already the

en? I was so worried," he

was nauseating. I played my part, letting him fuss over me, all the while

e renunciation of all my rights and assets as a Miller. As I was abou

's annual foundation dinner is

remembered how he'd tried to book the exclusive rooftop terrace, but my parents had vetoed

te, the family will be dining o

y cruelty of it

ey were planning for the 'inevitable reveal.' They were going to suggest you see a therapist, get you on medication for anxiety... to 'hel

ng to leave me. They were going to break me, silence me, a

ffice. My hand was perfectly steady as I signed my name, 'Grace Mi

with unspoken tension. They were watching me, gaugin

er voice dripping with false sympathy

ed flicker of anticipation in their eyes. This was the first step of their plan. The wine was

ile that didn't reach my

gazes, and drank the entire thin

er. My game was