And even if I could explain…
What would be the point?
I can never escape my marriage.
I never had a choice in it.
They forced me to sign.
And I remain just as trapped now as I was then.
I am bound to Frederick Wardgrave.
And there is no saving me.
I am to live my life tied to a man twice my age, in a marriage devoid of anything resembling love.
A marriage where cruelty is more familiar than kindness.
He is a cruel man.
And I am simply stuck.
There is no leaving. My life depends on it, and so does my father’s.
So perhaps one could say I sacrificed myself for my father.
And some nights, lying awake in the dark, I wonder if it was worth it.
If there might have been another way.
But what is done is done.
There is no use dwelling on it now.
I fall into autopilot as the car comes to a stop in front of the house.
The door opens.
Frederick steps out, then rounds the car and opens mine.
He grips me and pulls me out with a force that makes it difficult to keep my footing as I try to match his pace.
He is seething.
We enter the house and I immediately notice the silence. His guards are nowhere to be seen. Neither is the staff.
No witnesses.
He shoves me into the living room. I lose my balance and fall to my knees.
“Pathetic little whore,” he breathes, his voice low and venomous, just before his palm connects with my face.
My head snaps to the side.
But I don’t make a sound.
“I told you to stay away from him. I told you to stay away from my son.”
