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His eyes travel frantically all over my face and I swear I can hear him thinking.

“Will you come talk to me after you get off work? I feel like we can’t talk here and I want to try to fix this.”

I think about his request. As I look up at him, I realize there is nothing he can say that will fix this. I am well and truly done, but I do need a few things from the house. Finally, I nod.

“Okay, Ryan. I’ll come talk to you.” I have no intention of giving into him but at the very least, I can get some essential things that I’ll need until my brothers can get everything else. He smiles at me and kisses the top of my head. It takes every ounce of strength I have to not flinch.

“Thank you, baby. I’ll see you tonight.”

* * * *

I pull up in front of the house — my house for the last nine months and I feel a little sad. When we moved in here, I had so much hope for us, for where our relationship was going. It’s sad to see it end this way. But, I know this is right. I have to get away from him.

I take a deep breath and slide out of my car before making my way up to the front door. I’m not sure what to do. It doesn’t really feel like my house anymore, despite the fact that all my stuff is in there. After a moment of debate, I raise my hand and knock.

The door opens almost immediately and Ryan shoots me a puzzled look. “Hey. Why didn’t you just come in?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. It just felt weird.”

His eyes cloud with sadness and I second-guess my decision to come over here tonight.

“Well, come on in.” I follow him inside and he sits down on the couch. I stand here, awkwardly, and stare at him. After a moment, he sighs. “Do you want something to drink?”

I nod. I can feel the nerves building as I play what I’m going to say to him in my head. He stands, making his way into the kitchen. I look around the living room and tears spring to my eyes. It hurts so much that this is all ending. I thought I had found my happily ever after.

Ryan comes back into the room and freezes when he sees me. He sets the drink on the end table and walks over to me. “You came here to end it, didn’t you?”

My breath stutters and I nod. His hands fist and his jaw clenches. Instinctively, I take a step back. He reaches out, lightning fast, and grabs ahold of my arm. The tips of his fingers dig into my bicep and a squeak of pain slips through my parted lips.

“No. You’re not leaving me. I gave you a chance to come to your senses and now I have to remind you who you belong to.”

Panic skyrockets inside me as I imagine what he might do. “Ryan, please. Let me go.”

He yanks on my arm, hard. I fall into him and he holds me there, our faces almost touching.

“Never.” His voice is so low and so terrifying that a shiver races down my spine. I have no idea what he’s capable of and that scares me more than anything else.

“Please stop.”

“You are mine, Emma. You have been since the moment I met you and you will be until the day you die.”

Without another word, he turns and drags me down the hallway to the bedroom. I try to plant my feet but he keeps pulling on me, locking us in a tug of war. I fight him with everything I have, afraid to give up and find out what awaits at the other end of this hall. He gives another good yank and I feel my shoulder dislocate. I scream out in pain and my knees give out. I collapse to the floor but Ryan keeps pulling me along. Pain radiates out from my shoulder into my chest and all the way down my fingers. It hurts so badly, I don’t know how I haven’t passed out yet.

Ryan reaches our room and drags me inside. I glance up and through the haze of my agony, I see rope sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans, and I scream. I scream as loud as I possibly can, hoping that someone will hear me. Ryan pulls on my arm until I’m standing and slams my body up against the wall.

“Shut up!” he snarls in my face as his palm connects with my cheek.

The hit stuns me for a moment as my head whips to the side and the room falls silent. A moment later, I’m screaming again. My throat hurts but I don’t stop. I use every ounce of energy I have to call for help. Ryan looks murderous but I don’t care.

“I said shut up, you little cunt!”

This time when he hits me, it’s with a closed fist. All the air whooshes out of me and I know my cheek is starting to swell already. Ryan grabs me and tosses me onto the bed, causing me to hiss in pain when my injured shoulder makes contact. He climbs on top of me, straddling my hips, and pulls the rope from his back pocket.

I scream some more as I try to buck him off, but it’s no use. He leans down and clamps his hand over my neck, squeezing until it’s difficult to breathe.

“Shut. Up.”

This time, his threat works, but I still struggle to get free. He grabs my bad hand and is able to quickly tie the first rope around it. He pushes me up the bed until he can tie the other end around the wrought iron headboard. When he’s done, he pulls my body back down the bed, stretching my arm out, and I howl in pain.