When he drank, the cruelty grew louder. He would pull me into the light, make me stand where his men could see. Their eyes stripped me faster than hands ever could. Laughter followed me everywhere. I learned to disappear inside my own body, to float somewhere far above the ceiling, to leave only skin behind.
I did not scream anymore. Screams were currency. Silence was survival.
And now David was behind me, breathing easy, telling himself a story where he was the hero. Where I had been protected. Where my fear was just jealousy dressed up as pain.
“You do not have to be so sharp,” he said coldly. “If Roxanne became his stepmother, that would just invite more gossip. The wedding was only for show. I had to do it so people would stop saying she seduced me. Do you understand?”
I almost laughed.
So my words were cruel because I called her a stepmother? Wow. Not because I had been erased.
I said nothing.
The silence irritated him. He looked around the room and noticed the bag by the bed.
“Why did you pack?” he asked, frowning. “Where do you think you are going when you're just came back?”
Before I could answer, his phone rang.
Roxanne.
My younger sister.
Her crying filled the room, loud and desperate.
“Dave,” she sobbed. “The moment Isabella came back, she posted about me online. She said I stole her husband. That I am shameless. That I destroyed your family! She's forcing me to leave.”
Her voice broke dramatically.
“Please talk to her. I know I was wrong. I will never mention the wedding again. If she's angry, I will go outside and apologize to everyone. I will humiliate myself. Just please do not make me leave the country.”
David clicked the link she sent.
His face darkened. The post showed my photo. The words were vicious. Threatening.
I stared at the screen in disbelief. “That's not me,” I said quickly. “I didn't post that. Someone is pretending to be me—"
SLAP.
His hand came out of nowhere.
The slap cracked across my face. My ears rang and I tasted blood.
“Roxanne was your sister!” he shouted. “Your fucking damn younger sister. And you want to throw her out? How do you expect her to survive alone? You are disgusting. Truly vile.”
He turned away from me without another glance.
His voice softened instantly as he spoke into the phone.
“Don't cry. I'm coming. No one will make you leave. I will handle her.”
Then he walked out.
The door closed.