Chapter 137 - it can't be

Stella

"It can't be..."

My voice faded to a shocked whisper. I stumbled back a step, one hand flying to my mouth.

There, on his knees with hands bound behind his back, was my stepfather. The one who had made my childhood a misery after my father died. The one who I thought I'd left behind for good when I went away to college.

Without hesitation, he had abandoned us for his own selfish reasons, claiming to have found abetter life elsewhere, telling me that I was the reason why he wasn't living a smooth life.

The man who made me cry to sleep throughout the time I thought of him as my father. Never for once did he not try to abuse me and my mother before she died.

Lawrence grasped my shoulders, concern creasing his brow. "Stella? What is it, my love?"

It was everything. I wanted to scream and do something crazy. Anything at all, just to take me away from here. I could feel Lawrence's hand on my shoulder, but I still found myself sinking in a void. It didn't feel right. It felt