Chapter Four

I walked into the hall, looking elegant and ravishing in my red, kinky new gown.

That was his gift!

Honestly , I purely wished my heart was half as cheerful as the image my dress portrayed.

The party was in full swing, the music loud and the lights flashing.

But I felt like I was walking through a nightmare, trapped in a world that was not my own.

I walked round several tables, feeling like a doll on display, greeting guests. Everyone seemed to be staring at me, judging me.

"You look stunning." Someone whispered in my ears as he walked past me.

I smiled sheepishly, atleast he said it to my face. Much better than side talks.

"Hi, Madam Helena." I greeted Aidan's stepmom.

"Hmmmph! So what if you wear such a beautiful dress?. Madam Helena responded in a cold voice, "that still doesn't make you a princess."

"Come on over and cut out the steak for me." She ordered.

Yeah! She was actually on her supposed act of belittling me, but, I wasn't even feeling it.

This was nothing compared to how Aiden treated me, anyway.

I was about to strode over to her table when the almighty Aiden Gallagher walked in.

His feet steady on the ground, echoing through the hall.

I really do not know if it's just me, but this moment looked perfectly like a male lead's dramatic slow-mo appearance in these western movies.

Aiden walked straight up to his stepmom's table, picked up her knife, and stabbed it deep into her plate, cutting it into two.

Madam Helena shook in fear, her wine spilling all over her dress.

"Sorry for being so careless." He said calmly, cutting the steak on the broken plate.

"You know, when someone is beyond pale, I'll get so impulsive, especially to my stepmom. So, you'd better know where to draw the line, or…"

He furiously pointed the knife at madam Helena, who was already fidgeting in fear.

"….next time, I won't know what will happen."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I watched the scene unfold. Aiden's behavior was becoming increasingly erratic.

He then dropped the knife and took me by the waist.

"Don't let someone unimportant ruin your good mood." He said, "I'll show you your birthday gift."

Aiden took my hand, and we majestically walked out of the hall into a secluded room in the hotel.

He sat me down and brought out a box of fine jewelry, dropping it before me.

The box was exquisite, adorned with intricate patterns and sparkling diamonds.

I stared blatantly as Aiden opened the box, revealing a stunning silver necklace pendant.

"Do you like it?"

I was speechless..

"I spent 20 million dollars on it" he said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He took the shiny silver necklace from the box and wore it on my neck, his fingers grazing my skin.

"When I first saw it, I felt it should be yours," he whispered, slowly caressing my chest.

His fingers tracing the curves of my body with an intimacy that sent waves of goosebumps down my skin.

"You never know what I really want" I uttered the words calmly, trying to keep my voice steady despite the turmoil brewing inside me.

"What do you mean..?"

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the confrontation that was to come. "Aiden, let's get a divorce." I said.

The words hung in the air like a challenge, daring him to respond. His eyes were blazing as he furiously gripped my neck, squeezing his hands roughly and twisting my head to face him…

He poured hot salivating kisses on my lips..but I quickly pulled away.

"Turn around and look at me!" He ordered.

His words sent a chilling shiver as a fucking reminder of the possessiveness that had become a hallmark of our relationship.

I stared at our reflection in the mirror, my eyes wide with fear.

"It's fine if you don't like it. I've prepared yet another gift for you." He said, and carefully brought out his gun from his pocket, pointing it to my forehead.

I was frozen in terror, my heart pounding in my chest. Aidan's eyes seemed to glaze over, lost in thought.

"Just like you, my mom tried to run away so many times, but guess what."

What could I possibly guess in a deadly moment as this? My heart was thumping so fast and loud. I could feel it in my belly.

"My dad would always catch her."

He continued, and gave a dry laugh. "Yunno, I begged her not to abandon me, but she left me in the end."

"I'd rather die with you, than let you leave me, Caitlin."

"Shoot me." I screamed. "Just shoot me! I'll go to a place where you'll never find me, just like your mom."

Okay, That was fear. That was me being afraid, or maybe it wasn't.

I just happened to shout at him for the very first time since we got married. It felt weird, but I did it, anyway.

Aiden remained calm and numb for a moment.

My words seemed to have given him a flashback of his mom's passing.

According to what I'd gathered, she was constantly abused by her husband. And one day, she took the gun from her his pocket and shot herself dead in the head.

Shit! I wasn't gon' do that for no fucking shitty reason. Yeah, I hated my life with Aidan, but not living in general.

This fine looking man, was once loving and loved too?

I thought, a pang of sorrow hitting me.

It was quickly replaced by fear as Aiden cracked the gun, the sound making me jump.

"Don't be afraid, there's no bullet" he smiled and dropped the gun in his back pocket. I stared at him through the mirror, crying my balls out.

How could he be so cruel?

"I now understand why my dad wanted to hold onto my mom."

He said with a broad smile playing across his lips..

"When I met you, I came to realize it's because of love. I love you, Cait. You're just not realizing it."

I guess this was somewhat meant to be sort of romantic..but his words were laced with possessiveness that made my skin crawl. Yuck!

He hugged me tightly from behind. "Don't worry, you won't die the way my mom died. And we'll be together forever."

His breath was freaking hot! What was that? A reassuring speech? Was that supposed to make me feel better or something?

I just nodded in fear and chuckled a little in utter bewilderment.

Aidan dragged me up from my seat and held me tightly in his arms. "Come on love, let's enjoy your birthday party."

Those words were a cruel joke.

I was more than trapped in a marriage with a man who was slowly losing his grip on reality.

Just then, I caught sight of myself in the mirror; my eyes were wide with fear, my skin pale and clammy.

I really looked like a prisoner in a glided cage now.

*

Barely a few steps in, I saw Sophia, her eyes scanning through the room until they landed on me.

She smiled, but her eyes were filled with concern as she drew nigh. I knew she had seen the fear in my eyes, the desperation.

"Caitlin, you look stunning." She said, her eyes locked on the necklace I was wearing.

Aidan gave a graceful smile and excused himself to greet someone.

Sophie quickly held onto me and dragged me to the women's washroom.

"Aiden is such a nice husband. He must really care about you so much." Sophia said as soon as we got inside.

"That's what everybody thinks."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked in complete daze.

I smiled, shrugged, ignored her and turned on the tap to wash my hands...but she saw the scar on my wrist.

"Cait your arm…"

Sophia's eyes widened in shock, her expression horrified.

I pulled my sleeve to cover it up..

"That's the way he shows his concern." I said, sobering.

"He doesn't care about me, but he's crazily possessive about me."

"Oh, Caitlin." She whispered, her voice filled with sympathy "I had no idea."

I felt a lump form in my throat as I washed my face, comtemplating whether to tell her everything or not. Would she even believe all of it?

"I've been trying to leave him for months now" I said my voice cracking, "But, he won't let me go."

I finished washing up and made my way to the door..

"Hold on, Caitlin." Sophia glanced around the bathroom nervously, making sure we were alone.

"Do you wanna run away? I can help you."

"You can?" I almost let out a scream, hoping she wasn't playing pranks on me.

Because if she was, I had fallen so deep into it already and I could literally bite her ears off.

"What do I do?" I asked with urgency laced over me.

"Yeah. But first we need to get out of here safely. I can hear voices in the other room." She whispered.

I nodded, feeling a glimmer of hope for the first time in months.

Maybe, just maybe, I could escape Aiden's clutches after all.

"I'll come up with a plan." She continued whispering in my ears.

"But for now, let's just get through the rest of the party without drawing attention to ourselves. Okay?"

I nodded yet again, taking a deep breath.

I could do this!

I could pretend to be the happy, obedient wife for a few more hours.

As we exited the bathroom, Aiden was waiting for me, his eyes scanning my face as if searching for a sign of defiance.

I forced a smile onto my face trying to look as confident and submissive as possible.

But inside, I was counting down the minutes, until I could escape...

I was going to escape Aiden, no matter what it took..!