Chapter 1

Elayna was crouched down on the floor hiding in the bathroom. Her full weight of one-hundred and twenty three pounds was pressed against the door. Her heart felt as if it would beat out of her chest. Her entire body was  shaking. There were loud bangs coming from the opposite side of the door. They were so hard it shook the doors and vibrated through her small frame, only increasing her state of fear.

She felt trapped and helpless.

“Open up! Open this fucking door! You little bitch!” Her husband yelled through the door. 

“No! Please! Bradley, you’re scaring me!” She yelled back through the door.

“Open the door!” He boomed. He sounded manic to her now.

She couldn’t do it. Not after what just had occurred. He had physically assaulted her just mere moments ago. At first, everything had seemed fine. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

He had walked into her suite while she was finishing up getting dressed for the day. She had greeted him with her usual kiss on his lips. Shortly after that he had announced they would be attending a business luncheon tomorrow. She had jokingly told him she thought the last business luncheon they had attended for the club he owned had been boring. He had exploded in anger, pushing her down hard on the bedroom floor and dragged her by her hair around her room screaming at her.

As soon as he let go of her beautiful raven black hair she bolted for the bathroom. She had made it in the knick of time. She had quickly closed and locked the double doors behind her. It all felt surreal. Her husband had slowly turned into a monster. 

They had been married for three years now. She knew she should be accustomed to his temper, even though this had only happened a few times before in the past, and he had apologized profusely for those times. She always felt obligated to forgive him. For the past few months his physical  abuse was increasing. She had learned to keep her mouth shut, to play her part, and to look her very best at all times.

That was all he really asked of her. To be his pretty decorative ornament. He was extremely wealthy, and handsome for his age,which was forty-five. He was considered extremely successful in his field of expertise, which was investments and banking.

She felt like she shouldn’t complain because the physical abuse had been sporadic. Lately, it was becoming increasingly stressful to play the ‘hot trophy wife’ role he had assigned to her. She was becoming even more isolated by him day by day. He refused to let her socialize with anyone he didn’t approve of, and since most of the Elite Society didn’t care for her husband he in turn snubbed them in business and personal affairs, leaving her with no real friends. She barely had anyone she could call a friend that didn’t work for them. She realized now it was a tactic he used to control her.

Minutes had passed with an eerie quiet and it would seem that her husband had given up on his angry tirade. She slid down the bathroom door in tears. Her life was a complete mess. She had married a man more for his money than his heart and now she was living the consequences. She was trapped. She couldn’t go back home. There was none.

She had been born an only child and her parents died in a train accident a year after her and Bradley’s wedding. She had no one and nowhere to go. Only her husband. Bradley knew that and used it to his advantage. There was a light knock on the bathroom door, and she heard a familiar male voice.

“Ma’am, it’s Peter. He’s left. It’s safe to come out now.”

It was Peter. He was apart of her husbands Security detail. He had always been kind to her, or as kind as he could be.

She exhaled. A tear falling from her right eye. She was glad he couldn’t see her. 

“Thank you, Peter.” She said with genuine gratitude, loud enough to be heard through the thick door.