SELENAMy smile faltered when I opened the door and saw Christopher standing in the middle of the living room with his phone pressed to his ear. A sly smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he slowly dropped his hand down to his side.I swallowed hard, watching his Adam's apple move up and down in a gulp. “Hi, Chrissy—”“Uncle!” Liam beamed, giggling happily as he jumped up and down in my arms. That seemed to calm Christopher down a little. The frown between his eyebrows disappeared as he plastered a fake smile on his face.He moved closer, his body inches from mine. He seemed to be oblivious to my presence as he reached out to Liam, who was clearly overjoyed to see him. The smile on my son's face was enough to break my heart. He looked at Christopher with such adoration, such love. It was as if he was the most important person in the world to him. I felt a lump forming in my throat, and a bitter taste in my mouth.“Come here, my boy.” Christopher let out a smile that didn't reach
SELENA Christopher's grip on my neck tightened, his fingers digging into my flesh like talons. My eyes widened in shock and horror as he shoved me against the wall. The impact sent a wave of pain through my body. I struggled to breathe, my vision starting to blur. I clawed at his hands, trying to break free, but his grip was like iron. I felt trapped, completely trapped at his mercy. Christopher growled and pushed my hands away, pinning them above my head with one hand. I felt trapped, helpless. I could barely breathe, my heart racing in my chest. I tried to look into his eyes, to find some trace of the man I had known, but all I saw was a stranger. His face was contorted with anger, his eyes cold and hard. I felt a wave of terror wash over me, knowing that I was completely at his mercy. "Chris—" I tried to say, but the words were caught in my throat, choked off by the pain in my neck. I trembled under his grip, my body shaking with fear. I wanted to scream, to fight back, but I c
SELENA"I'm sorry," Christopher whispered, his breath hot against my hair. I felt my stomach churn, my throat tightening as I struggled to hold back the bile rising in my throat. I had believed his apology the first time, accepting that it was a mistake. But now, hearing him say those words again, I couldn't help but feel sick. I could no longer bring myself to believe him."Sorry" had become a dirty word to me, one that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Every time I heard it, I felt a stab of pain in my heart. It was a word that had lost all meaning, a hollow gesture that couldn't fix what was broken. I wished I could erase it from my vocabulary, erase it from my life. I wish I could lose my hearing so I would stopped hearing that word."I swear, I didn't mean to hurt you," he said, his voice thick with emotion. But I wasn't having it. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him away from me, unable to stomach his excuses any longer. I couldn't let him off the hook, couldn't let him
SELENA“See,” I sniffed, pulled away from him and flashed him a sad smile. “Mommy is okay now.”Liam nodded once, a lone tear dropped from his left eye and I chuckled, wiping his face with my thumb.“It’s okay, baby, stop crying.” I leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.“Mommy,” Liam yawned, rubbing his eyes lazily. “I want to sleep.”“Alright,” I stood up from the floor, hissed when I felt a throb in the cut on my jaw. I grabbed my baby's hand and pulled him up from the floor and took him in my arms.Liam wrapped his hands around my arm and rested his head on my chest as I carried him to my bed and placed him on the mattress.“Sleep here in mommy's room, okay?” I whispered, pulled the duvet and rolled it up to his middle.Liam nodded and shut his lids. “I love you, mommy.”“I love you too, baby.” a warm smile found its way to my face as I watched my baby drifted off to sleep.I strolled towards my dresser and pulled out the stool. Grabbed the first-aid kit to dress my
CHRISTOPHER “Get out!” Selena barked.I watched, horrified, as she shoved the pin into her own skin, blood welling up around the wound. My stomach churned and I turned away, unable to bear the sight. I stumbled towards the door, my heart pounding in my chest. I wanted to run, to get away from the horror of what I had just seen. I didn't leave her like that, but I had no choice than to do as she had asked.I wanted to punch a hole in the wall, to hurt myself like I had hurt her. But I knew that wouldn't solve anything. She would only continue to self-harm if I didn't get out of the room. So, despite my own pain, I forced myself to leave. I couldn't help her if I couldn't help myself.I stumbled out of the room, my hands shaking and my heart pounding. I had to find a way to deal with my emotions, to cope with the guilt and shame I felt. "Uncle!" Liam called out, but I kept walking, my head spinning with confusion and regret. I couldn't deal with him right now, not when I was strugglin
PEDRO“How did I look today?” I asked, staring at my reflection in the full length mirror I asked my secretary to install in my office earlier that morning. Roy stood behind me, his butt resting on my office table as he glared at me.“Hmm, great. Why?”I flashed out a cocky smile at my reflection, couldn't help but fell in love with myself but I still need to hear confirmation from someone else.“Do you have anything to say about my suit? Tie? Shoe? Wristwatch—”“You’re acting weird.” Roy groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he slowly moved away from my desk. “You good, man?” he raised an eyebrow and I shrugged.“Quite so.” I chuckled, checked my hair to make sure it was still in perfect place.I turned to face Roy who seemed to be judging me with a hard glare on his face. “Move to the door.” I ordered, couldn't help the smile that crept up my face as he stared at him with confusion carved on his face.“Sorry?” a thin line appeared in between his eyebrows as he moved his gaze
PEDRO This morning was not at all what I had expected. I had taken extra care with my appearance, only for Selena to be physically present but mentally absent. My eyes kept drifting to her, and I couldn't seem to focus on the conference room or the people in it. The meeting dragged on, each minute feeling like an eternity as I longed to get Selena out of the room and find out what was wrong. I had a feeling that something was deeply troubling her, and I needed to know what it was. “The construction project is going great which was unbelievable.” As the project team leader droned on about the progress of the construction project, I could barely focus. My attention was on Selena, who was tugging at her hair, seemingly trying to hide the skin of her neck. She looked uncomfortable and fidgety, which only made me more concerned about her well-being. The words of the meeting faded into background noise as I observed her every move, trying to figure out what was going on. Roy, my ever-
SELENA I stepped into the office, closing the door behind me. The room was silent except for the sound of Pedro's footsteps as he paced back and forth. He stopped in his tracks when he sensed my presence, his eyes wide with surprise. He clearly hadn't expected me to follow him into his office. "Selena," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He ran a hand through his hair, before closing the distance between us. "Why are you avoiding me?" he asked, his eyes searching mine for an answer. His question hung in the air, and I could feel my breath catch in my throat. I knew he had been watching me throughout the meeting, but I didn't think he had noticed me avoiding his gaze. Now he was staring at me, waiting for an answer. "I'm not avoiding you," I said, the lie falling flat even to my own ears. My eyes drifted from his face to his necktie, my attention fixated on the intricate pattern. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. "You might sound more convincing if you weren't