***Sensitive content: Proceed with caution*** This is written to portray the story more this contains a rape scene please do skip this chapter if you would not be able to read it. Two months had passed since that day Richard had sent me out of his office. I hadn’t even considered going back home. Though I missed tommy so much I just could not go back but I had secretly watched as he got picked up from his school with tears slipping down my eyes that I would not be able to see my son up so close again. On that day Richard had sent me out of his office with nothing, all I had was my purse and the card Richard had given me. But I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money. I couldn’t lose more dignity than I already had. And even still I was saving it for when I was due to give birth which was more important since I still didn’t have enough money for the hospital bills, but I knew the card would cover it since i checked the balance there out of curiosity and the money there was
I woke up from the nightmare I was having, my head pounding and my body feeling as though it were encased in lead. The room around me was disorientingly familiar this was my room in Richards house, the place I had to leave behind unwillingly. I squinted at the walls, the dim morning light creeping through the curtains. My heart raced, and a cold sweat broke out on my skin. My thoughts churned wildly. Was this a dream? I thought, squeezing my eyes shut. I tried to deny reality by reopening them, only to find the same room, the same oppressive silence. This was my room, a place I had once thought I would never see again. How did I end up here? Had I somehow been reborn again? A wave of fear surged through me, suffocating and overwhelming as memories of that night’s horrors crashed into my mind in relentless, brutal flashes. Their faces, their hands, their taunts, and laughter—each recollection sliced through my psyche like shards of glass. My breath came in shallow, ragge
I stared into the mirror, blinking rapidly as if it would change the reflection before me. But it didn’t. The woman in the mirror was a stranger. Her once-bright eyes were sunken, rimmed with dark circles, and swollen from the tears that had been her only companion for… I didn’t even know how long. Weeks? Months? Time had lost its meaning. All I knew was the four walls of this room, the endless dark, and the ache that wrapped around my heart like a vice. I lifted a hand to my face, my fingers trembling as they traced the outline of my cheek. My skin was pale, almost sickly, and my lips were cracked and dry. I flinched at my own touch, as if the woman in the mirror wasn’t really me, but some hollow, broken version of myself. “This can’t be me,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, even to myself. But the woman in the mirror didn’t disappear, didn’t change. She just stared back at me with the same empty eyes. As I stared at myself, the thought of Tommy surged through me. I m
I sat there frozen, the world around me fading into a blur as Richard walked in, his arm wrapped around her—Han. My step-sister. The woman who had destroyed my life in another time, in another life. The same wicked smile played on her lips, and the sight of it made my blood run cold. How? How could this be happening? My mind struggled to grasp the reality of what I was seeing. Richard’s gaze passed over me as if I were nothing more than a shadow, a ghost haunting the edges of his perfect life. His expression was stern, and there was no warmth, no recognition of the woman he had once promised to love. The words I wanted to shout, to demand answers, died in my throat. I was too shocked, too horrified to do anything but sit there, trembling in disbelief. Han’s body was practically glued to him, her hands tracing the lines of his arm possessively, and I felt the old familiar sense of dread creeping back into my bones. This couldn’t be real. This had to be some kind of nightmare
The jealousy festered, feeding on my insecurities, on the deep-seated fear that I had been replaced, that I was no longer needed or wanted. I sighed, the sound shaky and filled with a sadness I couldn’t shake. My hand clutched at my chest, as if I could physically hold onto the remnants of the life I had once known, but they slipped through my fingers like sand. The image of Richard holding Han, comforting her the way he used to comfort me, haunted me. The thought of them together, sharing the intimacy that had once been ours, was unbearable. I whimpered softly, the sound breaking the silence of the room. My head dropped into my hands, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the thoughts that were tearing me apart. But they persisted, clawing at the edges of my mind, refusing to be silenced. I couldn’t stop picturing them, couldn’t stop imagining the way Richard’s arms might have wrapped around Han, the way he might have whispered soothing words to her as they lay t
Today started like any other, filled with the usual buzz of excitement that came from working at the restaurant. There’s a certain joy in being able to do what I love. My son, Tommy, often stops by after school, and I’m always relieved to see how much the staff and even the manager adore him. He’s always so well-behaved, almost too quiet, when he’s here. But today, something unusual happened. As I was wiping down a table, I glanced up and froze. There was Richard, walking into the restaurant hand-in-hand with Tommy. A wave of shock and anxiety washed over me. Oh my God, how do I look? Am I presentable? I quickly turned around, smoothing my clothes, trying to make myself look more put together. “Ava,” I heard Richard’s voice call out. Just the sound of it made me feel small, shrinking into myself. God, I miss him. I really do. It’s been over three months since he started dating my ex-step-sister, and every single day, she makes it her mission to remind me that he’s hers now.
As I pushed the front door open with one hand, Tommy's small, sleeping form nestled in my arms. The dim light from the hallway spilled into the living room, casting long shadows across the floor. I didn’t expect to see anyone awake at this hour, but there they were—Richard and my stepsister, Han, entwined on the couch like two serpents, with Richard looking particularly uncomfortable. Han, as always, had that smug look plastered on her face, like she knew something I didn’t. I stopped short, the sight of them together sending a sharp pang through my chest. Neither of them bothered to look at me. Not that I expected them to, but it was like a slap in the face nonetheless. I shifted Tommy's weight in my arms and moved towards the stairs, deciding against acknowledging their presence. They could continue their little charade without me—Tommy needed to be put to bed, and that was far more important. Once upstairs, I gently laid Tommy down on his bed, careful not to wake him. His li
I stood in front of my wardrobe, my fingers drifting across the rows of clothes. “What am I going to wear?” I muttered, feeling the frustration grow as nothing seemed to fit. I was starting to get irritated with the prospect of picking out something, and my patience was wearing thin. Just as I was about to give up and settle on anything, a loud bang on the door startled me. Before I could even respond, the door swung open, and my stepsister, Han Gregory, barged in uninvited. I turned to face her, my eyes narrowing. “Oh, how may I help you?” I asked, my tone dripping with sarcasm as I crossed my arms, making it clear I wasn’t in the mood for whatever she had to say. Han's smirk was as condescending as ever. “I’m supposed to be asking you that, Ava,” she sneered. “What are you still doing here? You know very well that my fiance, Mr. Richard, and I are getting married soon, and I won’t allow you to stay in this house. You and that little thing you call a son need to pack your bag