For the first time since my recovery, I went outside the house and the cool breeze touched my face. The sky was that peculiar color that dazzles in pictures but isn’t very inspiring when all that you can think of is the chaos in your life.The sun, the wind, the sounds, and the smells should have been as liberating as the stench of the place I was a survivor of what Theo and his family had done to me. In fact, every time I took a step toward the car, I felt like I was stepping into a fight I knew I would not be able to win.Kylo was standing near me, saying nothing but just being there, which was comforting enough. He had wanted to come along with me, even when I had wanted to go alone, as this was something that I wanted to do myself. But now when we approached the police station, I appreciated him.Just the thought of coming face-to-face with Theo made my stomach turn upside down into some kind of twisted ball.Not only for what he had done but because a small part of me didn’t want
The evidence was gone? All of it? I had been counting on that evidence to build my case, to prove what had happened to me. Without it, what did I have?Theo’s smirk grew as he watched the realization dawn on me. "You see? It’s over, Varya. You don’t have anything."I stood there, frozen, my mind racing. How could he have done this? How could he have erased everything? The surgery, the hospital records—those were supposed to be permanent.They were supposed to be proof of what had happened to me. And now, they were gone.I felt a hand on my shoulder—Kylo. His touch grounded me and reminded me that I wasn’t alone in this."It’s not over," Kylo said, his voice firm."We’ll find another way. Just because Theo thinks he’s erased everything doesn’t mean there’s no trail. People remember. There are witnesses. There’s always something."My desire was to believe him. I wanted to cling to the hope of ever finding justice again where we can hold him accountable for what he had done. Standing the
If I hadn’t entered into this marriage contract with Kylo, what would have happened to my mother and me? Would we have withered away, abandoned by the very people who pretended to care for us?I shudder to think about what might have happened if Kylo hadn't stepped in. Perhaps I would’ve died alongside my father’s legacy, a mere footnote in the Andersons’ twisted games.And yet, as I stood there in the doorway, I couldn’t ignore the strange comfort Kylo’s presence had brought into my life.Was it fate, or mere coincidence, that our paths had crossed like this? Perhaps, in a world filled with betrayals, Kylo was the one piece of stability I could cling to.***I was sitting in the living room, my legs were folded under me, and I was just looking into space with no focus.If I had been in a room elsewhere, I’d have preferred the solitude but the stillness of the house was suffocating and the only thing that kept me company was the ticking of the clock which seemed to chime at me in an e
I fumbled, wondering if I had made out what I had heard right, from her mouth. “You mean photos? What sort of photos?”Jasmine shifted uncomfortably.“The night you were drunk and Theo took you out on that date… I was in his apartment I was… I was trying to find something Anything that could help you And I found the documents I didn’t know what they were at first but I took photos of them just in case.”Suddenly I felt that I was spinning around the room; I gazed at her for what felt like half the day in dumbfounded wonder.“You… you took photos?”She just nodded her head with a look of guilt and with some ray of hope on her face.“Yes. I never quite grasped just how valuable they were until everything went down. But, I have them, Varya. I have the documentation.”A sense of weakness washed over my entire body, and I barely managed to let myself fall on the couch, with my head spinning.Until now, I had thought all was gone, that Theo had burnt all that could be produced in a court of
Kylo walked into his home office where sunlight was filtering through the large windows and fell on the floor, creating a soft warm hue on the wooden floor. I stood in front of the desk while feeling so anxious that I kept leaning my fingers on the rim of a coffee cup.Beside me sat Jasmine and her body language was as rigid as my own. The silence between us was filled with all the events that occurred and there was now a sense of determination.It was strange, really. A few weeks ago I could not even count on myself to be sitting across from Jasmine in this manner. She had been there and had a hand in pulling the darkness over me, but she was here now after everything.Her betrayal was still etched in my mind, much like the mark of a scar, but the evidence she had retrieved gave me the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.It was a call that I never required so much though without it, I felt like I was strangling.“We have to be very wise with this”, Jasmine eventually spoke in
I realized how she felt and I know really how terrible it is to be scared. Going to battle it out with Theo in particular meant that his influence was tremendous and could produce far-reaching results.But I couldn’t let that stop me. “I won’t lie to you,” I said softly.“It’s a risk. But if we do not stand up to him, he will continue to treat people like this. We have to put a stop to it. ”Maria sighed, and looked down at her hands, having a thoughtful look on her face. Finally, she agreed after a few moments had passed. “I’ll testify,”she said softly. “I will speak the truth. ”But that is when relief flooded me and then I thanked her by squeezing her hand softly. It wasn’t a lot but it was something and it could be gradually developed.But, with Maria’s testimony and the photos Jasmine had taken, we were accumulating materials. But I knew that there was still a long way to go and we were on the right track.These feelings stayed with me for some time and as the days went by I slo
The building that was to be my place of employment the following week was a concrete and steel-structured courthouse which looked rather ominous.This dark and cold building looked quite grey from the outside as if it perfectly encapsulated the grey area I was on the inside. But at the same time, when I was on the border of this place, I could also sense something else within me–determination.More so, I had walked the long journey and faced many odds in order to get this far not to speak of quitting. I had to trust the law, had to trust that this would be the time when Theo would be punished for everything he had done to me.Swinging the twin doors open I was met with a stale aroma…, the stagnated air in the courthouse was familiar – it belonged to the crowded files of the people in search of justice – our stories, etched within these walls.I was gearing up and entered the house my shoes clicking on the floor.As expected my attorney Elena Marino was already cooling her heels in one
Each day, I felt more and more like the old Varya, the woman I had been before Theo had stolen my kidney before he had broken me down and made me feel powerless.It wasn’t an easy process—there were still moments of doubt, moments when the trauma threatened to pull me back into the darkness. But with every step forward, I reclaimed a little bit of myself.Kylo was by my side through it all. I found his support quite surprising and it felt like some of the times he was following me blindly. This was the man whom I had married unwillingly, the man who was once so indifferent in our marriage.But now, he was there for me in ways I had never expected; not to die for me and protect me, but simply to phone and ask how I was. He was there for me when I fought all my inner battles and supported me when I was unable to support myself.One evening, when I came back home exhausted after spending the entire day taking preparations for the depositions Kylo and I started a conversation while seated