TW: DV/Abuse (I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS ONE)“You should go,” I tell him, and he looks at me surprised.“What? He isn’t even allowed to be here, let alone to be near you,” he says, and I fidget with my hand on my dress, hoping he would really just listen to me and leave before Winston gets here, which
"Why are you speaking for her? Besides, Millie loves my kids. I love her because she loves my kids.""That’s why I told you she never loved you. It was all an act.""Winston," I try to warn him, but he just keeps running his mouth. I know what he is doing. The fact that Abel just said he confessed h
"You embarrassed me!” His voice is thunderous, echoing in the room, dripping with venom and rage. I barely have time to brace myself before his boot connects with my back, sending a searing wave of pain rippling through my body. My scream tears from my throat, raw and desperate, as I crumble under t
I hear talking in the house, and it keeps getting closer. It seems like he's arguing with someone—my mother.“I’m sorry, ma’am, but she is asleep. You can’t come in,” Winston insists, his tone dripping with false politeness. He’s trying to stall her, keep her from seeing me, but my mom’s not having
“Men like him, they never stop,” she says with chilling conviction, her voice cold and devoid of the warmth I once knew. She then pulls out her phone and calls someone. I am frozen in my position, watching as the bloodstain on the carpet keeps growing and my tears just keep falling.“Come in here, t
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” she says, her voice calm and reassuring—almost like she’s comforting a child after a bad dream. But this isn’t a nightmare; it’s real, and the bloodstain on the carpet is proof of that.Just then, the door to my room swings open, and two men in black suits str
I can hear whispers around me, faint and distant, like echoes through a fog. My eyelids feel heavy, but I force them open, blinking against the harsh lights overhead. As my vision clears, I see Clay step closer to the bed, her expression tight with worry. The anxiety in her eyes is so clear that it
"Where is he?" I ask, expecting them to mention Abel, but Clay seems confused by the question."Who? Winston? He’s still in the hospital, heavily guarded," she replies, but I shake my head. Winston is the last person I would want to know of his whereabouts."No, where’s Abel?" My voice betrays my an
“Abel, you are proposing…” The words tumble out of my mouth in disbelief, more of a statement than a question. He nods, and then, to my utter shock, he gets down on one knee. I feel the world around us blur and slow down, my pulse pounding in my ears.“Mildred Turina, will you marry me?” His voice w
She scoffs playfully, giving me that familiar look that says she’s still got it all under control. “I know how to take care of children, honey. We will be fine. You two go have fun.”Relief washes over me. Even though we’re leaving them in the best possible hands, the part of me that has grown attac
We’re heading to Abel’s lake house for a weekend getaway—just the two of us. He said he got the place a few years ago but rarely gets to use it. He has only taken the twins there a few times because the only time he gets enough time to spend with them without many distractions from work is during th
Epilogue"Come here,” I call her over, and she reluctantly pulls her fingers off her brother’s chubby cheeks, then walks back to where I am. I crouch down to be at her level, trying to mask the amusement I feel at her little pout.“If you keep harassing your brother, I will have him stay with me at
“Did I?”“You bitch!” I burst out laughing. He has definitely been holding that back.“I was busy dealing with a concussion to see anything, oh, and my mom has way more money than you, you know, and her money combined with the money my dad left me, which I just found out was a lot by the way, then A
“Mom, I…”“I should have taken you with me when he died, but I thought you were already a grown woman and you wouldn’t need me anymore, and I will never forgive myself for that because if I did, then you wouldn’t have ended up with an abusive man. I could have protected you from repeating the cycle.
"Abel, he is good for you," she repeats, this time more firmly. There’s a strange sadness in her eyes, as if she’s remembering all the times she wished someone had said those words to her. I nod, acknowledging her observation, but I don’t want to delve into a discussion about Abel with her. "I feel
"Are you ready to go home?" Abel asks, and I nod eagerly. The sterile scent of antiseptic clings to the air, making me desperate to leave this hospital room and everything it represents. My heart pounds with a need to escape—to feel the cool air outside, untainted by the trauma that haunts these wal
“Oh…”“I love you, and I would want you in my life and the twins too, but you need to accept that fact about me. I don’t even know if I can be a mother to your children or a stepmother. I just don’t know if I have it in me, even though I love them, and I love you,” I say, and I’m nervously waiting f