Chapter 180 180
A sharp crack of thunder split the sky and jerked her awake.
Jacqueline blinked several times, trying to clear the haze from her vision. When the blur faded, she realized she was staring at a room she did not recognize. Confusion flickered through her as she slowly pushed herself up from the bed and padded toward the large window across the room.
Outside, the sky was a chaotic swirl of ugly gray clouds, scattered like torn shreds of smoke. They hung low and heavy, threatening, while rain poured relentlessly from above. The downpour showed no sign of easing.
For a moment she wondered whose room she was standing in but then memory came rushing back.
A soft, radiant smile touched her lips.
She pushed the window open, and a rush of icy wind swept through her hair. Stretching her hand out into the rain, she let the droplets strike her palm, cool and sharp against her skin.
Though her eyes remained fixed on the falling rain, her mind drifted elsewhere.
Back to that moment.
The memory unfolded gently in her thoughts the two of them lying awkwardly on the bed. Their hands had rested close together, so close that her pinky had brushed against his.
And then, without warning, he had wrapped his large hand around hers.
His warmth had seeped into her skin.
They had simply stayed that way, their fingers intertwined, neither speaking. There had been no urgency, no rush only a quiet stillness that filled the room.
It had felt unreal.
Strangely, it had been more intimate than anything else they could have shared.
The silence between them had been soft, peaceful… and before she realized it, sleep had claimed her.
Jacqueline glanced back toward the bed now.
It was empty.
He must have slipped away sometime during the night.
Oddly, that thought did not upset her.
Even the smallest effort from him felt monumental. A tiny step for anyone else was a victory for him.
“Look at my little slut.”
The words struck her like lightning.
Pure, unfiltered terror shot down her spine, freezing every nerve in her body. Her muscles locked in place, refusing to move. She could not bring herself to turn around and face the voice she dreaded more than anything.
He had found her.
Panic tightened around her heart like iron claws. Her mind screamed for her to speak, to do something but her throat had closed. No sound came out. Breathing itself felt impossible.
Her tongue lay heavy in her mouth, like a stone.
This can’t be real.
For so long she had endured everything with quiet strength. Every humiliation. Every torment. She had faced them all with cold endurance.
But now… now she had tasted something else.
Happiness.
Freedom.
And because of that, the terror gripping her now was overwhelming.
Somewhere deep inside she had always known he would find her again.
How could someone like her ever keep happiness? Her life had never been kind enough for that. She had always expected the worst.
Her eyes flew open wide when she suddenly felt hands on her waist.
They slid slowly across her stomach as he dragged her stiff body back against his chest.
His fingers dug painfully into her flesh.
She tried to move, tried to fight but her body refused to obey. Yet she could still feel everything.
His disgusting touch crawled over her skin.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she bit down hard on her lower lip.
The rain outside had stopped. Only violent thunder cracked across the dark sky now, as if the heavens themselves were witnessing her ruin.
If this suffering had always been her fate… then why had God allowed her to experience happiness at all?
Why show her those beautiful days?
Why give hope only to tear it away?
Every place he touched felt contaminated. Her skin crawled as though insects were swarming over it. Nausea twisted her stomach.
Suddenly she was shoved hard to the floor.
Jacqueline scrambled backward across the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Her eyes darted wildly around the room.
He was gone.
Vanished.
But she could still feel him.
His hands still roamed across her body.
“No… no… stop!” she screamed, clawing helplessly at the empty air.
She could not remove the sensation of him touching her.
His cruel laughter echoed around the room as his voice spilled out threats promises of destroying her life, of tearing her soul apart.
Where was Damien?
He had left her.
This was happening because of him.
He had left.
“Stop!” she shrieked again.
The phantom touch still burned across her skin.
In desperation she began rubbing her arm violently, trying to scrub the feeling away. The frantic rubbing quickly turned into scratching.
Her nails raked across her skin.
Again.
And again.
She tore into her flesh until blood surfaced beneath her nails but no matter how hard she clawed, the sensation remained.
His laughter filled the entire room.
It was happening again.
She would not let him do this to her again.
Staggering to her feet on trembling legs, Jacqueline rushed toward the bathroom. Her hands fumbled through the drawer until she found the blade hidden inside.
She gripped it tightly like a weapon.
He was gone from sight, dissolved into nothing but she could still feel him everywhere.
With a piercing scream of agony, she pressed the blade against her skin.
The metal cut deep.
She dragged it across her flesh.
Again.
And again.
Each slice seemed to push his voice farther away. Each cut dulled the phantom touch a little more.
It was working.
But then