Chapter 20

The more time that I spent thinking about all that had happened, the more furious I grew with myself.

All the signs had been before me. The red flags had been staring at me right in the face. But I had blindly turned my eye on them.

I was starting to think that I had dug my own grave. I had been given so many opportunities to open my eyes and wake up from the oblivious daze that I was living in. I had been offered so many chances to escape, to run faraway from here and never look back.

Why had I not left when he first hit me? Why had I not left when he first forced himself on me? Why had I not left when I first started to feel uncomfortable in my own house with my own husband?

Why?

Maybe because I was told that this was normal. Maybe because I did not respect myself enough to understand that I was not over-exaggerating how I was feeling.

What were Mom and Dad doing right now? What was Sabrina doing? Were they thinking about me? Did they know what kind of a mess I was in? Did they know that I was in danger?

Probably not. Why would anyone think like that? That was such an absurd thought. No one could even imagine that something like this was happening to me. This was not a practical reality. This was a delusional and deranged reality created by Christina and Ace.

What about Irene? Was she wondering where I was? What had Ace told her?

Irene knew how Ace used to beat me. She knew how he treated me. She must not have believed him, right? Maybe she would do something about it.

Or maybe not.

Ace could spin brilliant and believable lies. Even Irene could not see through them.

The sound of the key turning in the lock made me glance towards the door.

Please don't be Ace. Please don't be Ace.

He stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him.

"How are you, darling?" He smiled.

I brought my knees close to my chest and pushed myself further back into the corner.

"Remember the lesson we learnt this morning? To always use your mouth to answer?" He raised an eyebrow and slowly walked towards me, carefully navigating his way through the shards of broken glass on the floor.

I said nothing.

"Your mother and sister have been calling nonstop. It's annoying. I want you to deal with it," he said, sitting down on the floor next to me.

The proximity made me curl up further away from him, but my back hit the wall, telling me that there was no more space to escape.

His familiar cologne made my stomach churn and my heart drop. The nostalgia of the warmth that it had once made me feel was soon overcome by the terror that it had instilled inside my soul.

I saw him going through my phone and doing something, but I could not make out what.

My eyes took in the sight of him sitting calmly next to me. He seemed harmless and relaxed. There was no malice in his aura. He looked normal.

Everything was normal just a while back. How had it all changed? Why did it have to change?

For the first time since he had raised his hand on me, I felt remorseful today. The regret of what we could have been and what was lost weighed heavy on my heart.

I had begun to fall in love with him. I used to look forward to spending time with him. I used to strive to please him. I used to crave for his attention and love.

But everything changed. That night everything changed.

I knew now that Christina had attempted to kill herself after the party at our house that night. There was no doubt that I was the reason behind her actions. That was why Ace had been so furious with me. He saw me nothing more than the thorn that kept hurting Christina.

He had taken my innocence that night, destroyed my right to privacy, crumbled my self-respect and made me hollow. All of it as revenge for Christina's attempted suicide.

He only cared about her. He only loved her.

"Why are you crying now?" he asked in a bored voice. "I don't have the patience to deal with this drama right now, okay? Call up your mother and tell her what I tell you to say. Let's just get this done with as soon as possible."

No matter how hard I bit my lip, I could not hold back the cries that hit the back of my throat. The tears rushing down my cheeks soon turned into loud sobs.

"What the hell, Dalia?" he said. "Get a grip."

I cried harder. The pain never seemed to end. My heart never seemed to grow any lighter.

My chest ached, my throat burned, and my body shook with each sob. But there seemed to be no end to the grief that erupted out of me like a sleeping volcano that had just woken up.

I was not just angry this time. I was regretful. I was mourning myself.

"Enough." He sounded annoyed.

But even his harsh tone could not quieten me down. I had to cry, I had to let it all out. The pain was too much to bear, too heavy to carry any longer.

Why isn't it ending? Why don't I feel any lighter?

"What happened all of a sudden?" he asked. "What's wrong with you?"

My head snapped up. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you, Ace?"

He frowned.

"You beat me, you raped me, you tortured me and now you're holding me captive. That's what is wrong," I said, "But you know what's the worst part of all this?"

He remained quiet, staring at me blankly.

"That we're married. It doesn't matter who you love. The fact still remains that you're my husband and I'm your wife. We took all our vows together," I said, "do you even completely understand the meaning of that?"

He averted his gaze, his lips set in a tight line.

"You're not looking me in the eye because you realize that as well." I scoffed. "Marriage is such a sacred bond, such a pure, protective love. Why did you have to demean it like this? You could have done these same things to me without having married me. You could have had your revenge without marrying me."

He refused to look at me.

"Don't keep quiet. Tell me," I said, grabbing hold of his arms and shaking him. "These scars that you're giving me are only deeper because you're my husband. But let's forget about me and talk about you, Ace. How will you live with yourself after all that you've done to me? You are destroying your own wife. You're killing her off slowly but steadily."

His eyes snapped towards me.

I inhaled deeply. "My love was pure. I was giving my all to our relationship. But you ruined everything. Your intentions were cruel right from the start. All this is your fault. You are to be blamed for everything."

He pushed my hands away and stood up abruptly.

"You're going? Good. That's all you're capable of—running away. You're too much of a coward to face your faults," I said.

On any other day, he would have left fresh scars on my body for speaking to him this way. But not today. Today, he was gullible to my words. He was rethinking his actions.

He walked towards the door.

"Remember one thing, Ace," I said.

He stopped but did not turn around.

I continued. "Whatever you're planning to do to me, think twice before you act upon it. You may love Christina and she may be the only person who matters to you. But she's still not your wife. I am. And no matter where our relationship stands right now, we have shared a few good moments together. Please don't ruin my life anymore. Please."

The door shut behind him and he was gone.