⚠️ Trigger Warning
This chapter contains scenes of domestic violence, emotional abuse, and physical assault, including graphic depictions of verbal threats and physical harm. It may be distressing for some readers.
Please take care while reading. If you find this content triggering or overwhelming, consider skipping this chapter or stepping away when needed. Your mental and emotional well-being comes first.
Anna stood in the doorway, fists trembling. Her chest rose and fell, sharp and quick. Without a word, she hurled a crumpled shirt at Andy. It hit his face with a dull smack before falling to the floor.
"What the hell is this supposed to mean?" she snapped, her voice cracking with rage.
Andy bent down slowly, picking up the shirt with a lazy hand. He looked up at her, brow furrowed—not with guilt, but annoyance.
"Can't I get one moment of peace in my own damn house?" he muttered, standing to his full height.
"Peace?" Anna's laugh was bitter, hollow. "You want peace while you're out here crawling into bed with someone else?"
Andy blinked. Then he rolled his eyes and gave a half-hearted shrug. "I don't know what you think you've found this time, but I'm not doing this tonight."
"Oh, you don't know?" Anna took a step forward, grabbing the shirt from his hand. She held it up like it was Exhibit A in a courtroom. "You see this? Lipstick. Not mine."
She shoved the shirt into his chest.
"Smell it. Go on. This isn't my perfume. Is this your new scent now, Andy? Going for something floral?" Her eyes were wide, unblinking. "Tell me, what game are you playing this time?"
Andy's lips curled into a smirk. He looked past her, as if bored already. "That's enough."
"No," Anna snapped. "It's not enough. You're lying to my face like I'm a damn fool. Who is she, Andy?"
His face changed.
He tilted his head slightly, then gave the kind of cold, casual shrug that made Anna's stomach turn.
"Yeah," he said simply. "I'm seeing someone. So what?"
The air left her lungs.
Anna stared at him, frozen in place. Her mouth moved, but no words came out at first. She blinked once. Twice.
"So what?" she finally echoed, her voice barely a whisper.
"You heard me." Andy's voice was calm—too calm. "Penelope and I are together. She's everything you're not. Everything I've always wanted."
"You... You're cheating on me, and you say it like it's nothing?" Her voice rose, sharp as glass. "Like our marriage means nothing?"
"What marriage?" he said. "You think this sad little routine we have is a marriage?"
Anna's breath caught in her throat. Her heart pounded against her ribs. "How dare you," she said, shaking. "What does that woman have over you? What is it that's blinded you so completely you can't even see what's real anymore?"
"She is what's real," he snapped, venom slipping into his voice. "Penelope is the woman I should have married. I had to marry you."
The words hit her like a slap—except the real slap came next.
Before she could react, his hand cracked across her cheek. Her head jerked sideways with the force of it, and for a moment, everything went still.
Then he grabbed her by the throat.
Her back slammed against the wall.
"I told you," he hissed, his face inches from hers, breath sour with anger. "Don't speak her name. Don't let it come out of that filthy mouth of yours."
Anna gasped, clawing at his hands. The pressure around her neck was crushing. Her skin was turning red, her chest heaving. She kicked against him, tried to scream—but it came out as a choked rasp.
Andy's grip tightened.
"She's the woman of my dreams," he said, his voice flat, void of mercy. "She's everything you'll never be. I loved her before I ever knew you, and I'll love her long after I forget you even existed."
Anna's knees buckled.
"Please," she croaked, lips trembling. "Let me go... please…"
But Andy just smiled—a twisted, smug smile.
"You're nothing, Anna. A parasite. You cling to the luxury I give you because you're too greedy and too weak to walk away. You think you'd survive without me?"
His breath was hot on her cheek. "You'll stay. And you'll suffer. Because that's what you deserve."
This isn't the man I married. This is a stranger. A demon in his skin.
Her vision blurred. The edges of her world began to dim.
And then—instinct kicked in.
With the last ounce of strength in her body, she rammed her knee into his groin.
Andy's eyes bulged. He let out a strangled cry and released her instantly, doubling over in agony.
Anna fell to the floor, coughing violently, gasping for air. Her hands slapped against the wall for support as she wheezed. Her lungs burned. Her throat throbbed.
She looked at him on the floor, writhing and holding himself.
"I hope that traitorous thing between your legs never works again," she spat, her voice hoarse.
Then she walked away without looking back.
Behind her, Andy roared.
"You'll pay for this, Anna! I swear to God—I'll kill you!"
---
Anna sat alone on the bench in the garden.
Her hands rested in her lap, but they wouldn't stop trembling. The warm sun did nothing to thaw the chill inside her bones. Around her, butterflies flitted from flower to flower like nothing had happened.
But something had. Something irreversible.
She touched her neck and winced. The bruises were darkening. Her skin felt raw. But nothing hurt more than the hollow in her chest.
He had said it—to her face—that she was just a placeholder.
Once upon a time, he had worshipped the ground she walked on. He used to call her his miracle. He used to brush the hair from her face and kiss her like she was oxygen.
Now, he was a stranger who wanted her gone.
Maybe this is just a rough patch, she thought. All couples fight. This will pass. It has to.
But even as the thought crossed her mind, it felt like a lie she didn't believe anymore.
He never loved me, she realized. I was just... convenient.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly when she saw the security guard approaching.
"Ma'am," he said carefully, noticing her swollen neck. He didn't ask. Instead, he cleared his throat. "Miss Vivian is here."
"Vivian?" Anna looked surprised. "Did she call?"
The guard shrugged. "Don't know, ma. She's at the gate."
"Let her in."
Minutes later, Vivian stepped into the garden like a whirlwind. She wore a short romper skirt, a V-neck blouse that made her look like summer come alive—and her eyes were already narrowing in concern.
"Girl," Vivian said, taking one look at her. "Don't even try to smile. What happened?"
Anna forced a grin anyway. "What do you mean? Can't a woman sit quietly without being interrogated?"
Vivian raised an eyebrow. "Cut the crap. I've known you since high school. I know when you're smiling and when you're drowning."
Anna's throat tightened.
Vivian's eyes narrowed further as she caught sight of the bruise. "What the hell is that on your neck?"
"Oh... that," Anna stammered. "I... I hit my face on the wall."
Vivian's look could've peeled paint. "Anna. Come on."
Anna looked down. Her silence was answer enough.
"It was Andy, wasn't it?" Vivian said, her voice trembling with fury.
"We had a fight," Anna whispered.
"A fight?" Vivian scoffed. "This is not a fight. This is abuse. This is criminal."
She turned, heels already clicking toward the house.
"Vivian—no!" Anna grabbed her arm, desperate. "Please don't."
Vivian stared at her. "You need to leave him. Anna, this man is dangerous. He's going to kill you."
"I can't leave," Anna said softly.
"Why the hell not?!"
"Because this is my home. I won't let another woman take it. And Aiden... he needs his dad. He needs me. He needs us together."
Vivian stepped back, disgusted. "Your son needs a happy mother. Not one bleeding inside. And you? Don't you want to be alive to see him grow up?"
Anna lifted her chin. "I'm not leaving. That's final."
Vivian's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious right now?"
"If you want to talk about something else, fine. But I'm not taking relationship advice from someone who can't keep one."
Vivian's face fell.
Anna regretted the words the second they left her lips.
"What?" Vivian said, blinking.
Vivian stood abruptly. "I shouldn't have come . Coming here was a bad idea " She stormed off, anger coursing through her.
"Shit." Anna paused , guilt eating her up. "Vivian, wait! I'm sorry !
She turned and ran after her friend, heart pounding.