Elizabeth
The dining table stands between us. My breath is ragged, my pulse wild. Christopher watches me with a twisted smirk, his dark eyes burning with something cruel. The air in the room is thick, suffocating, pressing against my chest like an iron weight.
"Where are you running to, Lizzy?" he asks mockingly, tilting his head like a predator cornering its prey.
"I'm not running, Christopher," I say defiantly, my voice steadier than I expect.
"Then stop." His tone sharpens into a command.
"No, Christopher!" I scream, my hands trembling as I glance around, desperate for anything—a weapon, a way out, anything to put an end to this nightmare. "I will not let you leave my children without a mother. Not because you couldn't do better!"
Christopher lets out a low, humorless laugh. His fingers twitch at his sides. "You're a menace to me, Elizabeth," he spits. "I married you to make my life better, to make my legacy stronger. But what did I get?" His voice rises, raw with rage. "You d
