Romans de Dé writer

My belly aches, my head is ringing, my eyes are prickly, and my whole body feels like someone dumped a sack of potatoes on me all day. And yet all these are the least of my concerns.Dominic just promised to put me on trial tomorrow. A fate even worse than being left here to rot. I have never been to trial before, never dreamt of it.But I’ve heard stories and watched other people’s trials long enough to know that it’s not a good thing to be the one standing in the grand circle surrounded by a panel of elders who think everything is wrong with the world we live in. There’s no winning against the panel, no one even bothers to make their case anymore.You just stand there, and try not to piss your pants while seven old men and women yell your sins back at you like it’s the chronicle of your life, ridicule you to filth and then pass a verdict just when they’re sure they’ve broken you down to nothing.And although there are many verdicts for many charges, only two stand in the court of th

I haven’t stopped crying since the moment Laura left. In my whole life, I have never felt so dejected, so lost and afraid. It’s even worse now that I cannot see anything at all.There’s nothing to distract me from all the accusations haunting my thoughts. I’ve spent all afternoon blaming myself.For being too nice, too trusting, too loving, too gullible. I blame myself for being me.Maybe if I possessed just an ounce of deviousness in my feeble little bones I would have seen this coming at some point.If I were just a little bit as ruthless as the fables say my mother was. People would say my name with the same reverence with which they say hers.No man would dare leave me at the altar and then command me to be locked up on my wedding day.I wish she were alive to raise me, to teach me how to be tough and assertive while remaining delicate and beautiful. To teach me how to turn the heads of kings, warriors and elites while everyone in the room considers you the least threat. I wish sh

Water drips steadily somewhere in the distance, I can hardly see anything more than ten meters from me because of how dark and cold this place is, I shiver a bit as the sound of something crawling in the darkness startles me.I look up to the lamp hanging beside the doorpost across from me.The fire still burns brightly, I can still see the wick and it’s the very big kind, wax spilling down its side in large clumps, forming a tiny fire mountain inside the enclosed space.My eyes drop to my dress, and I drag my legs up. The hem of my gown rising to somewhere near where my feet are has turned brown with mud.The fabric laced above my corset is torn, hanging loosely in the stagnant dark. My emotions feel bigger than me, and I don’t know what to do so I stop bothering. Then I don’t know what to think.How did it get this bad all of a sudden? What have I done to deserve such a fate?Joshua had been trouble from the start. Dominic found him during his first year in college and then slowly,

Dominic already has his back turned to me as he heads down the stage when I get a hold of myself. Picking my dress up from the front I hurry to him and grab his arm, stopping him.“Dom, wait!”He pauses, but he doesn’t bother to look at me and that hurts more than it should. It’s taking everything in me to keep from breaking apart in this moment.“Won’t you at least tell me what this is about? What could have happened that’s so bad we can’t work through it together?”He scoffs. “Don’t play that together card on me right now, you traitor.”I flinch at his words and the venom in his tone.“You’re really going to act like you don’t know what this is about?”I shake my head. “I wish it were an act. I wish this whole thing were one big play before the wedding.”He laughs, but it’s not the cheerful warmth I remember. This one is bitter.“You really think I would be stupid enough to marry someone like you? Or are you just the stupid one?”“Dominic, I demand to know why you’re being this way

Has a day ever felt so complete and perfect that you’re sure your life is about to take an awesome turn from there?Have you ever looked into the eyes of someone you loved and thanked the stars and moon for every alignment that led up to that moment?Have you ever been betrayed so accurately and devastatingly that you had no choice but to shatter into pieces?Just me?Well, you’re up for a long ride then.The day was sunny, as it is in April and the sun made everything look brighter, prettier, happier. Rushing into the rooms without permission as the wind blew our curtains open.Normally there might have been a few complaints here and there; someone may even have gotten up to do something about the dashing sun.But today, there’s only one thing on everyone’s mind. One thing that nothing else -not even nature- can compete with.Me.As the sun finds its way through my own curtains I rise from my bed with a flourish and toss the sheets aside. In all my life, this is the first day that I’