Brenda could not believe what Damien was saying to her. “What?! She exclaimed.Did she hear him say get married? Does he really know what he was saying at all? What made him think she would ever marry him after all he had done to her. He had let his men beat her up, treat her like trash and even though he had stopped treating her that way, she wondered why on earth he imagined she would marry him. She was his prisoner and she had begged him every time to let her go but he had refused, yesterday, he had said he wouldn’t let her go until he finds what to do with her. Is that it then? Was that the idea he thought of to do with her? He must be insane if he thought she would escape from one mafia lord to end up marrying another, someone who held her against her will and had treated her less than an animal before.“I know, it sounds absurd, it did to me when I first thought of it and it does even now. But before you express your contempt listen to me first.” Damien said trying to convince h
In the days that followed, preparations went underway for the marriage as Damien and Brenda went over the contract details together. She had informed him of her own terms to it already and together they sat everyday in his fancy office drafting out and going over all agreements. Damien invited his lawyer and everything was set in place. Next, they began to make plans for the wedding, Damien wanted it to happen as soon as possible, Brenda too, so they decided that it held on the following weekend which was days away. The also agreed that the wedding take place in his house and only a few guests allowed, his family and a few friends mostly. Damien thought the event should be private considering it was just a sham and would be ended soon enough, so there was no need for any publicity or huge ceremony like he knew his family would want – well, he was not going to do it the way his family would want, he was already doing what they insisted of him and that was enough for Damien.Brenda’s fa
The last two days before the wedding day was different for Brenda. There seemed to be a sense of happiness in the air. She had met Damien’s parents and despite all her fears concerning their sham, they had bought it without a single doubt. That surprised Brenda as she thought that she would be caught in a series of questions with them but they were just overwhelmed with the reality of their son finding someone to settle down with that they had not paid attention to details that might have given them off. Damien’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Smith had insisted that the wedding held in a chapel against Damien’s wish, he could do little to resist them so he agreed, it was no longer going to hold in his compound like he initially planned. The idea gutted him but he decided to just carry out their wish.After the dinner Brenda felt a sense of relief even though she knew it was only a start to long journey for her. She felt the happiness around and it eventually rubbed off on her. Even Damien seeme
Brenda thought her action to stand up to Damien no matter what was going to make him quit trying to control her, but it only provoked him more and he began to intentionally shove his superiority over her. He flaunted his authority at her by setting rules around the house, he even went ahead to secure an admission in a boarding school for Ralia for the spring. He also instructed Brenda’s driver not to drive her to school or anywhere at all. He restricted her movement just to punish her for having the guts to disrespectfully talk to him.How could she disrespect him in his own house? Does she no know that he was doing her family a favor letting her and her sister live under his roof? If only she had any idea of who he was and what he was capable of she would not mess with him. He was used to everyone being afraid of him and as Brenda disagreed on anything he said, it pissed him off. He felt bad that even though she got on his nerves he couldn’t touch her, at least not now. His father wa
Brenda woke up the next day with a feeling of overwhelming sadness and despair. The events of the previous day replayed in her mind like a broken record, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of violation that Damien had inflicted upon her. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to process what had happened, feeling completely alone and helpless. At the same time, Brenda felt a strange sense of detachment from the situation. It was almost as if she was watching it happen to someone else, rather than experiencing it herself. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why she was feeling this way, but it was like a part of her had shut down and become numb to the trauma.As the day went on, Brenda struggled to make sense of her conflicting emotions. On one hand, she was overwhelmed by the fear of Damien and what he was capable of, on the other hand, she was surprised by how little emotion she felt towards him. Part of her wanted to scream and lash out at him, but another part of her just felt
One morning Brenda stood in the kitchen, absentmindedly making a sandwich as her mind drifted to the thoughts of Ralia. She had been contemplating the idea of letting Damien send Ralia to a boarding school only so she would be safe from his abusive behavior. Brenda knew she couldn’t protect her little sister forever, and sending her to boarding school might be the best option to keep her safe. Lost in thought, Brenda didn’t hear Damien walk into the kitchen until he cleared his throat behind her. She turned to face him, trying to keep her composure as she silently wished he would just disappear.“Is there something on your mind?” Damien asked, his voice laced with suspicion.“No.” Brenda hesitated for a moment, but then decided to come clean. “I was just thinking about Ralia,” she admitted. “I think it might be a good idea to send her to boarding school.”Damien didn’t seem surprised by Brenda’s opinion about that, he had already made arrangements so it didn’t matter to him. He simply
Brenda tried to shake off the persistent thoughts about Damien’s lack of intimacy as she walked home from school with Carla. As they strolled down the quiet suburban street, Carla suddenly turned to Brenda and asked, “So, what do you do for fun?”Brenda shrugged, “I don’t really do much, but I like to read and watch movies.”Carla raised her eyebrows, “That’s it? You need to loosen up a bit, girl! How about we do something spontaneous this weekend?”Brenda hesitated, unsure of what kind of activity Carla had in mind. “I don’t know, now that Ralia is in school, I usually spend weekends locked up in my room reading. ”Carla’s eyes widened in surprise, “You’re married I know but you have to ease up a bit, you’re so young. And besides it’s not like your husband actually cares, it’s not a real wedding right? So have fun my dear.” Carla tried to convince her friend.Brenda smiled, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. He doesn’t care about me so I just avoid him like he ignores me too.” Brenda said.
Brenda stood at the sink, scrubbing a stubborn stain off a dish. She glanced out the window to the pitch-black outside. She couldn’t help but smile as she thought about the plans she had with Carla this weekend. They were going to spend the day shopping in the nearby stores, and then grab dinner at Carla’s favorite Italian restaurant. As she rinsed off the dish and placed it in the drying rack, Brenda’s mind wandered to the last time they had fun. It wasn’t long ago buy it felt like it. Well was a beautiful day, and Brenda was so excited about it. Brenda faintly remembered the Italian restaurant, she had been there only once but it was enough for her to guess how much fun they would have, she couldn’t wait.Lost in thought, Brenda almost didn’t hear her phone buzzing on the counter. It was Carla, sending her a text to confirm their plans. Brenda quickly replied, excitedly typing out a message about how much she was looking forward to the weekend. But as she put down her phone, Brenda