Chapter Thirty-Six

I'm emotionally detached. There's no way to explain it. I couldn't even cry more than I had cried while the man was physically and emotionally terrorizing me. Though his slap stings and I could still feel the imprint of his hand branding my cheek. It's his unwelcome touch that had my body revolting on its own skin and it sicken me to no end how the memory was now carved deep in my head.

My gut tightened up to my throat as my body lurched. But instead of spewing what remained on my last meal, I wheezed, painfully squeezing the air out of my lungs. Tears blurred my vision and I can't do anything but clutch my stomach even if it does nothing to dull the pain.

I gulped, trying to swallow enough saliva to douse the dryness of my mouth down to my throat. I should have eaten when he says so, maybe my compliance would have spared me from the brutality that came from my stubbornness. I shook my head. No, Victoria. Regardless of what I did and what I did not do, I knew deep in my