2. Monster in my home

•Janelle••

~EIGHT MONTHS LATER~

Walking into our living room, my heart breaks as I stare at Pius seated on the floor, close to the living room center table.

He places some colored substances on the table, splitting them into tiny portions so that he can sniff them one after another.

He sees me and laughs, looking up at me. His bloodshot eyes stare at me, and I swallow down the tightness in my chest.

"Pius?" I whisper.

He promised he won't do this again.

The last time, he broke my arm. And when I agreed not to tell Papa Ben, he swore not to ever go near the substance again, and stupid me believed him.

"Will you get more money from your father, Jane?" He asks in response to his name.

I don’t bother answering him. I just stand there staring at him.

"Janelle!" He yells, startling me.

I break into a sob. "We've taken so much money from him in just eight months of our marriage, Pius. I-I think it's too much already." I try to reason with him.

He sniffs another line of the substance, then he stands up, walking carefully toward me. As he approaches, I take several steps back until my body hits the wall.

Then he nears me, looking aloof. His pupils are dilated, and he looks high as f*ck.

"Do you know why I married you?"

I shake my head.

"Because your father is f*ckin Ben Russo."

"Stepfather," I whisper, but I doubt he heard me or even cared to.

"You can ask him for weekly allowances, and he would place you on one. So, pick up your phone, call him, and tell him you need money."

He is right; my stepfather will definitely send me any amount I ask for. But that won't be all, he's going to want to know why I'm asking for so much money, and of course, he would never ask me.

But he has his way of finding out. Pius had no idea that asking for money continuously might lead to the end of our marriage.

My stepfather believes that a man should care for his wife. According to him, you know a wealthy man when you see his wife.

So, if he ever finds out that Pius is not just taking care of me but also taking my money to gamble away, that would be the end of the marriage.

Pius stumbles back to the table to get another fix, and I use that opportunity to tiptoe upstairs.

I can't continue like this; if I don't leave this man, he will drag me to ruin with him.

Pius was never like this.

He had a good job at an accounting firm, and he was doing well enough to take care of his family.

But everything went downhill when he lost his job three months after our wedding and didn't get another one after applying to several firms.

I've been quite patient with him, encouraging him, and taking over the expenses in our home. But it keeps getting worse.

I push into our bedroom, heading straight to my box to pick up the card of the secret bank account I opened three months ago to save for rainy days.

The account doesn't hold much, but it can last me for a couple of months.

If I desperately need more, I'll reach out to Papa Ben.

I slip the card into my purse. Grabbing my handbag, I slip a dress inside and a few things I might need, and then I tiptoe back downstairs.

Pius is still engrossed with the substance. So, I head to the door. Grabbing the handle gently, I realize that it is now locked.

Christ!

"Looking for this?" Pius wiggles the key with a smile.

He stands up and staggers towards me. "Do you know how much I owe?"

"No," I whisper.

"Fifty-five thousand dollars."

A tear rolled down my cheek. He looked at me from head down, and when his eyes fell on my shoulder bag, he grabbed it and poured the contents on the floor.

Then he picks up my little purse and opens it. He takes all the cash in it, slipping it into his pants pocket. Then he takes my first debit card–the one he knows the password to.

"...there money in this thing?" He flings the card around.

"Yes." I bite out, hoping that would stop him from searching for more and finding my secret account card.

"How much?"

"About four thousand eight hundred."

He grins happily and slips the card in his pocket. Then he turns the purse upside down, shaking it vigorously until the card falls out.

He stares at it in shock and looks back at me as he bends and picks it up. "You lying bitch!" He slaps my face so hard that I see stars.

"Password!" He barks, but I refuse to speak.

If he takes all the money there, I'll be empty. I won't have a dime to my name, and even though I have Papa Ben on speed dial, I feel like it's rather inappropriate to keep taking the man's money.

When he doesn't hear a word from me, he becomes impatient and punches me several times till I fall to the floor.

Then he kicks me annoyingly, yelling at the top of his voice.

He has seen possible cash that would get him more fixes for the next couple of weeks or months, depending on how much he spends on those.

So, it probably makes him hysterical if he thinks I'm trying to take it away from him.

Finally, he stops kicking me and bends over my body. "Password!" He yells again, spit flying all over my face.

"44531," I reply, sobbing.

He smirks, standing up. "...will check it at the ATM and if it's wrong, I'll be back."

He steps away from my body. Cleaning his nose and face with the back of his palm, he unlocks the door and locks me in.

"Pius!" I call him, my body shaking as I sob nonstop.

I try to stand up, and end up screaming in pain. When I cough, I see splashes of blood on the floor.

I search for my phone and find it just beside me.

I manage to move it over to my left hand, which doesn't hurt as much.

Then I call the one person who can save me, even if I were twenty countries away from him.

I call my stepbrother Cicero. He's the only one who can help me now.