Se connecter
“You’re Home”
I said to my husband who barely glanced at me as he took off his suit, he just headed for the stairs and of course I followed.
Like the fool I was.
“How was it Jason, was work stressful today?” I tried again but still no response. I shouldn’t be surprised, this wasn’t the first time, or even the second, or the third time he’d done this. We used to be a happy couple back when our parents had practically arranged our marriage.
Our marriage had started off slow and boring but soon we had come to love each other, we couldn’t spend a day without calling, talking or touching each other. Jason suddenly became the love of my life, I had given myself to him. But things started to go sour when no child was coming, he didn’t say anything at first but he grew distant but soon enough he let me know; with large outbursts and yelling, even going as far to beat the crap out of me once for yelling back.
I still loved him, maybe I would forever which was while I tried to make amends. I had made dinner in the diner room, wanting a fresh start and to apologize when logically I didn’t need to.
I watched as he took off his shirt and licked my lips, he was still perfect; perfect tan body, rock hard abs and tall. Jason slipped into a simple loose shirt and pants then turned to plop on the bed.
“I made dinner……for you” I blurted out and he stared at me, I could see the anger in his eyes, as if he was ready to shun me then he nodded.
“Thank you” he said and stood, “Lead the way” came his deep voice. I smiled and happily got up and lead the way downstairs—maybe tonight could be the night where we smooth things over, maybe tonight we could go back to what we used to be.
We sat down and he sat across staring at me and I blushed. Why was he staring at me like that? Was he still angry or maybe he was starting to let all the fighting go, maybe he was still in love with me. No one stared at someone like that without having feelings, I looked down avoiding his green gaze but smiled underneath—tonight is that night.
We dug into the food and I watched as he ate, still nervous. He mostly did the eating while I just took small bites, still eager to see where this leads.
“This is good” he said, eyes roaming over my face and I smiled trying so hard not to blush.
What was wrong with me? He is my husband.
“You like it?” I asked and he nodded, I grinned wanting to push further.
“How was work today?” I asked and he stopped, for a moment I thought I had fumbled everything. My heart pounded harder then he smiled, though it looked forced but it was better than his rage the last few weeks.
“Good, more investors today. Stocks are rising and the market is blooming, couldn’t be anymore better” he stopped and stared at me.
“What about you? You good?” He asked and my heart did a frog jump, did he just ask how I was? The corner of my lips lifted in a small smile.
“Yes I am” I answered and he dug into his food again without reply. I followed suit, still brimming with excitement, maybe this night wasn’t going to be bad after all—maybe I could get him to realize that he used to love me….and maybe we could make love. I smiled at the thought. It's been a long time since we did it for affection not breeding like rabbits.
Jason stood and pushed his chair back, I didn’t realize that he had finished his food, he nodded to me suddenly looking cold.
“Thanks for the meal, I’ll head upstairs now” he said and pivoted on his heels. I stood abruptly and blocked his path.
“Jason I…..I…..have ummm….ermmm….something to say to you” I said and his eyes lit up.
“You’re…….”
“I love you” I blurted out. That’s when I knew everything was gonna fall apart. I watched as his blue eyes darkened, filling with rage. He stepped closer and I backed away, I have never seen him look so angry, like he wanted so bad to kill me.
“You love me?” He said dangerously then he laughed, a short one then without warning he backhanded me. I stood there in shock, not expecting.
“Jason what did I…..”
“SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH!!!!!” He yelled so loud that I flinched. “You must be stupid, to even think you did all this to tell me you are pregnant. I don’t care if you love me, give me a child, for fuck’s sake one child is all I ask, you whore” he yanked my hair and started to drag me up the stairs.
“Jason stop what are you doing, Jason no” he kicked me right in the face and I closed my mouth, tears streamed down my cheeks as he dragged me up the stairs he stopped at the bedroom door and kicked it open. I watched in horror as his fist came for my face hard, not even one ounce of holding back.
I suddenly felt dizzy, and the room spun around me. Jason picked me up and toss me right at the far side of the tiled floor. I lay there weakly as he tore my clothes off my body and he started to take off his belt, he raised it high then his phone rang.
He stopped and pointed a finger at me then picked up the phone.
“Hello babe” I heard someone say across the phone and my heart stopped.
Babe? And why did that voice sound so familiar
Jason grinned and sat on the bed, “Yes baby, anything I can do for you”
“You said you were gonna marry me soon, can’t stop thinking about it, you said you were gonna leave her” came the voice.
“Yes, I do” Jason said, chuckling. “I have the divorce papers ready”
Four's POVI went back to the cemetery alone the next morning. The sun was barely up, casting long shadows across the headstones. My breath came out in white puffs in the cold February air. I stood in front of my father's grave again, but this time felt different. Quieter somehow. Like the rage that had lived in my chest for decades was finally wearing itself out."I came back," I said to the stone. My voice sounded strange in the empty cemetery. "I said what I needed to say yesterday but I do not think I was done. I do not think forgiveness happens all at once. It is a process, like Dr Morrison keeps telling me."A bird called from somewhere in the trees. Life continues despite death. Despite trauma. Despite everything."I forgive you," I said clearly."Not because what you did was acceptable. It was not. You were a monster and I spent decades s
Veronica's POVI watched Four follow Thomas into the study and felt my stomach drop. Something was wrong. Thomas looked like he was carrying a weight that had finally become too heavy. The door closed behind them and I was left in the kitchen with Beverly, who was staring at that closed door with worry written across her face."What is going on?" I asked quietly."I do not know," Beverly said, but her eyes said she suspected something. "Thomas has been distant the last few weeks. I thought it was just stress from the holidays."Inside the study, I imagined what conversation could be happening. What secret could Thomas be holding that required pulling Four aside during Christmas? My mind went to worst-case scenarios. Illness. Financial problems. Some threat we had not anticipated.Twenty minutes passed. The party continued in the living room with children laughing and adults talking. Normal holiday chaos that felt wrong when I knew something serious was happening behind that closed doo
Four's POVI stared at my phone after Dominic Torres hung up. He had gotten my letter. He wanted to talk. My half-brother, the sibling I never knew existed, was real and willing to engage. The knowledge sat heavily in my chest."What did he say?" Veronica asked from where she stood in the kitchen doorway."He wants to meet. Next weekend if I can make it to Portland.""Are you going?""I have to," I said. "He deserves answers and I need to see if he is real. If this is not some elaborate scam or mistake."I flew to Portland the following Saturday. Alone because this felt like something I needed to do without distraction. Dominic had suggested meeting at a coffee shop near his house. Neutral territory. Public but quiet enough for a difficult conversation.I arrived fifteen minutes early and sat in my rental car t
Chapter 217Veronica's POVThe film offered sat between us like a third person in our bedroom. Four had been pacing for twenty minutes while I sat on the bed watching him process. Our lives turned into entertainment. Our trauma was displayed for millions. The idea was overwhelming and terrifying and somehow inevitable."What do you think?" Four asked finally, stopping in front of me."I think it is your story to tell," I said carefully. "But it is also my story. And Monte's story. We all get a say in this.""The kids," Four said, sitting down heavily beside me. "How do we explain this to them?""Honestly and age-appropriately like we do everything else."We gathered the family that weekend for a discussion. Monte was ten now, tall and serious with Four's dark eyes. Sophia was eight, still fearless and opinionated. Manuel was eighteen mont
Chapter 216Four's POVWriting the memoir was harder than I expected. I thought I had processed everything through therapy and time but putting it into words on a page opened wounds I did not know still existed. My childhood was under my father's fists. Watching my mother waste away. Learning to be cruel because cruelty was currency in that world.I hired a ghostwriter named Sarah Chen, a woman in her fifties who specialised in memoirs about trauma and recovery. She asked questions I did not want to answer. Pushed me to go deeper when I wanted to stay surface level. Made me sit with uncomfortable truths instead of glossing over them."Why did you stay in the organisation as long as you did?" she asked during one of our early sessions."Because I did not know there was another option.""But you did know. You saw how normal people lived. You understood that you
Chapter 215Veronica's POVLife with three children was chaos in the best possible way. Our house was never quiet anymore. Someone was always crying or laughing or asking questions or needing something. The laundry multiplied like some kind of evil magic trick. I found Cheerios in places Cheerios should never be. Sleep became a distant memory again.But it was joyful chaos. The kind I had dreamed about during those dark years with Jason when I thought happiness was something that happened to other people.Monte took his role as big brother seriously. He helped with diaper changes even though he wrinkled his nose at the smell. He sang to Manuel when the baby cried. He read him board books with exaggerated voices that made Sophia giggle. At eight years old, Monte was already more nurturing than most adults I knew.Sophia was intensely curious about everything baby Manuel did. Why d
Four's POVThe blood terrified me more than anything I had faced in my entire life. Veronica stood in our bathroom at five in the morning with blood running down her legs and panic written across her face. I called 911 while helping her sit down on
Veronica's POVSophia's first day of preschool arrived with all the chaos I expected. She refused to wear the outfit I picked, insisting on her sparkly pink dress with purple leggings that absolutely did not match. Four tried reasoning with her. I
Four's POVThe video message sat on my phone like a bomb waiting to explode. Claire Reeves. Jason's sister. A person from the nightmare part of Veronica's past reached into our present on the day we renewed our vows. The timing felt deliberate somehow, like the
Chapter 211Veronica's POVNormal felt wrong somehow. Like wearing someone else's clothes. I kept catching myself waiting for something bad to happen, but days turned into weeks and the crisis never came. Four left for work in the mornings and came home f







