Chapter 2:Back To Hell

**Naomi’s POV**

I walked into the house, the familiar scent of polished wood and cold marble hitting me like a punch. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could slip in quietly, pretend nothing had happened, and go straight to my room. My stomach twisted as I held my coat close. But I knew I was wrong the second I saw her.  

Evelyn Ashford ,my mother-in-law, stood by the doorway, arms crossed, eyes sharp as knives. She didn’t even blink when she saw me. Just tilted her head slightly, and said in that thin, cutting voice of hers:  

“Look who finally returns from God knows where. Hope you know your days are numbered in this house.”  

My chest tightened. My hands went clammy. I forced myself to ignore her, to walk past her. But she wasn’t done. Her eyes followed me as if I were a rat trying to sneak by.  

Then came Charlotte. Lucas’ younger sister. She was a handful of trouble in human form. Ugly, sharp-tongued, and cruel. And she hated me for… being alive, I guess. Before I could even take a step, she grabbed my hair. Hard. Pain shot up my scalp like fire.  

“How dare you walk out on us!” she screamed, yanking me back. “Do you think you can just leave and come back like nothing happened?”  

I blinked, trying to steady my shaking hands. I was too angry to say anything. My throat felt tight. My eyes stung. My mind screamed at them to let me go, but of course, no one ever did. I wanted to fight back. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t. Because what would it have done? They hated me. Always had. And they always would.  

I hated this house. Hated it with every piece of my soul. From the day I stepped in as Lucas’ bride, I had been nothing but a servant. A shadow. Someone to clean, cook, serve, and disappear. I had no voice, no place, no rights. And the worst part? Lucas knew.  

I saw him sitting at the table, newspaper in hand. He glanced at me once, saw how his family was treating me, and went back to reading. His expression never changed. Not a flicker of anger, not a word of protection, not a single sign that he cared about how I was being humiliated.  

Of course he didn’t. He never cared. He married me for his family’s wealth, nothing else. He had already made his choice long before he ever spoke to me. Valentina. The woman he truly loved. The woman he would marry after the contract ended. My misery didn’t matter to him. And now… my child didn’t matter either.  

My eyes filled with tears. I blinked rapidly, trying to hold them back. I wanted to run. Run far, far away, where nobody knew me. Where nobody could touch me. Where my unborn baby would be safe. But where could I go? I had no family. No parents. No siblings. Just this house. And they owned it all.  

Charlotte’s grip on my hair loosened slightly, but her eyes were still sharp with hate. “Don’t think I’ll let you get away with walking out like that,” she hissed.  

I said nothing. I couldn’t. My anger and my pain were too heavy. It was obvious to me that nobody wanted me here. Nobody ever had. And even if they did, it wouldn’t have mattered. Lucas had never looked at me with anything but cold calculation. The only son, the family wealth, the contract… that was all I was.  

Evelyn Lucas stepped closer, her heels clicking sharply on the marble floor. “You better remember your place in this house,” she said. “Or I’ll make sure you regret ever thinking you belonged here.”  

I swallowed hard, forcing my trembling hands to my sides. My mind screamed at me to hit back, to fight, to scream, to break something. But what could I do? I was alone. No one would protect me. And even Lucas… he was nothing but a stranger who lived under the same roof, with a contract to keep me in line.  

I thought of my parents. My father, who had died suddenly when I was fifteen. My mother, gone before I had a chance to say goodbye. I had no one left. No one to love me, no one to comfort me, no one to stand up for me. And now… I was carrying a child into this world, alone, unwanted, unloved.  

I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. I clenched my fists at my sides, digging my nails into my palms just to remind myself I was still alive. Still human. Still capable of feeling.  

Lucas didn’t move from his chair. He read the newspaper, pretending not to see what was happening. I wanted to hate him. I did. But deep down… a part of me wished he would say something. Just one word. Just one sign that he cared. That he saw me. That he wasn’t completely cold.  

But I knew he wouldn’t. Not him. Not ever.  

Charlotte pushed me again, lightly this time, just to make sure I understood that I had no place here. “Move,” she said. “Before we make you move properly.”  

I forced myself to take a step. And then another. My legs felt like lead. My heart felt like it was breaking. I moved past them both and up the stairs to the room that had been assigned to me when I first arrived as a bride.  

The room was small, cold, and empty. Just like my life. I closed the door behind me and sank to the floor, my back against the wall. Tears fell freely now, soaking the fabric of my dress.  

I pressed my hands over my stomach. My baby. My child. My only light in this dark house. I promised myself then, through my grief, through my anger, through my pain… I would protect my baby. I didn’t care what it took.  

Even if it meant facing a house full of people who hated me. Even if it meant facing Lucas, the man who married me but never loved me. Even if it meant facing the world alone… I would survive.  

Because I had to.  

For the baby. For me. For my life.