Don't Touch Me

Terra

The scent of woodsmoke and crisp night air welcomed me as I slipped outside, escaping the estate's suffocating press of old ghosts and memories. My nerves sang with relief feeling open sky above instead of brooding antique woodwork and cloying velvet drapes shrouding the corridors.

I sank gratefully onto the worn garden bench tucked against the rear veranda, angled to overlook the moonlit forest rolling unbroken to the distant sawtooth mountains.

Out here I could breathe. The stifling weight of the past eased just slightly under vast stars winking down as they had my very first night fleeing this place heartbroken so long ago. Their celestial light remained untroubled by earthly turmoil.

How foolish I had been, believing myself free of this torment. One imploring word from Nathan, and here I was again, willingly walking back into the lion's den. I should have known his earnest vows were temporary manipulations. Once I outlived my usefulness, he would discard me as coldly as befo