The Billionaire's Abused Bride

CHAPTER 1: The time Kieran Blake hurt me he said sorry.Tonight he did not.My back hit the cold marble wall hard. It hurt a lot. The glass I was holding broke on the floor. The red wine spread all over the white tiles like blood.I just stood there.Not because I was hurt.Because of the way Kieran Blake looked at me.There was no sorry in his eyes.No feeling bad.Just anger and it was really scary."Kieran Blackwood..." My voice was shaking, even though I tried to sound calm. "Please listen to me.""Listen?" He sounded mean. He ran his hand through his hair, which always looked perfect. "Were you listening when you were smiling with him?"My heart skipped a beat. "He is someone I work with""Do not lie to me!" His voice was really loud in the big living room.Then it was quiet.Really quiet.It felt heavy like something was pushing down on me.I swallowed hard. My fingers curled into my dress. This was not new, him getting angry and jealous.. Tonight felt different.It felt scary.

CHAPTER 3: The door handle moved. It moved slowly. It moved deliberately. My heart was beating hard; it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.For a moment I could not move. I could not breathe. I could not think. Then my body took over. I let go of the door. Stumbled backward. My eyes were fixed on the handle as it turned from the outside.No. This could not be happening. He was not supposed to come. Not this fast. Not now. The door creaked open. Just a little. Enough for the cold night air to slip in. Enough for me to feel that shift in the atmosphere. Danger.I felt danger. "Amara?" His voice was low. It was calm. It was too calm. My stomach dropped. He sounded controlled.. That was worse. Much worse. Because Kieran was not loud when he was truly angry. He was quiet. Deadly quiet.My body reacted before my mind could catch up. I. Ran. Not toward the door.. Deeper into the house. My bare feet slapped softly against the floor as I rushed past the staircase. My breath was c

CHAPTER 5: Beeping was the thing I heard. It was soft and steady like a reminder that I was still here still alive. The second thing I felt was pain. It was not sharp like before. It was dull and heavy. It was everywhere. My body felt like it did not belong to me like I had borrowed it from someone and did not quite know how to use it.I tried to move my fingers. They responded slowly weakly but they moved. That meant I was still in control at least a little. My eyelids fluttered open and light flooded in immediately making me wince. Everything was white the ceiling, the walls, the sheets. The faint smell of antiseptic filled the air. I realized I was in a hospital.The accident, the road, the car all these things came back to me slowly. My chest tightened slightly as fragments of memory tried to piece themselves. I remembered running, fear and a name Kieran. My breath. The name felt wrong not unfamiliar, just heavy like it carried something I was not ready to face yet.I swallowed h

CHAPTER 7: I couldn't stop looking at the phone. The message was stuck in my head like it was carved there."You can run from me, Amara…. You will always come back."My hands were shaking as I put the phone back on the bedside table. I was scared it might explode if I held it longer."Amara?"Ethan's voice sounded away. It was muffled, like I was underwater. I took breaths trying to calm down."In. Out. In""Amara, " Ethan said, again softer this time. I turned my head to look at him. His eyes were on me. He looked worried."What happened?" he asked.My lips opened. No sound came out. I didn't know how to explain something I didn't understand myself."I…" My voice cracked. "There's a message."He frowned. "From who?""I don't know." That was the part. The number was unknown. There was no name.. Somehow it didn't feel like a stranger. It felt like someone who knew me well.Ethan picked up the phone. Read the message. His face got darker. For a second I saw something in his eyes. It wa