A cage called marriage

ISABELLA'S POINT OF VIEW

I sat on the edge of the bed, my eyes fixed on nothing, yet everything seemed to blur and twist together. My fingers pressed against my temples as if I could squeeze out the truth hiding in my skull. Married to Julian? Or Felix? I didn’t know anymore. My mind felt like a whirlwind that refused to stop spinning. Every time I closed my eyes, the words replayed in my head. Julian Salvatore.

My chest rose and fell quickly, shallow breaths betraying the storm inside me. Maybe I was losing it. Maybe I was delusional. Ten years of confusion, manipulation, and silence were finally cracking me open like glass. I wanted to scream, but no sound left my throat. I wanted to run, but I had nowhere to go.

“God,” I whispered into the silence. “Please, just let me wake up from this nightmare. Please.”

I waited for something. A sign, a voice, anything that could remind me that my life wasn’t completely twisted beyond repair. But nothing came. Just the cold air of the room, the heavy silence pressing on my ears, and the endless questions circling in my head.

Had it always been Julian? Was Felix just a shadow, a stand-in, a thief in disguise? And if that was true, what did that make me? A wife? A pawn? Or just some broken woman trapped in a game she never agreed to play?

The ache in my chest grew sharper when I thought of my family. The very people I had given up my youth for, the ones I had promised myself I was saving. Ten years, and not once had they checked on me. Not a letter. Not a visit. Not even a call.

I didn’t even have a phone. Felix never allowed me one. He said it was unnecessary, that he would handle everything. And I had believed him, because I was too desperate to see another option. Now, all I had was silence, and the silence was louder than anything else.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips before it turned into a choked sob. My hands tangled in my hair, pulling hard, almost tearing at the strands as if pain could numb the chaos inside me. I wanted to tear my head open, dig into my brain, and silence the noise once and for all.

The door creaked open suddenly, and my body stiffened. My hands froze mid-motion as I glanced up, my eyes sharp and burning with anger.

Felix walked in, his presence filling the room like an unwanted shadow. He didn’t even look at me. He didn’t care about the fire in my eyes, the way my body trembled with hate and confusion. He just tossed his jacket aside, unbuttoned his shirt slowly, and walked toward the bathroom as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t ripped my world apart just hours ago.

The shower turned on, the sound of rushing water echoing through the walls, while I sat there on the bed, glaring at the door he had disappeared behind. My fists clenched tightly in my lap, nails digging into my palms.

How could he act so calm? How could he treat this like it was just another day?

I wanted to march in there and scream at him, demand answers, demand the truth. But the weight of exhaustion held me back. My body was tired. My soul was tired. And all I could do was sit there in the dimly lit room, waiting for the storm to come crashing again.

When Felix finally stepped out of the shower, steam curling behind him, I straightened my posture. My heart was pounding, but I kept my voice steady. I wasn’t going to scream, not tonight. I wanted the truth, and I would tear it from him if I had to.

“Felix,” I said quietly, my eyes following him as he toweled his hair, “I want answers. And I’m not leaving this room without them.”

He glanced at me, his lips twitching into a faint smile that made my stomach twist. He didn’t even look startled, as if he had been expecting this.

“Answers?” he repeated, sliding into his shirt slowly. “What more do you need to know, Isabella? You are my wife.”

My chest burned. “Am I really? Or am I just a replacement?”

His smile widened, cruel and deliberate. He stepped closer, his eyes locked on mine. “Just like you are my arranged wife, I am your substitute husband. That’s the truth you’re dying for.”

The calm in his voice made me want to slap him, but I clenched my fists instead. My blood was boiling, my jaw tight. “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked, the calmness of my tone disguising the fury inside. “Why keep me trapped like this? What have I ever done to you?”

Felix leaned down slightly, his eyes glinting. “Because I love you.”

The words fell between us like poison. His lips curled into a smirk as he brushed his fingers against my cheek, a touch that made me shiver for all the wrong reasons. “Be a good little girl, Isabella. I broke up with Vanessa because of you.”

I pushed his hand away, glaring up at him. “No,” I spat, my voice trembling. “You broke up with her because you don’t want me to leave this marriage. That’s the only reason.”

The smirk vanished. For a moment, his eyes darkened, and I knew I had struck a nerve. I rose to my feet, my heart racing, determined to walk away before the suffocating air in the room choked me.

But I didn’t get far.

Felix’s grip shot out, rough and unyielding, and in one swift motion he threw me back onto the bed. My body hit the mattress with a force that rattled my bones, and my breath caught in my throat. His shadow loomed over me as his voice cut through the silence.

“Watch your tongue,” he warned, his tone sharp and low. “From now on, you don’t go anywhere. You don’t see anyone. You don’t call anyone. If someone wants to see you, they come here. Do you understand?”

I glared up at him, my chest heaving, but the icy grip of fear kept my lips sealed.

He leaned closer, his voice a whisper against my ear. “And tomorrow,” he added smoothly, “I’m having visitors. So you better be a dutiful wife, Isabella. Or else…” His eyes flickered with cruelty. “The family you’ve been so desperate to protect may just die in the process of your recklessness.”

My blood ran cold, a shiver traveling down my spine. He straightened, leaving me trembling on the bed, while the weight of his words crushed every last bit of air in my lungs.