Chapter 5

Amelia's POV

I had been sitting in the restaurant for so long and to me I felt at peace. The peace I hadn't had since I got married to Lawson.

The restaurant was just like the kind of place people came to forget their problems for an hour. To laugh too loudly and pretend that life was simple.

I was seated beside my adopted mother and I tried not to flinch every time everyone walked too closely to our table. My adopted mother was stirring her drink slowly, the ice clinking against the glass. She always looked calm and that made me trust her without thinking twice.

“You've been so quiet. Is everything alright?” she asked, lifting up her eyes to me. I forced myself to smile at her but everything felt stiff on my face.

“I'm fine,” I said, even though my cheek still ached beneath my makeup.

She didn't believe my words and I saw it in her eyes, the way her gaze lingered on my face. On the side I had been careful to cover up and her eyes softened at me.

“Amelia,” she called my name softly. “Did Lawson do anything to you?”

My fingers tightened around my fork as her question felt heavy in my chest. I looked down at my plate, at the food I hadn't touched. Just because my appetite had been gone for days.

“He gets angry over small things.” I said quietly and she let out a loud sigh as though it was something she had expected.

“Marriage isn't easy.” she replied. “Men can be difficult when they feel challenged.”

I swallowed hard as my head began to think of so many things. The last time he hit me, I tasted blood. I remembered the shock more than the pain. The way my body had frozen, like it didn't understand what was happening.

I tried so hard to fade away the bruises but I just could not, instead what I would always do to cover it up was to touch it with a little bit of my makeup.

“Talk to me, Amelia. Can you tell me what happened this time?” she asked, leaning forward slightly.

I hesitated at first but because I felt like it was a pain I was meant to forget and not try to remind myself of it. But at the end of the day, I needed to speak in case I could get help.

“He wanted me to do something ridiculous.” I said.

“What kind of thing?” she questioned. I shook my head at her.

“It doesn't really matter.” I answered back and she just stared at me.

She stretched her hand towards the table and grabbed my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine. And I knew she was just doing all of that to give me the comfort that I needed.

“You should try to listen to your husband. Sometimes peace comes from compromise.” she said softly and the word peace made something twist in my chest.

I nodded at her, even though every part of me screamed so loudly inside of my body but I just could not voice it out.

Whenever I looked at my adopted mother, it was hard to imagine anything bad happening to her. She looked so normal, so safe and she smiled at the waitress when she came by.

She asked the waitress about her day, and together they laughed at a joke. And yet Lawson's voice echoed in my head.

“If you don't do it. I'll make sure your adopted mother pays for it.”

I pushed my plate away.

“I need to go,” I said and she frowned at me.

“But you have barely eaten anything.”

“I'm not hungry.” I replied and she studied me for a moment, then nodded.

“Call me when you get home.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The mirror didn't lie. I sat in front of it, my body aching in places I didn't want to name. Painkiller medicines were laid on the dresser beside a small jar of pain reliever ointment.

I rubbed it into my skin slowly, carefully watching the way my face would since in pain. I had already swallowed the pills and I looked miserable.

I looked like someone who was already disappearing. I stared at myself for a very long time and that is when I knew that I could not keep doing this.

Surviving wasn't enough anymore. I needed a way out. I reached for my laptop. I opened it and placed it on my lap. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, I didn't rush. I had started doing this a long time ago.

I did all of it quietly and carefully. Because deep down inside of my heart, I knew that this might be the only way I could ever be free.

I plugged in my phone and my fingers moved very fast and confidently because I knew what I was doing. I studied computer science in university. I graduated top of my class. Back then I thought it was just a degree but now, it was my weapon. I worked for hours and screens changed. Files moved. Things were backed up, duplicated and secured in places no one would ever think to look.

This wasn't panic. This was planned. By the time I closed my laptop, my body was tired but my mind was steady.

That was when the door slammed open. Lawson stormed in, his face reddish, he was burning inside with rage.

“What is the meaning of this?” he shouted. And I stood up slowly.

“What does it look like?” I asked calmly.

“What are all of these videos ?” he asked again, chuckling at his own words. And I tilted my head at him.

“It is called Evidence.”

“You planted cameras in my house?!Without my consent?”. He stepped closer, raising his hand. “If I were you. I wouldn't try that.” I said softly and he stopped right in his tracks.

“Those videos of physically abusing me with belts and slaps” I continued. “Only a few of many that were recorded.”

His breathing changed instantly which gave me the upper hand. I was loving every bit of it.

“For days. You never noticed anything. I made sure you didn't.” I went down as I walked past him and sat down.

“If anything happens to me Lawson” I said, meeting his eyes, “If I disappear…. everything will automatically upload everywhere.”

“You're bluffing.” he lashed out and I smiled faintly.

“Then try me- And for the first time since I married Lawson, fear settled in his eyes.

“What do you want?- he asked gently, his voice barely above whispering.

His question hit me hard in the heart. What do I really want from this? I have the upper hand at the moment and I can just threaten him to let me free but people like Lawson, they never let go. My family, my adopted mother, those I love. I was scared he would go after them which I won’t be able to live knowing well It was all my fault.

“Good” I took a deep breath and continued. “I will seduce Jayden! You want to manipulate him? I will do it. Help you get whatever it is you want. But the moment it is done, so is this marriage. You will file for a divorce and let me me free”