“What the fuck are you talking about?” “Careful with the language,” he teased, “there's a child present. You know they can hear you at this point.” I glared at him. He inhaled deeply and announced to me, “I bought us a house.” “A what now?” “A house. For you, me, and him.” He motioned to my belly. A line appeared between my brows as I looked at him like he was crazy. “You tried to kill me. What makes you think I would move in with you?!” “I told you, I’ve had a change of heart.” He placed his hand over his chest and patted over his heart. “I want to make things right.” I scoffed at him. “I will never do such a thing.” “Don’t you want us to

My conditions were set and agreed upon with Dominic, and I was moving into the new house within the week. The house was gorgeous and exactly what I always imagined myself living in. It had twin staircases that greeted you as you entered and a chandelier hanging between them. Beyond the staircases leads you to a large living area that was fit for royalty; plush furniture of warm hues filled the room modestly, the artwork that adorned the walls were of complimenting colors, and the windows were large and looked out over the vast scene of greenery in the garden. Maybe when all this is over, I could win possession of the house? My parents oversaw everything and were with me through every step, refusing to leave my side, especially when Dominic was around. “I’ll be fine, you guys,” I insisted to them as I tried to usher them out the front door after our final day o

Dominic and I sat together on some lawn chairs out back as we watched the kids play various games. There was cornhole, duck duck goose, limbo, a piñata for later, and Gwen was playing Simon says with about four kids in one corner of the lawn. “You seem less than thrilled to be here,” I mentioned casually to Dominic. He grunted as a response. “What? You don’t like spending time with your sister or nephew?” “In small doses,” he answered. “And certainly not with thirty other children.” Dylan came running up to us. “Uncle Dominic! Come play cornhole with us, I need a partner!” “Gah… I don’t really feel like it, buddy.” Dylan looked visibly upset, so I moved to the edge of my chair and told him with a friendly smile, “I'll be your partner.” 

I didn’t sleep much that night, and I slept on the other side of the bed than usual, only seeing the black-haired woman on the other side. I asked Isaac to come early; I needed to speak with him about the dream and get his thoughts on it. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK * I swung the door open, practically in a panic. “Whoa, eager much?” Isaac teased with his hand still up in the air to knock. I grabbed his arm and pulled him in. He did a quick look around the house, trying to find the cameras that Ben had hidden. He nodded his head once he decided he was satisfied with their placement and followed me to my bedroom. “What’s wrong?” He asked as I shut the double doors and began to pace the room, fiddling with my hands. “Did he do something to you?” “No. But I fear he did something to some

I looked at the rope that bound my wrists together and analyzed the knot there. Thank God for my mother and for having me take self-defense classes so that I know how to get out of something like this. I put my body up against the pole and held my wrists and elbows together upright, then began moving them in a shimmy motion up and down to loosen the rope and attempt to pull one hand free. After a few minutes and no luck, I found the end of the rope and bit it, loosening it even further and finally releasing one of my hands. I exhaled my relief and stood up before pulling the rope off of the other wrist. I decided to keep the rope with me as I carefully walked up the steps and cracked the door open to be sure the coast was clear before exiting. Do I run away? Do I act as nothing happened? What would have happened if I didn’t get out of those ropes and stayed down there? Would Dominic have star