Lahat ng Kabanata ng Tangled With The Other Brother: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

Elena’s Point Of View I couldn’t remember how long I’d stayed crouched in that hallway. My knees ached, my dress wrinkled beneath me, but the burn in my chest was far worse than any physical pain. The silence pressed down, thick, broken only by the sound of my uneven breathing. My hands shook where they rested against the wall, nails digging into the wallpaper like I could peel away everything that had just happened. I wiped at my tears with the back of my hand, my voice breaking in a whisper that was meant for me alone, “I’m done crying for men who treat me like possession.” The words stung my own ears. I said them again, firmer this time, as if speaking it twice would brand it into my bones. I pushed myself up slowly, legs trembling at first, then steadying as I straightened. I smoothed my hair back with trembling fingers, forcing myself to look toward the small mirror at the end of the hallway. My reflection stared back… eyes red, but makeup miraculously intact. Only my lipstick

Elena’s Point Of ViewI slammed the door to the guest room so hard the frame rattled, the echo biting through the silence like a whip. My chest rose and fell violently, breaths tearing out of me as if I’d been sprinting instead of walking. My hands shook, my skin was clammy, my throat raw from the words I hadn’t spoken aloud downstairs.Perfect. Absolutely perfect.As if tonight hadn’t already shredded me open in front of everyone at that damn party, now here I was cornered in my own house by her. That failed-surgery mannequin of a woman, glossy and smug, the mistress who’d been planted in our living room like some obscene centerpiece. I pressed my back against the door and slid down until the cold wood kissed my spine. My trembling fingers reached for my phone, and before I could think, I was pressing down, hard, fast… block. Jaxx’s number vanished from my screen. Just like that. Clean. Final.Or at least it should have been.My vision blurred, my pulse erratic. Blocking him should’

Elena’s Point Of ViewThe room went very still. My sister’s face went white, her mouth forming a sound that was not yet a cry. I could feel every beat of my heart like a curse. For a moment I saw nothing but my mother’s face… lined, hard, convinced of a righteousness that we were not allowed to question.“Mom,” I managed. “You…”She cut me off with a look so absolute I folded inside it. “It’s decided. After three days, and if you’re still proving stubborn, then I’ll take your sister to him.” She paused, her lip curling in disdain, and with an eye roll before leaving, she said, “At least one of you ought to be of value to me.”Her words settled over us like a verdict. I cupped my ribs where the bruises were already beginning, and I held my siblings closer, the room narrowing to the three of us and the hard, impossible choice my mother had laid before me.I knew then, I couldn’t let us stay here. Not another night under her shadow.When she finally stormed into her own room, slamming th

Elena’s Point Of ViewThe yard went still.The silence pressed down heavy, thicker than the night air. My chest heaved, every breath slicing fire through my ribs, but I didn’t look away. My words hung there… Even in death, father is a million times better than you… like a blade no one wanted to touch.The men shifted uneasily. Boots scuffed against gravel, metal clicked as someone adjusted a knife at his belt, low mutters stirred but quickly died under the weight of her glare. My mother didn’t speak right away. Her face was locked, unreadable, her jaw sharp in the crooked lamplight.Then, slowly, the corners of her lips twitched. She was smiling. Not the kind of smile anyone would welcome, but one that made my stomach twist into knots.“Bold,” she said finally, her voice soft, almost caressing the word, though her eyes burned cold. “Very bold.”I stood there, chest rising and falling, trying to still the shaking in my limbs. Heather whimpered behind me. Dave’s crying had turned into h

Elena’s Point Of ViewThe fluorescent lights of the police station buzzed faintly above me, their harsh glare washing my vision in white and yellow as I collapsed on the cold tiles. My chest heaved, my body trembling from weakness and hunger, from the weight of everything I had endured in those three endless days. A sob tore from my throat, ragged and broken, and my knees buckled completely.“Miss… Miss, are you okay?”Strong hands gripped my arms, steadying me, pulling me upright. I blinked, blinking hard, and through the blur of tears and exhaustion I saw two uniformed officers crouched in front of me. One was a middle-aged man with a lined, weathered face; the other, a younger woman with wide, sharp eyes filled with alarm.“I… please..” My voice cracked, my throat dry like sandpaper. “Help me. Please. They’ll kill me… she’ll kill me…”The woman officer crouched lower, her hand resting lightly on my trembling shoulder. “Who will? Who’s after you?”I tried to form the words, but my t