MATED TO THREE, DESPISED BY ALL.
I murmured, my voice trembling, “I’ll tell them myself. I won’t keep swallowing this forever.”
I drew in a deep breath, then another, trying to steady the chaos raging inside me. The silence around me grew louder, pressing in, until my thoughts split into two clear, warring voices.
Go.
Don’t go.
If I went, I’d be giving them what they wanted, proof that I would still obey no matter how badly they treated me. If I didn’t… the consequences were already too familiar. Punishment. Humiliation. Pain dressed up as discipline.
My chest felt too tight, my head throbbing as frustration boiled over. I pressed my palms against my temples, nails digging into my skin. “Enough,” I whispered, but the word d