Chapter 3
Back at the Rockwell’s villa, I sat on the couch, staring blankly into space.
rate
It was for Noah to come home this early.
He stood by the door, eyes meeting mine.
I felt like I was looking at who I used to be.
I remembered how I’d sit in the living room every night after work, waiting for my husband to come home.
I’d walk over with a smile, and take off his coat, his shoes, and even his
socks.
“Honey, are you tired? I learned Purchase completed sage skill today. Want to try
it?”
Back then, I spent all my time on him, except for when I was teaching dance at the institution.
Day after day, year after year–I never got even a kind look in return.
Now that I’d stepped away from all of it, I could finally see–like an outsider–just how foolish I’d been.
Noticing my silence, Noah frowned.
“What are you thinking? Planning to run away?”
I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “What if I was? What would you do?”
He came toward me quickly, pushed me onto the couch, and changed the subject.
Chapter 3
“If you’re not happy with a son, then let’s have a daughter. Girls are better- behaved. She could keep you company here. Life might be easier that way.”
When we first got married, the maids noticed that Noah didn’t care about me. Since I was quiet too, they started treating me like a maid and dumped all the chores on me.
I loved Noah deeply then, so I never said a word.
He knew what was going on, but he never helped me.
My thoughts shattered as he yanked off my nightgown.
He kissed me roughly, like he was trying to punish me.
But no matter what he did, I didn’t respond.
It turned out that when I stopped loving him, my body wouldn’t lie.
Noah lost interest and got off me.
“Liora, I know your body well. This isn’t how you’d normally react.”
He grabbed my chin and stared at me.
“Be honest. Did you sleep with someone else?”
Noah liked messing around with women, but he was obsessive about cleanliness and couldn’t stand the thought of any man touching the women he had been with.
There was a security guard at the dance school who used to watch me dance. Noah noticed one day and fired him. He even reported him to the police, accusing him of harassment.
I bit my lip and let out a bitter laugh.
Chapter 3
“Sure, go ahead and believe that. I’ve been with every guy at the dance school. Want to lock them all up as well?”
Noah’s eyes narrowed and his voice turned rough. “Oh, really?”
Without warning, he scooped me up and took me to the bathroom.
He actually believed I was being unfaithful.
“If you’re that dirty, I’ll scrub you clean myself.”
He tossed me into the bathtub and blasted cold water right at my face. I instantly broke out in goosebumps.
I tried to fight back, but I couldn’t move his hand away.
The freezing water triggered a wave of trauma.
Memories of my parents‘ plane crash when I was 13 hit me all over again.
I trembled uncontrollably and curled up in the corner.
Noah thought I was faking it again.
“Liora, don’t forget why you married me. You’re not here to be happy. You’re here to pay for what you’ve done.”
He kept saying that line over and over again.
That was how he treated me every day.
Almost everything he said to me carried some kind of cruelty.
