Bass

d been, cemented my resolve. I focused on my studies with an intensity I hadn' t known I possessed. My grades

a testament to my skills and the clean slate I was building. Then, an email arrived – an offer for an interview from

from the hiring manager confirmed my success even before I stepped on the train. I got the job. I felt a su

y by, each mile a greater distance from my painful past. I scrolled through apartment listings on my phone

ad time to step off the train and breathe in the unfamiliar air, wh

t through the euphoria. "Where are you? What is t

aporated, leaving a bitter taste. He always

," I replied, my voice clipped. "A

family dinner tonight. You will be there." It wasn' t a request. It was a

thing, immediately, and return to his gilded cage, just be

ted, my resolve hardening.

without a

e. My parents had called, then Caleb's mother, her voice laced with thinly veiled threats abou

was eerily quiet. Four figures sat around the impossibly long mahogany table: Caleb' s parents, Armstead and Bernadine, and Erica Carlson,

t their somber attire. Caleb' s eyes, cold and dismissive, flickered over me for a fraction of a seco

d, his voice thick with disgust. He rose abruptly, his gaze

ase don' t upset yourself," she murmured, her eyes darting to his parents, then to me with a sacc

heatrics no longer held any power over me. I took a deep breath and

een... under a lot of pressure lately. You know how he gets." It w

. "Armstead, Bernadine," I said, my voice

smooth things over, to remind Caleb of his duties. But their influence over their volatile son was limited, their own fear of his

. "Caleb and I are not suited. There is no love between us, and there never will be. It' s time we b

culating, welled up with unshed tears. "Alina... is there truly no other way

ff gently but firml

n, the finality of it all – it was like shedding a heavy cloak I' d worn

of my things from my room," I said, my voice lighte

a Carlson suddenly materialized in the hallway, blocking my path. She was no lon

e trembling, her eyes wide and ple

orgotten a small, antique locket. "It' s already done, E

breath. "But... but

e on the loc

my eyes narrowi

by. I' m pregnant, Alina. And he... he loves me. We' re going to be a family. Please, don' t take him a

ind reeling. Pregnant? Caleb' s child

rifying moment, was not despair, but a chilling, predatory

balance. Then, with a gasp that was meticulously rehearsed, she stumbled. Her body twisted, and she fell down th

manufactured agony. She landed in a crumpled heap at the bott

at the top of the main staircase, his face a thunder

, already convinced of my guilt. He raced down the s

e, sending me sprawling to the floor. The force of the blow ripped throug

oman and her unborn child?" He pointed a trembling finger at me. "You' re an abomination! I should have abandoned you years ago! You tried to ruin my life then, and now

their faces pale with shock. Seeing them, Erica let ou

?" Bernadine gasped, her

voice raw with a manufactured anguish. "She

nraged face, his features contorted with such venomous hatred that he looked utterly alien. He gen

confusion didn' t paralyze me. This time, I heard the words, b

pair. But to strike back. My palm connected with his shin,

clear and cutting through the chaotic noise, "I am no