Chapter 9.

Joanna kept staring at her cell phone, the silence from her mother deafening. She couldn't understand why her mother wouldn't call, and wouldn't even try to reach out to her.

As she sat alone on the balcony, the questions in her mind grew louder and more insistent.

Where was her mother? Why hadn't she called?

And more importantly, what was she going to do now that she was trapped in a marriage with a man like Miguel Salvador?

Joanna took a deep breath, steeling herself as she rose from her chair and made her way back inside.

Joanna moved through the expansive mansion, her footsteps echoing in the quiet halls as she made her way back to her bedroom.

As she stepped through the doorway, she took in the luxurious room she didn't have enough time to check out at her wedding night due to how Miguel attacked her with his advances.

 The four-poster bed and the antique dresser reminding her of the cage she was now trapped in.