Freedom With A Price

Easter~

"Please… beg him. Don't let him trap me here. I swear—I'm sorry."

When I looked down at Ruben, it hit me.

He wasn't a monster anymore.

He was nothing.

Dust in the wind—blown away from a life I had finally walked out of.

Everything that had ever shackled me to this man—every insult, every cold shoulder, every twisted manipulation disguised as love, every beating—had dissolved. I couldn't feel the weight of his voice anymore. It no longer burrowed under my skin.

I was free.

And freedom… was quiet.

There was no storm in my chest. No fear rising like bile in my throat. Just peace. Strange, still, golden peace.

I slowly lifted my gaze from the man who once owned my every breath, my every step. And when I met Jacob's eyes, I felt something stir again inside me—It felt deeper, warmer.

God, those eyes.