Madness: A Dark Revenge Romance

I’ve never been surrounded by so many Lords at once in such a tight space. I mean, the jet is huge, but the last time I was with this many was during my initiation at the cathedral.

Not to bring any attention to myself, I sit quietly next to Adam, listening to them go over their options. Tyson’s men brought plans to a place they keep referencing as Dollhouse. I’ve never heard of it other than that one time Haidyn asked me about it.

They think my mom runs it, and I want to argue, but the fact that Bill has remained quiet has me keeping my mouth shut. It’s obvious he knows more than me. I’ll just add it to the list of things my mother has been lying to me about.

“What if he’s not there?” Sin asks. “If we need to, we can split up and hit another place at the same time,” he offers.

“He’s there,” Bill assures him. “She wanted him. This is the only place she’d be able to keep him without my knowledge.”

Saint snorts. “Then how are you so sure?”

“I have someone on the inside. I couldn’t prove it or risk going to you all until I got the confirmation this morning. They informed me she’s keeping him in the dungeon. Total isolation and drugged.”

A dungeon? My mother has one of those? Fuck, even Carnage just calls it their basement. And drugs? What kind of drugs could my mother have access to? A sickening feeling makes my stomach roil.

“Same thing she did to him during our ‘training.’ Fuck, I hate that goddamn bitch.” Saint hisses.

Training? What are they talking about training? Since when do Lords go through that? The video comes to mind that I’ve been sent where he’s strung up, bleeding and being tortured. The one where they waterboarded him…was my mom the she they were referring to?

“I hate to be a Negative Nancy here…” one of Tyson’s men speaks. I remember him introducing himself to Bill as Colton before we boarded the plane. When Bill asked him if they were able to get access to the plans of the address, he had given them. “But what if he’s dead?”

I slap my hand over my mouth to keep in a sob at that thought, and Adam grabs my other one, giving it a firm squeeze.

Kashton bends over, dropping his head between his legs as his hands come up and interlock at the back of his neck.

“Doesn’t matter…” Saint says, shaking his head.

“Colt isn’t wrong…” Another by the name of Alex starts. “What if you guys are willingly walking into a fucking trap. You”—he points at Adam—“have been MIA for four years. Benny didn’t get to execute whatever fucked-up plan he had for you guys, but this is the perfect opportunity to get you all four in one spot and…”

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Kashton yells, jumping to his feet. “Like Saint said, it doesn’t matter if Haidyn is dead or alive.” He lowers his voice. “We know the odds. And either way, we bring our brother home…where he belongs.” With that, the plane falls silent. Kashton walks over to a minibar, opens a tiny bottle of vodka, and downs it.

Bring our brother home…the thought of burying him has the bile rising once again, and I jump to my feet.

“Charlotte?” Adam calls out to me.

I ignore him and run to the back of the plane, shoving what I’m hoping is the bathroom door open just in time to throw up into a toilet. I can’t stop. Tears run down my cheeks as I hover over, trying to hold my hair back until someone else grabs it for me. When I’m done, they flush it and help me back out of the tight space.

I fall into a seat at the back of the plane and bury my face into my hands, unable to stop crying. He’s been there for eight days now. There’s no telling what he’s been through in that amount of time. How many times have they killed him and brought him back like they did when waterboarding him? And how much can his body take until it gives up?

“Here you go,” Kashton says.

I look up through tear-filled eyes to see him holding out a glass of water to me, but when I go to reach for it, Adam takes it from Kashton and turns, tossing it into the bathroom sink.

“I didn’t poison it,” Kashton growls at Adam as he comes back to stand next to me.

“Are you pregnant?”

Everyone looks toward the front of the plane when Devin asks. He turns to look at his twin brother who sits next to him. “Did you run a test because I didn’t think of it.”

Gavin shakes his head. “There was no need. I administered the shot per Haidyn’s request. She’s not due for another one yet.”

Devin nods in understanding, and everyone goes back to their previous conversations, and I catch sight of Bill. His eyes drop to my stomach as if he thinks otherwise, and I jump up, pushing Adam out of my way, and return to the bathroom.

“I’ll grab her another water,” Kashton offers over my dry heaving.

Bill was right; it was a quick flight. It seemed by the time we were up in the air, we were already descending. Adam takes my hand and leads me to the front of the plane. We’re the last to get off. We walk down the stairs, and the warm night air hits my face.C0pyright © 2024 Nôv)(elDrama.Org.

Several blacked-out vehicles are parked on the tarmac, and all the Lords stand around going over last-minute plans.

I’m not sure what they will do, but I keep telling myself that if anyone can save my husband, it’s these men. They didn’t get to where they are because they’re weak or afraid.

They’re all ruthless and the best at what they do. And nothing will stop them. I’d put all my trust into one Lord—I like Haidyn’s odds with eight of them, plus Tyson’s four men. These twelve men are going to rescue my husband. All I can do is hope that he’s still alive.

“Load up,” Adam barks, making me jump.

He takes my hand again and pulls me to a black Cadillac SUV when my other hand is grabbed. “She needs to ride with me,” Bill says, pulling me away from Adam.

“I don’t fucking think so.”

Bill stops, and we both turn around. I expected it to be Adam who protested, but to my surprise, it’s Kashton who spoke. He steps forward, grabbing my upper arm and pulls me into him. They’re ripping my fucking arm off.

Bill walks toward us, but he stops when Saint and Adam surround Kashton and me. Even Sin, Tyson, and Ryat step closer to us.

“We don’t have time for this,” Bill growls. “My wife doesn’t expect Charlotte to walk right in on her own because Charlotte doesn’t even know this place exists. She needs to come in with me through the main entrance while you guys go in the back.’

“You said you’re not supposed to know where it is,” Saint argues.

Bill sighs. “She contacted me today, and she knows that I’m bringing her.”

“I’m not letting her go with you.” Kashton shakes his head and then drops his gaze to me. “I don’t fucking like you, but my brother married you.” He looks away, and his jaw clenches before they return to mine. “He chose me to be your guardian, and because of that, I will protect you.”

Bill is right. If my mother knows it’s an ambush, who knows what she’ll do to Haidyn after what I’ve seen him go through in the videos the Lords sent me. I look up at Kashton. “It’ll be okay,” I say, nodding. I promised Bill that I could do whatever it takes, and I meant that. “We’re all here for the same reason,” I remind him.

I take a step back from Kashton to test the waters. Thankfully, he doesn’t follow me. He fists both of his hands, and his jaw sharpens as he looks over at Saint. Adam runs a hand down his face, and the others just stare, as if they’re waiting for the sign to attack Bill and drag me back to them.

Bill opens the passenger side door to a sedan.

“Charlotte?” Kashton calls out, and I stay where I’m at as he walks toward me. He reaches into his leather jacket and removes a gun from his shoulder holster. Pulling back the slide, he cocks it—chambering a bullet and holds it out to me. “Do you know how to use a gun?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t ask questions. Just point and shoot. Don’t stop until you run out,” he orders me, then his eyes slide over my head to glare at Bill before returning to mine.

I smile, remembering the second time I pulled a gun out on Haidyn in his living room, and he said practically the same thing. “Got it.” I take the gun from him.

“It’s loaded and has a factory safety delete—meaning there is no safety. So be careful. Don’t shoot yourself.”

I nod. “Thank you.”

Then I turn and slide into the passenger seat. Turning, I see them all watching as Bill closes my door and gets in, starts up the car, and drives away. I rest my head against the headrest and close my eyes, sighing.

“11 Minutes” by YUNGBLUD and Halsey softly fills the speakers, and my eyes start to sting.

“How long have you known about Dollhouse?” I ask, needing conversation. I’m tired of living in my head.

“Since before your father passed. Your mother has been running it for years. After she passed her assignment her senior year at Barrington.”

“Saint told me…” I bow my head and stare at the gun in my lap. “That Haidyn killed my father.”

Bill nods. “He did.” Then he quickly looks over at me. “But your father knew he was coming. Trent fucked up and knew the Lords would send someone after him. He was Haidyn’s initiation. I was on the deck with your father when Haidyn walked out onto it. Your father suspected it was him because we were…acquaintances with the Spade brothers and knew that their sons were in the middle of initiations. Plus, Haidyn wasn’t on the attendee list for the party.”

“What did he do?” I ask, running my sweaty hands on my jeans, wanting to know. My mother never wanted to talk about my father’s death. She said it was too painful.

“Haidyn took a second. He paused…” His eyes slide to mine quickly. “It was you.”

“Me?” I frown.

He laughs softly. “Haidyn saw you with your friends. You were laughing and drinking champagne. You caught his attention, and he watched you long enough that he forgot why he was there.”

Haidyn had seen me that night? Why hasn’t he told me that? I never knew he was there. Or that he had seen me before our first meeting at Carnage. Not until he left me the video…back in my life.

“Your father didn’t want there to be a scene.” He goes on. “Because although he knew Haidyn was there for him, he didn’t know how he would do it. Usually, the order is to make it messy. And he didn’t want you to see it happen. So he walked over to you, hugged your friend, kissed your cheek…he put himself in Haidyn’s line of sight to get his attention back on him. It worked, and Haidyn followed him to his office.”

“Where he shot him,” I whisper, lowering my eyes to my lap again, and I stare at the gun that Kashton gave me. I wonder how many people he’s used it on. How many lives it’s taken. Were they all Lords? Did they all deserve it?

“You can’t blame Haidyn for doing what he was brought up to do, Charlotte. Otherwise, you’d have to take a look in the mirror.”

I run a hand through my hair and stare out the window at the passing trees and sink into the warm seat, knowing he’s right. “We’re all evil,” I mumble. “I killed someone and never considered who they left behind.”

He chuckles. “We live in a world that’s kill or be killed. You just have to be the first one to pull the trigger.”

HAIDYN

I’m standing on my wraparound porch outside my bedroom, looking over the woods. It’s the middle of the night, and I have a cigarette in my right hand. My cell in my left. I have the sliding glass doors open to my room behind me. It’s a beautiful night. It’s been raining for hours, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.

The moans and whimpers get my attention, and I turn around to see Charlotte in the bedroom.

I put out the cigarette on the railing and enter the room. She’s gasping while she wiggles in the ropes that bind her in the ball-like position while she hangs from the ceiling. I told her that day at Carnage I was going to string her up and have a cigarette while cum leaked from all her used-up holes. Like the worthless whore she was meant to be. Tonight was the night.

I wouldn’t say she’s worthless, though. She serves a purpose. One that gets me off. Fuck, I can’t get enough. The moment I’m done, I can go again. And again. She’s been living with me at my house for three days now, and I don’t plan on letting her leave anytime soon.

I walk over to her pussy and ass. She’s got a vibrator in both. I turn them up on my phone loving the way her hoarse voice carries throughout the room. Her knees are bent to her chest, making sure they’re both easily accessible. Her arms are around her legs, secured at the back of her bent knees.

Then I move to where her head hangs and run my fingers over her parted lips. “You look more beautiful than I imagined,” I say softly, and her heavy eyes open. Her pretty face is covered in her drool, tears, and my cum.

I fucked her cunt first—she came twice.

Then her mouth—that way, she could taste herself on me. I wanted to remind her how much she enjoyed it.

Saved her ass for last.

“Hai-dyn?” She gasps, her small body trembling in the ropes.

“Yeah, doll face?” I ask, my hand moving to rest at the back of her head, and I lift it a little so her watery eyes can meet mine while I look down at her. “Tell me what you want, Charlotte.”

She licks her lips like an obedient toy needing to be played with. “Please?” she begs.

“You just love being used, don’t you?” I laugh softly, and she squeezes her eyes shut tightly.

I slap the side of her face. “Eyes open, doll face.”

Her eyes pop open, and she sticks her tongue out, staring heavily at my jeans. My cock is right at eye level with her. I unzip my jeans and pull out my hard dick with a smile.

She’s been hanging here for quite some time now. After I was done with her ass, I took a shower and had a cigarette. So I’ll give her what she’s so sweetly begging for, then I’ll untie her, give her a bath, and put her in bed for the night. Then I’ll start my day tomorrow using her again.

I open my heavy eyes and look around. All I see is darkness. So I close them again. Wanting to get back to when I was with Charlotte. When she was mine and I was hers. And we had more time. I kept thinking that the hourglass was going to run out, and it has. All I can do is hope that my brothers are keeping her safe, even if that means locking her up in the basement.

Her mother can’t get to her. Not now. Not ever. What Isabella and that piece of shit boy toy of hers will do to my wife is far worse than anything they can put me through.

My shoulders scream and my back aches as I hang from the ceiling with my arms above my head by the chains. It’s their go-to position. It keeps you the most vulnerable. They can get to your front and your back at any time.

I’ve lost count of how long I’ve been in this position, but once again, my hands have gone numb. They came in, dragged me out of bed, and strung me up, then left me in the dark.

The door squeaks open, and I flinch at the harsh light that fills the room, rapidly closing and opening my eyes. So much for getting back to dreaming about my wife. A cart is pushed into the room, and on it sits a syringe that is already filled.

Isabella enters and picks it up. “Tilt his head back,” she orders.

My hair is grabbed and yanked back forcing me to look up at the ceiling. Then I feel a prick in my neck.

Next, my arms are free, and I drop to the concrete floor like a dead weight. I groan, rolling onto my side and the lingering pain. Fuck!

“Get him dressed. Meet me outside,” she orders as if I can’t do it myself.

“Come on, Spade.”

I’m lifted to my feet, and two men hold me up under my arms while another helps get my jeans on. Then they dress me in a T-shirt and shoes. I don’t know why I’m all of a sudden getting to wear clothes, but I’m not going to argue. I’m tired of being so damn cold. The stuff that they pump into me through my IV always has me freezing.

Thankfully, I’m able to walk on my own, which is surprising, considering I have no clue how long I’ve been caged in that concrete room with very little food and water.

“What did she give me?” I ask, rubbing my neck where she stuck me with the needle.

Of course no one answers.

I don’t feel sluggish or tired. I know it wasn’t adrenaline, but it’s got my blood pumping. I feel jittery, and my heart races. I take a quick look around when we step outside, and nothing looks familiar. But it also doesn’t look different either. We’re in the middle of the woods and the sun is starting to set. I can tell we’re still in Pennsylvania. The flight wasn’t that long.

Looking ahead, I see several people standing over by a chain-link fence. My breath catches when I see there’s a woman tied to it with barbed wire. I’m having déjà vu—she’s got a hood over her head, but I’d know that body from anywhere.

“What the fuck…Charlotte?” I run to her, but a man steps in front of me and points a gun at my face, forcing me to stop. “What the fuck are you doing?” I shout at her mother. How did she get here? This has to be a trick. No. I don’t believe that’s my wife.

Isabella doesn’t answer. Instead, she walks over to her daughter and rips off the hood. My stomach drops when I see the bruises on her beautiful face. She’s got duct tape over her mouth, and she screams into it when she sees me, pulling on her limbs. She twists and turns, and just like before, blood runs down her body from the barbed wire digging into her skin.

“What the fuck do you want?” I shout.

This is what she did to me and Kashton with our chosens. Same scenario just a different woman. This isn’t someone the Lords are forcing me to fuck. This is my wife. Her daughter. What could she possibly want? I’ve already given myself over to her in order to save Charlotte.

“I’m testing you, Haidyn. Let’s see if you pass.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “You can either kill her or watch my men have her.”

Charlotte’s wide eyes go to me.

I step toward her, not knowing what to do but knowing I have to do something. I’m not going to kill her, and I’m sure as fuck not going to let them rape her. But the man with the gun in front of me, hits me with it in the face, knocking me down.

“Cut her loose,” Isabella orders.

They cut her ankles first, then her neck, and last, her wrists. She falls to the muddy ground and rips the tape off her mouth. “You sick fuck,” she screams at her mother.

Isabella just smiles down at her. “You knew what kind of world you wanted to be a part of. The world that you killed someone to prove yourself worthy.” Then she looks at me. “What’s it going to be, Haidyn?” She glances at her Rolex watch. “You’ve got one minute.”

My eyes go to my wife, and she’s already staring up at me as I get to my feet, trying to hear her over the blood rushing in my ears. “Please, Haidyn.” She’s gasping to catch her breath. Her dark hair sticking to her bloody and tear-streaked face. “Don’t let them do this.”

I’ve never felt more helpless in my entire life. I might as well be tied to that fence like she was. My heart is heavy, and I feel sick to my stomach. I could never hurt her, let alone kill her. And her mother knows that. I gave myself for her. “We had a deal,” I growl looking at Isabella.

“Things can always change, Haidyn. You know that,” she says.

“Take me.” I place my arms out wide. “Punish me.” I don’t care what they do to me as long as it saves her.

Isabella gives me a big smile. “I am, darling.”

“Haidyn?” Charlotte yells my name to get my attention. “Please, Haidyn.” Her gaze drops to the gun that the man still holds aimed at my head. “Do it…please…”

She’s insane. What have they given her to make her beg for death? What have they already done to her that I don’t know about?

Her bloodshot blue eyes scan the men surrounding us before they meet mine again. “Please, Haidyn. You said you love me.”

My chest tightens to the point I can’t breathe at her words. I do. More than life itself. But I can’t take hers. I turn back to her mother. “What do you fucking want from me?” I scream, stepping into her, and one of her men shoves me back. “Huh? Let her fucking go! I’m right here.” I’m shouting, my body vibrating with desperation.

My hand is grabbed, and I go to yank it away, but something heavy is placed in it. Looking down, I see it’s the gun that the Lord in the mask was pointing at my face.

“You’re running out of time, Haidyn,” Isabella reminds me.

I don’t even think. I turn, lift the gun, and aim it at her head, pulling the trigger just as I’m hit from the side and knocked to the ground.

BANG!

The gunshot ricochets through the trees, making birds fly off in the distance, missing the bitch.

Isabella still stands right where she was giving me a cruel smile. All the men laugh, and my stomach sinks when her eyes drop to her watch, and she speaks. “Time’s up.”

I look up at my wife from where I lay and see she’s up on her feet ready to run and one of the guys tackles her to the muddy ground.

We’re outnumbered.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” I scream, trying to knock off the man who has a knee in the back of my neck, pinning the side of my face down into the ground. When he removes it for just a second, I think this is my chance, but then I feel a sting in my neck, and I’m paralyzed. Unable to move.

Charlotte is dragged back by her ankles as she fights them, kicking her legs and swinging her arms. She screams, and the man who’s got ahold of her barks, “Help me out.”

I lie helpless on the ground, forced to watch when a man kneels beside her, holding a gun to her head and speaking to me. “You made your decision.”

Hudson walks over to her—he’s the only one not in a cloak and Lords mask—and she kicks and screams as he drops to his knees and grabs her legs. He pushes them to her bare and bloody chest and takes her arms, pulling them underneath her bent legs. He ties off her wrists, locking her legs in place. He stands and the guy who tackled her stands as well. They both stare down at her, admiring my very naked and helpless wife.

“Pl-ease.” She sobs, rolling onto her side and pulling on the rope. “HAIDYN!” she screams my name.

I’m…sorry. Not only am I paralyzed, but I also can’t speak. I’m fucking useless. One more person in my life who I’ve failed.

The man still kneels beside her with the gun pointed at her head as if I could do anything to them to save her. I can’t let him take her from me. Not like this. Not here in this hell. I can help her through it.

Hudson drops to his knees and unzips his jeans. He pulls out a pocketknife and flips it open. He grips her ass cheek in his hand and cuts off my name I branded onto her. I gave her that with plans to send her back to her mother. A show of ownership that I had over her. A way to rub it in Isabella’s face that she fucked with us, and I fucked her daughter. Now it’s a way to cause her pain.

Charlotte lets out a blood-curdling scream, and he tosses it to the side as blood flows from the chunk now missing.

“Go ahead and take that gun she gave you and shoot yourself afterward,” he tells me. “Because it won’t matter that you’re too much of a coward to kill her. She’ll never be the same after I’m done.” Then he begins to rape my wife.

She’s screaming and sobbing. So loud, that I hear her even over the ringing in my ears. I look down at the gun they gave me that was knocked out of my hands. It’s close enough to reach if I could move. I could have killed Hudson instead of Isabella. But I guarantee there’s only one bullet in that gun. The one they wanted me to use on Charlotte, and I wasted it on her bitch of a mom. If I killed him, they would have killed me. And I can’t die. She’s going to need me after this. Now more than ever.

“Hai-dyn.” She sobs, and a lump forms in my throat while he pins the side of her face down into the mud.

I’m sorry, doll face.

Hudson grunts, pushing deep inside her, and comes. He gets to his feet and laughs down at her as she holds her eyes tightly shut, gasping for breath.

“Next,” her mother calls out, and another man falls to his knees. She fights the rope that’s got her tied in place. “It’s just sex, dear,” her mother tells her. “We’ve all been through this. It will make you stronger.”

“Ple-ease,” she begs, and it kills me. “Haidyn, stop them…help me!”

I’m sorry.

She closes her bloodshot eyes, unable to look at me. They’re doing this to her because of me. It’s about torturing me. My wife is innocent and was never given all the facts about the life she thought she wanted.

I’ve betrayed her. I’ve failed at the one thing I told her I’d do—protect her. Instead, I’m allowing men to line up and rape her like an offering to the Lords while I lay on the ground unable to move and forced to watch it happen. To remind me that I have no say in what happens to her. She belongs to them now, and they’re going to do whatever they want.

When the last guy is done, Hudson throws the knife down, and it lands blade down in the mud next to her head. Everyone leaves us alone out by the fence, and I’m finally able to move again.

I crawl to her, grabbing the knife and cut the rope that binds her wrists behind her bent knees. Then I pick her up and take her straight inside to a bathroom, where I lay her in the tub. I start the water and set the drain.

She’s covered in dirt and blood. She’s bleeding in multiple places—wrists, ankles, and her neck where she fought the barbed wire. Her ass where Hudson removed her brand. I turn to the cabinets and yank them up, slamming them shut. I find three washcloths and duct tape. I wrap one around each of her wrists as tightly as I can and then place the tape around each one, making sure the washcloths stay in place to help stop the bleeding and not to get wet while she’s in the tub. Then I fold the last one and place it around her bleeding neck, holding it tightly to her throat.

My eyes go to hers and see they’re dead, lifeless. There’s nothing there. Those dark blue-sapphire eyes that I fell in love with no longer exist. She stopped crying during the third guy and shut down. Went numb.

“You’re okay, doll face,” I tell her, knowing it’s a goddamn lie. This is what they wanted. Her broken and compliant. The water fills the tub as the dirt and blood swirl around her. “I’m sorry, Charlotte. I couldn’t kill you. I love you.” I couldn’t do it. I know it’s the most cowardly thing I’ve ever done. But I just can’t let her go. It doesn’t matter what she’s been through; I’ll love her the same way and take care of her. She’s my wife. I took vows.

A single tear falls from the corner of her eye before she speaks. “I hate you.”

I blink, and she’s gone. I’m no longer in the bathroom. She’s no longer in the tub. “Charlotte?” I bark, starting to panic when I see nothing but darkness. “CHARLOTTE!”

“How was it?” A woman’s familiar voice fills my ears as a light turns on, blinding me.

“What the fuck did you do to her, you fucking bitch? Where did you take her?” I’m gasping for air, trying to get up, but I can’t move. I blink rapidly needing my eyes to adjust to the harsh light.

“Haidyn, you’re hallucinating,” Isabella speaks.

“No—”

“Yeah, that’s what the drugs do to you. Nothing is more terrifying than a mind. It knows your worst fears. You can’t escape it. And I was in yours for six months. I know how it works.”

“History has a way of repeating itself, Haidyn. Remember that.” She had said to me when I found her in my house while Charlotte was in my bed. She wanted me to remember what she made me do to Sierra and put Charlotte in the same position.

“For the next several days, you’ll have hallucinations. It’s poetic, really. You’re going to drive yourself mad, putting the woman you love through so much pain and suffering because we both know your biggest fear is living without her.” She snorts. “And although I tell you it’s not real, it’ll feel real. Every single time.”

I blink, trying to get my breathing under control. My jaw is sore from being clenched so tight.

She walks over to the bed, and I wonder if any of it was real? Was I ever hanging from the ceiling in this concrete box? If so, when did she cut me down and secure me back in the hospital bed?

Her hands touch my chest, and I stiffen as she runs her pointy nails over my Lords and 666 brands. “She’ll be here soon…”

“No.” I don’t believe anything she says. How do I know that wasn’t real and this is the hallucination? One of my fears is her being locked in this place.

Isabella gives a rough laugh. “Oh, she’s on her way. Did you really think hiding her out at Carnage would stop me from getting my hands on my daughter?” She makes a tsking sound. “I’ve let you keep these.” She pinches my Lords brand. “Because that will be her first task. You’re going to get to see just how much she loves you, Haidyn. If she chooses to hurt you or take a punishment for herself.” With that, she walks out, bathing me in darkness again.

I arch my neck and let out a scream of frustration as I yank on the restraints that keep me tied to this bed. Breathing heavily, I sink into it, knowing I’m not getting out. I knew when I left her tied to her bed, that this is where I’ll be until I die. Charlotte will choose the right thing. And if she doesn’t, I’ll cut them off myself to keep her from being punished because of me.

In a world where it’s either you or me…I’ll always choose me. I hope my wife still feels that way.