Episode 58

Naomi

I woke slowly and stretched my arms over my head. My muscles pulled with the movement. The place beside me in the bed was empty, and I tried my best not to feel anything at all about the person who should be there.

Gavril.

My husband.

Father of my unborn child.

Bile rose in the back of my throat and I forced it down as I sat up, rubbing my aching head. Last night had been good. Sex with Gavril was always good—if not great.

And now, it was different.

Everything about him felt different. Because deep down, no amount of the things that I felt about him could hide who and what my husband truly was.

A monster who sold people.

Not everything about Gavril was a monster. He wasn’t going to harm me physically.

Emotionally though? I was devastated. In my bones, I knew it was coming—if not already happening after our confrontation—and I hated it. I hated the fact that I felt cornered last night, waiting for the moment he would bend me to his will and use me until I had nothing left to myse