Melissa.
I lay there, trembling, my body screaming in pain, the echoes of Fredrick’s blows still ringing in my head. The room was silent except for the faint sound of my ragged breathing. I wanted to curl up, to disappear, to let the world forget I even existed.
And then… the door creaked open.
My heart jolted violently, a mix of dread and anticipation surging through me. I barely lifted my head before my father, standing in the doorway, strode in. His presence was suffocating, his eyes cold, sharp, and unforgiving. The weight of his disappointment hit me harder than any blow Fredrick had dealt.
“Melissa,” he said slowly, deliberately, his voice low and cutting, “look at you.”
I tried to shrink further, wishing I could melt into the floor, but he advanced, each step purposeful, like a
