“Where, wife, do you get the gall to apologize for me, for my decisions!?” Mahl snarls, his face inches from mine, his furious breath hot on my cheeks. My heart pounds with what are surely its final beats –
I have moments left to live, I’m sure of it -
“No!” I sputter out, trying to shake my head, even as his grip on my hair causes pain to radiate through the back of my head. “I misspoke! You misunderstand!”
He pauses, barely.
“I – it was pity!” I manage, still gasping against the pain, trying again to find my balance with my toes the only parts of me truly on the floor. “Not apology – I didn’t know what to say! I don’t – I don’t know how to do this! I –“
His fingers loosen and I find my feet.
The sound of my panting fills the hallway.
“Again,” Mahl snarls, shaking my arm – not nea
