Years Ago
Gumamela sat by the window, the pale morning light filtering through the sheer curtains and casting soft patterns on the floor. Outside, the world moved on—birds chirped, leaves rustled in the breeze—but inside her heart, a storm raged fiercely, relentless and unforgiving.
The memory of Wile’s touch, the violence cloaked in twisted affection, haunted her every waking moment. It wasn’t just the physical pain that gnawed at her; it was the shattering of something far deeper—the betrayal of trust, the crushing weight of fear, and the suffocating silence that followed.
Tears welled up, blurring her vision. She wanted to scream, to rage against the cruelty inflicted upon her, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she curled inward, a fragile shell trying to hold together the
