VALERIE’S POV.
I lay in bed as I battled with another round of painful coughing. Removing the napkin from my mouth. It was filled with blood. Ever since Mark saw us, he had sent Leo and Jayden to different rooms, keeping me isolated in another. Here, I was fed what I believed to be tiny bits of poison. I tried to refuse to eat, but every time I did, Mark would come upstairs and abuse me roughly. I struggled to get out of bed; every day, I grew weaker, making it increasingly hard to move. My head pounded loudly as I walked and sat in front of the mirror.
I looked at my reflection, a far cry from what I once was. My eyes were hollow, dark circles colored them, my mouth was chapped and sore, and my hair was beginning to lose its color. Running my hand through it, a few strands fell off my
