Chapter 12: Shadows and Secrets
The night had a way of swallowing sound in this house. Even the creak of the floorboards seemed afraid to exist too loudly. That was how I survived….by existing quietly. By pretending to be smaller than the pain that once owned me.
But lately, the quiet has started to feel different. It wasn't a submission anymore. It was a strategy.
Rowena moved beside me, her shadow flickering against the wall as she adjusted the worn mat she’d laid out in the corner of my room. “Slowly this time,” she whispered, her voice low but firm. “Focus on your balance.”
I nodded, my palms slick with sweat. My legs trembled as I shifted my weight onto my right foot, the one that used to betray me most. It felt alien at first, a limb that didn’t quite remember its purpose. But w
