The weight of Oliver’s words clings to me like damp air, heavy and suffocating. If your father finds out I told you, he’d kill me. The warning echoes in my mind, a chilling reminder of the secret he’s been carrying—the contract that binds me, keeps me untouched, a prisoner in my own marriage. My skin prickles with unease as he grabs my hand, his grip tight, unyielding, pulling me down the hallway toward the stairs. His touch is a tether, a reminder that I can’t escape him, no matter how desperately I want to. I force a smile, but it feels like a mask, foreign and brittle on my lips.
We descend the stairs together, the soft creak of the wood underfoot the only sound breaking the oppressive silence. My parents are waiting in the living room, and the sight of them twists something deep in my
