I froze beneath him. In that moment, he looked every inch the devoted spouse, but I knew his love came laced with pain. Next to the overwhelming hurt he had inflicted, that faint, fleeting affection meant nothing.
For a long while, I fought down the terror coiling in my chest before I finally spoke, "Sterling, please, for the sake of all the years I've stayed by your side, for the sake of every scar on my body, let me go."
He shot up abruptly, his hand closing around my throat. "Zara, have I been too lenient with you? How can you be so ungrateful?"
I simply closed my eyes, ready for him to choke the life out of me if that was what he wanted.
Just then, Grandma Vance's voice came from outside the door. "Sterling, open the door."
His grip loosened.
A few minutes later, we were in the d
