Nora.
I needed an escape, something to wrench my thoughts away from Howard and the maddening labyrinth of emotions he stirred within me. This house, this suffocating environment, served as a constant reminder of him, a relentless trigger for memories and feelings that I both craved and despised. Even my own bedroom bore his indelible mark, his presence an inescapable specter that haunted my every corner.
It was infuriating, how I loved him despite his toxicity, despite the countless ways he wounded me. I was trapped in a cycle of forgiveness, granting him absolution for transgressions that should have been unforgivable.
He drained me, a sinister influence that weakened me with each passing day. But the heart, the infuriating, irrational heart, refused to sever its ties to him. I knew
