LILA
The hours ticked by, each minute an eternity as I lost myself in my thoughts, trying to devise a plan of escape from this suffocating existence. I couldn't keep living like this, a prisoner in my own home, a pawn in my stepmother’s twisted games. I needed to find a way to break free, to claim my independence and my life as my own.
As the afternoon fell, I got curious and reached for my phone, seeking solace in the glow of the screen. A few scrolls through social media and I was already greeted by the smiling faces of my classmates at the party, their happiness taunting me, a bitter pill to swallow. And there, amidst the sea of pictures and videos, I saw them; Ethan and Trisha, with their arms around each other, their smiles wide and carefree, as if the world hadn't just crumbled ben
