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Ivy's breath came in ragged gasps as she struggled against the hand that held her so tightly, trying to find the strength to break free from this nightmare. She looked around, desperation clouding her vision.

His grip on her wrist was so tight she had started to lose feeling. With a snarl of frustration, she redoubled her efforts, her nails digging into the skin on his hand as she tried to pry his hand from her wrist. But his grip was unyielding, his strength a testament to the power he wielded. His free hand shot out, capturing her other wrist and pinning it against the cold, stone wall with a force that made her gasp. Her heart hammered in her chest, the panic rising within her like a tide as she felt the full weight of his body press against hers.

The wall was unforgiving, the rough stones biting into her skin as she struggled against him. His breath was hot on her face, the scent of the smoke from their journey clung to him. Her eyes searched his, looking for any sign of mercy, any hint that he could be reasoned with. But all she found was a cold, calculating stare that made her blood run cold.

With all the strength she had in her, she tried to kick him, her leg connecting with his shin with a satisfying thud. He didn’t flinch, his grip tightening until she thought her boneswould snap. "Fight all you wish," he murmured, his voice a seductive purr that sent a shiver of revulsion down her spine. "It will do you no good."

The walls of the chamber seemed to close in around her, the very air thick with the weight of her fear. "Why?" she choked out, her voice raw with pain and anger. "Why are you doing this?"

Vice leaned in closer, his lips brushing against her neck. "Why?" he echoed, his voice a dark caress. "Because you asked me to. Because you offered yourself to me for his life. And now, you'll see the true consequences of you're choice."

A cruel smile formed on Vice's face. "Tell me, Ivy, do you regret you're choice yet? Trading you're life for his?" Vice purred into her ear.

"No. I did what was necessary." She said trying to keep the fear from her voice.

"Necessary? His smile fading into a snarl. He was a brute, Ivy. James beat you, belittled you, and cheated on you. Causing you unimaginable pain. Why, after all that, would you sacrifice everything for him?" Vice's grip tightened on her wrists.

"He's my daughter's father. She deserves to have him."

Vice scoffed. "Deserves? That is rich, coming from you. You think everyone deserves kindness, consideration, even when they haven’t earned a shred of it. Why, Ivy?"

"Don't you dare act like you understand me! You think this was easy? Giving up my life? It tore me apart! But it was theright thing to do." Ivy could feel her cheeks heat up, the anger in her rising.

Vice chuckles, a cold, mirthless sound. "The right thing? Or the easy thing, Ivy? The thing that lets you sleep at night, playing the martyr. The truth is you are a people-pleaser, darling. A textbook case."

"That's not true!" Ivy spat "You act like you know everything, but you don't." The anger was building inside her like a wildfire spreading through dry brush.

Vice's voice drops low with a smugness in it. "Isn’t it? A little girl learns that happiness is tied to making everyone else happy. Daddies stressed? Be quiet, be good. Mommies angry? Fix it, soothe her, make her smile. You learned at an early age to put everyone else first, Ivy. Even at you're own expense. It's not nobility; it's a trauma response."

"Stop it!" Ivy shouted trying to struggle against him.

"You saw James, sick and dying, and you're programming kicked in. Save him. Be the good girl. Try to earn love, even from a man who never gave it to you freely." Vice snarled. The tension in the air was thick.

"That's a lie! I did it for Alice! She needed her father!" Ivy's eyes blazed with fury as she continued to struggle against his hold on her.

"And what about Alice needing her mother? Did you consider that, Ivy? Or were you just too busy playing the saint? You robbed her of the one person who cherished her the most. All to appease some twisted sense of obligation to a man who used and abused you! That never loved you! That onlyloved what you did for him. You are terrified of abandonment. Terrified that if you do not make yourself indispensable, if you do not earn their affection, they will leave. You traded yourself like a faulty trinket that nobody wants.

"He can provide a better life for her than I could have. She's better off with him raising her." Ivy unable to look at Vice, her gaze falls to the floor.

Vice grabs Ivy's chin forcing her to look at him. "Who told you that? You think he could provide a better life than you could because that is what an insecure abusive man has made you believe. You were the one who sacrificed everything for that little girl. Your body, you're happiness, you're freedom. You kept a roof over her head, you kept her fed, kept her safe and you kept her loved and happy. While he did the bare minimum, leaving all the responsibilities solely on you're shoulders, only play daddy went it suited him.” Vice's eyes bore into hers with an intenseness that made her shiver.

A single tear escaped Ivy’s eye, tracing a shimmering path down her cheek.

"Look at me, Ivy." His voice, though laced with concern, held an edge of frustration. Ivy stubbornly refused to meet his gaze, her eyes fixed on some invisible point on the floor. "You need to stop being so weak," he growled, the words a harsh balm against her raw emotions.

"I did it for Alice," she whispered, her voice barely audible, a fragile sound lost in the space between them.

"No, Ivy, you did it because you believe if you make people happy, you'll finally be worthy of their love." He loosenshis grip on her, his voice softening slightly, seeing the deep seeded pain engraved in her from a lifetime of abuse.

"Maybe," she conceded, a tremor running through her. "But what good am I if I'm not useful?"

"There it is," he said, a hint of weary understanding in his tone. "The core belief that you tell yourself every day." Vice pulled away from her slightly, creating a small space, perhaps hoping she would fill it with truth.

"If I'm not useful, nobody wants me around," Ivy confessed, unable to stem the flow of tears now. They streamed down her face, mirroring the torrent of emotions raging within. "They always leave if I'm not." The words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of past rejections and a deep-seated fear of abandonment.

Vice's irritation is growing. “That's a lie you've been telling yourself. People who leave, Ivy, leave because they were going to leave anyway. Your worth isn't tied to you're ability to solve their problems. You are worthy of love and belonging simply because you are. You deserve to be valued for who you are, not for what you do to please. So, you give and give until there's nothing left of you. And you mistake that emptiness for nobility.......but it's not. Its just self-destruction disguised as self-sacrifice. You handed me you're life because you don't believe it has any value," he said, his face was inches from hers, the tension in the room was suffocating.

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you." Ivy scoffs. "You're the one holding me captive! You're the reason I can't experience any of that "worthy of love" crap! I’m stuck here, aren't I? Indentured servant, prisoner, whatever you want to call it! So,spare me the self-help lecture, Mr. I will never let you leave," because it rings a little hollow."