Page 49

Valeria

I couldn't focus on anything work-related, so I left around lunch to get some rest and organize my thoughts.

Alice texted me to meet me at four at our usual spot, and I couldn't wait to talk to her.

There was so much I wanted to share with her.

Her insight into my current situation was deeply needed after I really started to believe Zyon was my stalker.

Everything in me screamed to follow my instinct and confront him about it, but I was a coward. I couldn't just stand before the embodiment of my darkest fantasies and ask him if he had been stalking me.

It sounded utterly ridiculous, and every time I imagined that conversation, I ended up drowning in embarrassment. I needed another perspective, and Alice was the only person I trusted with my deepest secret.

Parking my car outside my home, I gathered my things and got out, noticing Chester's white Range Rover on the sidewalk. The engine was running, but he wasn't inside or anywhere near it.

Frowning, I unlocked the front gate, expecting to see him at the door, but inside were only parked our neighbors’ cars.

I walked around bicycles, thick ornamental bushes, and trees, feeling my chest tightening.

For some reason, anxiety crept up my neck, keeping me on alert.

I had no idea what mood Chester would be in after I crossed the threshold of our apartment, and I played with the thought of spinning around and running away.

"Don't be silly," I mumbled, climbing the stairs. I didn't understand why I was nervous to the point I struggled to place my key into the lock.

My fingers trembled, and my heart thundered in my chest as if it expected a sudden attack. My gut yelled at me to disappear, but instead of listening, I pushed the door open and entered the quiet apartment.

Everything was in its place when I removed my shoes and quickly scanned my surroundings. I felt like a trapped mouse that didn't know where the cat was hiding. Blood rushed through my veins at an impossible speed, and I gulped.

Nothing could explain my strange feelings and confusing reactions. It looked as if my body had a mind of its own and tried to warn me about the danger I didn't see. Maybe it was because of my past experiences with Chester. Or perhaps I just needed rest after the crazy night.

However, the apartment seemed empty. Chester's shoes and jacket were missing. He didn't stomp around, furious because he lost money again. He didn't bark at me the moment I stepped inside. There was no sign he was at home, so why was his car outside?

I took off my trench coat and placed the car keys in the tiny blue porcelain bowl. The odd feeling didn't vanish, even when I checked Zara's room. Something was wrong. I knew it.

Inhaling deeply, I placed my hand on the knob of the bedroom door when I heard shuffling behind the door. Chills ran up my spine, and I retracted my fingers, hesitating.

Chester's cursing came to me through the thick wood, and I realized I didn't have the strength to face his senseless wrath. But before I could grab my keys and shoes, the door swung open, and Chester appeared before me.

"Where have you been?" he barked instead of greeting, his face twisting into an angry grimace.

"At work," I replied, clenching my right hand. "I had to finish the month-end close."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Chester growled, approaching me like a mad lion that wanted to tear me to pieces. "You're sleeping with him! "

My heart stopped. He couldn't know anything. I was extra cautious. I didn't tell anyone about having an affair. Chester only had assumptions, not real proof.

"With who?" I asked stupidly, playing ignorant and innocent before my brain could come up with something better that could save my ass.

"Zyon," Chester hissed with so much animosity and hatred I was surprised that simple word didn't set our apartment on fire.

"What?" I peeped, taking a step back when he took one toward me. "He is my boss. I barely know him. Why would you think that?"

"Do you remember George?" Chester asked, changing the subject abruptly. "The man who was hanged before our window," he continued when I didn't react.

"Of course I remember him," I replied, unsure where he was heading with this ugly reminder.

"Well, we had mutual friends," Chester clarified, narrowing his eyes at me when I shifted my weight from one leg to another. But I just couldn't stand still. "When he was drunk, he was a talker, and he said that he noticed heated looks between you and Zyon."

"This is a misunderstanding, Chester," I rambled, my mouth going dry. "There is nothing between me and Zyon."

"I don't believe you, baby doll," he seethed, his eyes flashing lighting at me. "George didn't have any reason to speak bullshit about you. He only claimed what he saw, and he died for it. Your insane lover murdered him to shut him up."

"Do you hear how absurd that sounds?" I laughed awkwardly, but it came out like a desperate whining. "I’ve never been unfaithful to you."

"Not before you met him," Chester ground out, his red face and messy hair underlining the craziness reflecting in his eyes. "I warned you not to do stupid shit, Valeria, and you didn't listen."

"I didn't do anything," I claimed, backing away when he started to approach me again. "I don't have a lover, Chester."

Yet, he was deaf to my words, and before I could reach the door, he harshly grabbed me and began shaking me .

"You whore !" he yelled, squeezing my arms with bruising force. "How could you do that to me?"

He pushed me against the door, and I used the opportunity to turn the knob, but my sweaty hand slipped. Chester took hold of my hair and yanked me back, tearing the strands out.

I yelped in pain, fighting to get away from him, but I only escaped when he threw me on the floor in the living room.

Tears prickled in my eyes when my body collided with the cold wood, and my arm twisted at a weird angle. The piercing pain shot through me like a sharp blade cutting the butter, but it was nothing compared to the horror that embraced me when I saw Chester unbuckling his belt.

"This will teach you a lesson, you filthy whore," he announced, folding the leather belt in half. I quickly tried to crawl away from his reach but was too slow.

The first hit ended on my naked calf. Only the thin pantyhose blocked the impact. I hissed in pain, feeling the tears falling down my cheeks.

Why didn't I listen to my intuition? Fuck!

Chester struck my legs a few times before I managed to get away from him. I threw a cushion and vase at him, slowing him down from pursuing me, but he blocked me from getting on my feet and running away.

Every time I wanted to stand up, another hit came. He whacked my back, arms, and thighs, yelling and cursing at me and not quitting until I was lying on the floor, crying and begging him to stop.

I tasted blood in my mouth because he struck my jaw. My back hurt like fuck, and my legs stung. My body shook violently from the exhausting, pointless fight and desperate sobs that wrecked me.

I was crushed and humiliated by the very person who swore before God to care for me, to protect me. This should never have happened. I should've left him long ago. But exactly like before, he also held the upper hand now .

"I warned you, baby doll," he said gently when he knelt beside my quivering, beaten body. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I d-didn't do it," I sobbed, my tears soaking into the expensive black carpet.

"Stop fucking lying," he hissed, and I instantly shut my mouth. I didn't want to go another round with his belt. I could barely breathe. "I know there is someone else. If it's not Zyon, then it is another man. But listen to me very carefully."

He grasped my hair, and I whimpered but immediately pressed my lips into a thin line when he lifted my head, and I looked into his furious face. He was livid with rage, and I had no means to calm him down. I was at his mercy. If he wanted, he could easily kill me.

"If I discover you’ve touched another man, Valeria, you're both dead. Do you understand?" He jerked my head as if he was trying to shake the answer from me.

"Y-yes," I whispered, my poor nape burning from his rough hand tugging on my hair.

"Great, now pull yourself together," he commanded, letting me collide with the floor face first. "You look like shit."

I couldn't believe my own ears, but what did I expect? He’d hurt me before. It should've occurred to me that it would escalate. And I also knew about his sick jealousy. I should've predicted this.

Oh, God!

The sound of the door closing told me that Chester left. Slowly, I turned on my bruised back, staring blankly at the ceiling. I was empty. My head went through a hard reset. I felt nothing but endless emptiness in my chest.

Maybe I deserved this for being unfaithful to my husband. Perhaps it was my punishment for going behind his back and enjoying myself with another man. But what about him? Who will punish him for what he had done?

Bitter tears ran down my cheeks and chin, wetting my hair and dress. I cried until there was nothing left, until my eyes burned and went dry.

My body felt like it was made from lead. I had difficulty sitting up. Everything hurt, every muscle, every move .

At a snail's pace, I dragged myself to the bathroom, enjoying the coolness of the cold floor against my hot feet. It woke me from the trance, and I finally looked at my face in the mirror.

Gasping, I touched the purple slash that stretched from the corner of my mouth through my jaw to my ear.

My trembling fingers traced the bruise, and my breathing quickened.

The entire episode with the beating replayed before my eyes like a horror movie, and I sat on the toilet, hiding my face in my palms.

I couldn't go outside like this. Alice would instantly notice something was wrong. She knew me too well. Even if I managed to cover the bruise, she would see I wasn't okay. I couldn't meet with her. I had to cancel it and let things settle.

Hastily, I sent my best friend a short text, claiming I felt sick. It was the best my tired brain could come up with, and then I started to undress.

My dress was destroyed, ripped in a few places, and some buttons were torn away. Yet what I found under them was much worse than ripped fabric.

My back and arms were covered with long, red, and blue swollen slashes. The marks were hideous, screaming from my flesh that this was utterly wrong. My bottom and legs were in a similar condition. Chester didn't spare much of my skin. I was smothered in hateful, angry bruises that ached and stung.

Helplessly, I hugged my quivering torso and sat on the floor. I rested my head against the bathtub, trying to think clearly, but I couldn't.

My thoughts mixed into a huge mass, but while I thought I should be devastated by this devolvement in my marriage, I felt nothing at all. My chest was filled only with a shattered heart that pumped blood into my system. I was just a vacant vessel without emotions.

Nothing was left behind. Chester killed everything I ever felt toward him. My feelings for him were slowly dying, but his belt erased them like a swing of a magical wand. He meant zero to me. Almost eight years of marriage were wiped off like they never existed.

I didn't know for how long I sat in the bathroom in my wretched state when the doorbell woke me up. I winced, my stiffened muscles protesting, and I exhaled heavily.

Another ring of the doorbell forced me to stand up, but I couldn't go out like this. I covered my naked, aching body with a bathrobe, yet my face looked terrible. Whoever looked at me would know something awful had happened and would ask unpleasant questions.

I decided to ignore the person behind the door and waited until they left. Still, when a loud banging occurred, followed by Alice's demanding voice, I knew I was in trouble. She knew I was at home and wouldn't just go away.

"Valeria!" Alice yelled again. "Open the fucking door!"