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My fingers traced the scarred skin of my back as I looked over my shoulder at his work. Ilya was dead but he still haunted me and he would for the rest of my life.
When I saw his lifeless body on that bed, I felt the most at peace I had felt in three years.
I couldn’t give that up. I wouldn’t be another man’s toy; someone he could play with when he got tired of taking it out on the world.
I would fight my brother tooth and nail. He had no idea what I went through every night and day living with that animal. I did what I had to do. And I would continue to do so.
To survive. Live.
“Mia,” I heard, causing my attention to dart to the door.
“What?”
“Your brother requested you join him for dinner.”
***
As my brother and I sat eating our dinner, the only thing that could be heard was the hitting of our cutlery.
I had nothing to say to him. There was no way in hell I was going to subject myself to another loveless marriage. I barely made it out of the first one with my life.
Next time I might not be so lucky.
My brother cleared his throat causing me to look at him as he wiped the corners of his mouth.
“You will meet Galdur tomorrow.”
“No,” I replied as I shoved another piece of chicken into my mouth.
Chewing awfully slow as my brother stared at me, his fingers wringing the napkin he previously used to clean his mouth.
“Mia, this is serious. Do you understand what you did? The impossible situation that you have put us in?”
I swallowed the last bit of meat in my mouth and turned my body to my brother.
“I do which is why it baffles me that you’re willing to send me into another man’s arms after I told you what Ilya did to me.”
“Be reasonable, Mia.”
“No, you be reasonable, Michael. Do you want to see what happened to me when I told Ilya 'no'? Do you?” I screamed at him, standing from my seat.
“Mia, sit down,” my brother said through gritted teeth but I ignored him.
“No, you need to see what he did to me for …three years,” I said my voice cracking, tears threatening to spill from my eyes.
Turning my back to him, I raised the shirt I wore showing him the ugly scars that remained a part of me even after my husband’s death.
I heard my brother’s breath quicken as he examined the marks. His hands began to gently trace them causing me to shy away from him and lower my shirt.
My brother slammed his hand on the table as I sat next to him again, the silverware rattling.
He said nothing, only looked at me in pity, anger and what I thought was regret before he left the room, and I heard gunshots fire through the night sky.
Chapter Two
ELIAS
Sipping the brown liquid in my glass, I leaned my head against my chair, wanting the liquor to wash away the woes of the day.
