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She could barely move, but as awareness slowly trickled in, she realized she was lying on her belly. At the same time, the events from her wedding night flooded her mind as she remembered the savage beating she'd endured at the hands of her new…husband.
And then…
She frowned.
She couldn't remember what happened after.
Noelle had struck with her knife after which….she'd been hit again, hadn't she?
The more she thought about it, the more she seemed to remember Sergio striking out, his features draped with terror despite his best efforts to hide it.
She'd fallen to the ground and then… She'd simply lost consciousness.
As soon as she realized that, panic flared inside her chest.
How long was I out?
If she'd been unconscious, anything could have happened to her and she'd be none the wiser. She certainly couldn't have fought back.
Her heart started beating loudly in her chest as she thought how defenseless she must have been. Enough for someone…
Noelle squeezed her eyes shut.
She didn't dare think of that. Not after she'd done everything in her power to protect herself—to keep ownership of her body and of her own person.
Yet no matter how much she tried to ignore it, the possibility was there.
As was the fact that she'd rather die than know that someone… That someone…
A sob caught in her throat at the thought.
She shuffled on the bed she'd been placed on, grinding her teeth as bursts of pain exploded simultaneously in different parts of her body. But Noelle wasn't deterred.
Despite the agonizing pain she was in, she forced herself to move her arm, sliding it half an inch at a time towards her until she managed to place it under her body.
She was wearing different clothes than the ones she'd worn that night. That alone made her fear the worst, especially as she noticed she was dressed in a thin cotton dress—likely a nightgown. Yet it was not one she owned.
When her arm was fully under her, she reached down, sliding the dress up her leg.
She breathed out in relief when she realized she still had her underwear on. Yet next came the confirmation.
Noelle swallowed against the sudden wave of bile that traveled up her throat as she slid her hand into the band of her underwear, dipping her fingers between her legs and lightly touching the entire area of her sex.
If something had happened to her… She would feel it, wouldn't she? Just like she was hurting all over, she was bound to hurt between her legs too.
She probed at her entrance, noting there wasn't any pain there. Pushing one finger inside, she could finally breathe out in relief when she found her hymen intact.
No one had raped her.
She wanted to cry of joy, yet the mere attempt to move her facial muscles made her howl in pain.
"I'm ok," she whispered to herself. "I'm still ok."
She wasn't dead. She hadn't been raped. She was…ok.
More than anything, she was even more determined that she would survive.
With great difficulty, she managed to haul herself off the bed, nearly falling to her knees. Her hand caught on the bed railing as she held herself immobile for a few seconds.
