Every second I stayed nearby Eryx was becoming unbearable and wanted to scream as loud as possible to every stranger that I walked past, pleading with my eyes for someone would help me escape from this lunatic, but I knew no one here in Alphacrest was bold enough to cross my husband.

My hand rested against his as he sat beside me in the car and the soft music played in the background. Memories, good and bad, involving Eryx and I, were playing repeatedly in my mind, causing me to resent ever coming in contact with this man so many years ago. My life could have been what I dreamed of if I never met the man sitting next to me.

The further that Lonan, the driver, drove closer to the Vallea estate, I knew the independence I worked so hard to have in Fountain View was diminishing as we reached the golden gates with the V emblem in front of it, holding the huge fortress that I knew would be probably impossible for me to escape from. There are several men holding guns in their hands, and I see a laser scanner check the entire vehicle before the golden gates open revealing the home I ran away from five years prior.

I can feel slowly trying to escape from my tear ducts, but I bite the corners of my lips, holding them in, not showing any signs of weakness in front of my husband.

"Welcome home sweetheart", Eryx whispers against my ear before he places a kiss on my left cheek.

The mansion still looks the same as it did on the night I made my escape, but rather than feeling relieved of seeing the home that Eryx spent millions to build for me and the children we planned to have one day, it made me furious.

I wanted to burn it to the ground. Maybe that's what I will do. Lonan stops near the front of the house hops out of the vehicle walks over to my side and opens the door for me. I break free from Eryx's grasp on my hand and take hold of Lonan's hand.

Lonan takes hold of my hand as I get out of the car and leans down, "Everything will be alright Mrs. Vallea".

I look up at the older man and touch his shoulder before breaking eye contact with me. I am not sure how everything will be alright when Eryx has dismantled everything I have worked so hard to achieve in less than 24 hours.

I was not going to save face for anyone and make it seem I wanted to come back here. "Thanks, Lonan", I can Eryx say behind me, I refuse to shift my head around to glance over in his direction. Rather than make any movement to go inside of the estate I continue to stand with my back rigid and I stare off into space. I can feel Eryx slide his large hands down my back, urging me to move forward.

I shake my head in response.

"Sweetheart, we cannot stand out here all day. I know you are tired and need some rest".

I still do not move and do not bother to give a response back to Eryx. Eryx sighs loudly, indicating his patience is running thin with me, but I do not care. I am not going to give in to him. I am then lifted off the ground and thrown over his back as he walks inside the house.

I see some of the house staff standing on each side of the front door entrance. They kept their heads down as we passed by them, something I dreaded being I knew Eryx had probably verbally threatened them in some sort of capacity.

Rather than put me down on the ground he walks up the long spiraling staircase as the front of my body is leaned over his broad, muscular back. My hair hides my face and cannot see what direction he is walking. He walks for several minutes before he pushes open a door. I shift some of my hair on one side of my face with my hand and see that we are in one of the guest bedrooms.

He slowly lowers my body upright until I am standing and able to look around the room. The entire room is bigger than my bedroom in my home back in Fountain View.

"Are you going to cooperate with me Verena", Eryx asks as he stands in front of me, placing his hands over my shoulder.

I don't bother to look up at him and focus my attention on a hand-painted portrait of myself that sits on the left corner of the dark gray wall. In my peripheral I can see his head shift around, his eyes are now trained on the portrait I have focused my attention on.

He walks over to the portrait and touches the edge of it as he looks up at it.

"I had this made six months after you ran away", he then sighs.

"I needed something to keep me going. I thought you were dead".

He turns around with sadness present in his eyes. I do not feel an ounce of remorse for leaving him in the way that I did. He didn't give me a choice so I took matters into my own hands. He stares at me for several moments before he leaves the room.

I do not move from my spot in the center of the room until I hear his footsteps walk further down the hallway until he goes to the stairwell. I then drop to the floor and begin crying.

Why can't he just let me be free?



Verena is not happy to be back in Alphacrest, but can you blame her though.