Chapter 16
Sapphire
The night was oppressive, the heat pressed down on me like a smothering blanken. I twisted and turned, trying to find some relief, but it was no use. Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead, pooling beneath me on the bed. My brows were furrowed, and my lips were raw and bleeding from the numerous times I had bunenthem
This was the third me I was getting them herr, sometimes my nightmare often came when I am stressed and uneasy and I don’t think my time here has been the opposite of that. I often tried to line the way I sleep so that I won’t have them
They were my own version of hell
In my nightmare, my father loomed over me, his face contorted with rage. We were by the river, the same river I had tried so hard to forget. He had brazed me to go on a picnic with him and I foolishly believed that he wanted to spend time with his daughter.
Maybe has maids had relayed my message about how lonely I was in the house, so I thought this was his way of making it up to me. I was so wrong.
git because I soon as I said something that I thought was okay, hands were around my neck, pushing me down into the cold, murky water. I licked and struggled, but he was too strong. Trould hear him chuckling over the water and mumbling something to himself
The water closed over my head, aut screamed, bubbles escaping from my mouth and rising to the surface. My lungs burned, my vision blurred. and all I could see was his face, twisted with fury and hatred
had done nothing to him to deserve this, maybe I did everything wrong by living. My mother chose to save me and that cost me my freedom and
Thad to live with a man who wants nothing more than to see me dead
I screamed for help, my voice echoing in the water, but no one came. The river was silent, indifferent to my plight. I thrashed harder, but his grip Lichtened, and the world began to fade to black
“No!” I screamed, bolting upright in bed. My heart was pounding, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. looked around, disoriented, my eyes darting
from one corner of the room to another
The nurse was there, her face calm and kind. She was rubbing my back, her rouch grille and soothing “It’s okay,” she said softly
Trook a deep, shuddering breath trying to calm myself “L. Hidin Isow I was screaming.”
She nodded, handing me a cup of water. “Here, drink thus,”
I drank greedily, the cool water soothing my parched diruat. “Thank you,” I whispered, my voice shaking
“You’re safe.
She stayed with me until I was calm, her presence a comforting anchor in the storm of my fear. “Do you want to talk about ” she asked gently.
I shook my head, the memory will ton raw, too painful. “No, it was just a nightmare.”
She nodded, understanding. “Okay.”
Imanaged a weak smile. “Thank you.”
She gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaving the room. As the doar closed behind her. I shuddered from the memory. It wasn’t just a
nightmare was a memor
I lay back down, staring at the ceiling, trying to shake off the lingering terror. The room was silent, except for the faim him of the air conditioner But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape the memories
My father had always been a harsh man, his anger a constant presence in our house. But that day by the river had been different. It had been the culmination of years of fear and pains, a momen that had haunted me ever since
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the images to fade. But they wouldn’t. They never did
The sound of the river, the feel of his hands around my neck, the cold water closing over me was too real, too vivid. Trould still feel the burn in my lungs, the desperation as fought for air
I took another deep breath, trying to steady myself. “It’s over,” I whispered to myself “It’s in the past.”
Buneven as I said the words, I knew they weresit true. The post was never really over, li lingered, a shadow that followed me everywhere! Hew father might have died but the trauma be left me with so many scars..
That day was different from when he tried to suffocated me with a pillow, he was contemplating it but this time, at the river was different. The book on has face was pure happiness at the thought of gening nd of me I knew he hated me but I didn’t think it was like this.
He didn’t stop because he had a change of heart, he stopped because he heard people coming towards the river and felt like it would damage his reputation but the one thing that he did was behave like we were a loving family in front of others.
It was easy for him to play make believe when I was still struggling to breach after his stumt.
I pulled the blankets tighter around me, seeking some comfort in their warmth. But it was so use. The memory of that day was a cold, unrelenting presence, a reminder of a pain that would never truly fade.
No matter how much I tried to forget them, to pretend like those things never happened. It was bad because it messed with my head and left me untrusting of anybody who tries to come close to me.
I didn’t know how long I lay there, lost in the past. Tune seemed to blur, the minutes stretching into hours as I counted one to one thousand, not
1507
Chupert 16
ning to sleep and put myself through that rommure
vally, exhaustion overtook me, and I drifted back to sleep. But even then, the nightmares continued, the memorie v replaying over and over in my
By morning. 1 would see what the Alpha have in store for me
