After my husband broke both my legs, I died and escaped.
Chapter One
My Wall Street titan of a husband’s childhood
sweetheart had a heart attack, all because of
the stray I took in.
He went ballistic.
He broke my legs, tied me up in the
basement, and slathered me in honey.
Then, he locked me in with his starving,
hundred–pound pit bull mix, leaving me to be
tormented day and night.
“You ever mess with Bethany again, you’re
going straight to hell!” he’d screamed.
Г
Days later, he finally remembered I was down
there.
“Alright, alright, I guess I’ll let you live, this
time.”
Too late.
The dog, starved out of its mind, had already
snapped its chain.
And I was gone.
The searing pain of my death clawed at my
brain.
That’s when I realized it: I was a ghost,
hovering right beside my husband, Blake
Harrison.
He was in his office, listening to his assistant drone on about quarterly reports. He suddenly slammed his fist on the mahogany desk.
“Hey, make sure that dog hasn’t been fed, got it? I want Delilah to understand what pain really is!”
His male assistant, looking uncomfortable, hesitated before answering.
“Mr. Harrison, you threw away the key to the
basement the day you locked Ms. Delilah and the dog in there. You ordered us to stay away from the basement, don’t you remember?”
Translation: nobody in their right mind would
dare cross him.
Blake’s eye twitched, but he recovered
smoothly, trying to spin his behavior.
“She shouldn’t have messed with Bethany. A
few days without food is getting off easy!”
“Honestly, Delilah is one tough broad, she’ll
probably survive a few days down there!”
He said it with such conviction, so sure of my
incredible, unyielding will to live.
The assistant’s phone buzzed. He glanced at
it, his face flickering with a mixture of
concern and reluctance. He finally spoke.
“Mr. Harrison, the housekeeper says there’s a
real strong smell coming from the basement
room…”
“She hasn’t seen anything, since you
commanded her not to open the door, but
maybe you should check in on Ms. Delilah?”
Blake’s face darkened. His voice dropped to a
dangerous level.
“A smell? Probably because she ran out of food and is eating the dog’s crap. Honestly, that sounds about right.
“It’s just one of Delilah’s little dramas. I refuse
to let her filth pollute my eyes!”
The assistant knew better than to argue with
his boss’s mood swings. The words died in
his throat.
“But…Ms. Delilah, maybe I’ll have the staff go
Blake roared.
“Nobody goes near that room without my
express permission!”
“She brought this on herself! Bethany almost
died!”
“A few days with a dog won’t kill her! You
know what they say about bad pennies?”
“Fine, fine, enough nagging. We’ll let her out
tomorrow. That should teach her to leave
Bethany alone, right?”
He rubbed his forehead, looking stressed.
The assistant retreated, and Bethany walked
in, looking as fragile and sickly as always.
Blake instantly transformed. His dark mood vanished. He pulled her into a hug.
“Bethany, what are you doing here? You should be resting.”
She snuggled into his arms, her shoulders
shaking. He looked down at her, his eyes
filled with pity.
“Blake, I’m scared… I keep dreaming about
that dog. I only feel safe when I’m with you.”
He stroked her trembling back, murmuring
soothing words.
“Bethany, I took care of it. The mutt is gone,
no more worries.”
Bethany looked down, clutching at her chest,
her lips trembling.
“But… Delilah, will she try to get rid of me again?”
“Blake, am I that terrible? Would she only be happy if I were dead?”
He placed a comforting hand over her heart.
“Don’t be silly! Delilah’s getting what she
deserves. She won’t bother you again!”
“She’s spent the last few days locked up with.
a starving pit bull. Trust me, she’s had the
scare of her life!”
“I promise, she’s not going to hurt you. I’ll
protect you, okay?”
His voice was full of conviction, like Bethany
was the love of his life.
“You’re the best, Blake. But she’s your wife, I
hope she isn’t too mad at me.”
Blake glared at the empty air around him.
“Mad? She’s lucky I haven’t filed for divorce.
It was her fault. I would have killed her by now
if it wasn’t for you.”
Bethany smiled, after a brief moment of
thinking.
“I just wanted to get along with Delilah, I hope
she learned from this.”
He pulled Bethany closer, patting her back
She pressed her head against his neck, nuzzling him affectionately.
They were like two wounded animals,
comforting each other. An intimacy that
burned like acid.
