At the End of the Tunnel

Just because I accidentally broke my adopted sister’s bracelet, my brother threw me into the black market to “learn my lesson.”

By the time I was rescued, I had been tortured so brutally that I was barely recognizable. It was Elijah York who risked his own life to pull me out of that hellhole. When we finally escaped, his blood had soaked my clothes, yet he held me tightly against his chest and whispered that he would never regret it.

For three years after that, I drifted between moments of clarity and bouts of pure madness. I despised myself, constantly feeling dirty and broken, but Elijah always treated me like a princess.

Until this day, my mind was, for once, clear. Caressing the tiny new life I had just discovered growing inside my womb, I was overflowing with joy as I hurried to surprise him. However, right outside his office door, I overheard a conversation between him and my brother.

“Did you actually catch feelings after playing a part for so long? Don’t forget that in three months, it will be the optimal window for Chloe’s bone marrow transplant.”

Elijah let out a low, amused scoff, his tone indifferent.

“I’ve been drugging Nora for three years. Everyone thinks she’s completely lost her mind by now. Legally, she is my wife, and I hold full guardianship over her. That’s the only way the bone marrow extraction process remains completely legal and compliant.”

I froze right where I stood, the blood freezing in my veins.

My brother, Tyler Benson’s voice drifted out from the room.

“It’s good that you see it that way. You’ve been making all sorts of excuses during her last few blood draws. I actually thought you were catching feelings for her.”

Elijah’s voice was filled with pure disgust. “Tyler, you seriously overestimate your sister, and you definitely underestimate me. Every single time I see her crawling toward me like a dog wagging its tail, it makes my stomach churn. The only reason I delayed the blood draws was out of concern that it might affect the upcoming bone marrow transplant.”

Tears streamed down my face as a sharp, agonizing pain ripped through my chest.

Three years of pretending. A thousand days of fabricated affection. All those blood tests I thought he ordered out of care for my well-being were nothing more than quality checks to see if my body was a fitting vessel.

A shiver ran down my spine, and my body instinctively told me to run. However, just as I spun around, the door was pulled open from the inside, and light flooded the hallway.

“Nora? What are you doing here?”

Elijah stepped out. His tall, imposing figure cast a shadow over me, his eyes sharp with intense scrutiny. I dug my fingernails hard into my palms, forcing myself to mimic the confused, dazed expression I always had during my episodes.

“I-I don’t know… My head is spinning so fast. I think I saw those shadows again.