Chapter 2

2 Just then, Lincoln, the guard I'd just been with, got out of bed.

He wrapped his arms around me, looking apologetic, but secretly digging his fingers into old wounds where Shane couldn't see.

"Mr. Riley, don't blame Perry. Blame me. I couldn't make her love me. These past two years, she's only ever seen me as a substitute for you."

"Today... she did it because she knew you were coming. She wanted you to see it. She…"

My face went white. I trembled, biting my tongue to keep quiet.

To Shane, my silence looked like guilt.

He was furious. His prayer beads snapped in his hand. Seeing me lying naked and submissive in Lincoln's arms pushed him over the edge.

"Perry! I knew you were faking! This just makes me sick! No one falls in love with the person who raised them! You're a freak! A pervert!"

"I've had the housekeeper prepare the prayer room. You'll live there and pray. You can come out when you've come to your senses."

They brought me back to the house, back to the prayer room.

The walls were covered with pictures of Shane and me. His gifts were everywhere. I had decorated it like this when he still spoiled me.

Seeing it all seemed to soften Shane a little.

"Don't make a mess of the prayer room this time, understand?" he said.

Before, I would've ignored him. But now, I nodded obediently. I took down the pictures, one by one. I carried armfuls of gifts, things I once treasured, and threw them in the trash.

I saw the rosebush by the altar, the one Shane and I had planted together. Without hesitation, I reached out and pulled it up, ignoring the thorns that dug into my skin. I snapped the stem, crushed the petals, and tossed it in the trash.

Shane clenched his fists, his face hardening as he watched me tear up the photos.

"Uncle, I won't do it again," I said, kneeling before the altar, ignoring the bleeding cuts on my hands.

The night I was sent to Lincoln's, I learned something: without Shane, I was nothing.

My pride, my defiance, everything I had, was stripped away when they gave me to the guards. I wasn't the untouchable Perry anymore.

Shane's expression changed. He took my bloody hand and led me to the living room. He got the first aid kit and started cleaning my wounds.

"Doesn't it hurt...?" he trailed off, his eyes falling on my missing finger. His voice trembled. "Your finger? What happened? Why is it like this?"