Blake' s grip was like iron, twisting my arm, sending a fresh wave of pain through my still-healing body. He shoved me back, hard, against a marble pillar. The impact jarred my teeth, and a sharp pain shot up my spine. My head throbbed, blurring my vision for a moment.

"Mad?" I choked out, pushing myself upright, my eyes burning with unshed tears and unbridled fury. "You call me mad? You destroyed my garden, orchestrated my miscarriages, gave my children's names to your bastard sons, and now you desecrate my last memories with that witch!" I pointed a trembling finger at Chyna, who was now sobbing theatrically, cradling the screaming baby. "You are a monster, Blake Hodge! A cold, calculating monster! I despise you! I wish I had never met you!"

The words, raw and venomous, ripped from my throat, fueled by years of suppressed pain and the sting of his ultimate betrayal. Every lie, every carefully constructed facade he had built, crumbled in that moment. There was no going back.

He stared at me, his face a mask of disbelief, then a sickeningly familiar coldness settled in his eyes. A flash of something like hurt, quickly replaced by a chilling detachment. He had always been so careful to maintain his image, his perfect exterior. My outburst, my raw honesty, had shattered it. And he hated me for it.

Tears, hot and unstoppable, streamed down my face. I was spiraling, losing control, but I didn' t care. This was the truth, finally unleashed. With a primal scream, I lunged at him, clawing, hitting, desperate to inflict even a fraction of the pain he had caused me.

He easily fended me off, his strength far superior to my weakened state. He held my wrists in one hand, pinning me against the pillar, his face inches from mine. "You are truly disturbed, Amelia," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "This violent outburst, this irrational hatred... The guru was right. You are plagued by dark spirits. You need cleansing."

Chyna, ever the opportunist, sniffled dramatically. "Oh, Blake, she needs help. For the sake of the boys, she needs to be purified."

His eyes, cold and hard, met mine. "Indeed. It's for your own good, Amelia." He snapped his fingers. "Guards! Take her. Prepare the silent room. Summon Father Michael. She needs an exorcism."

Exorcism. My blood ran cold, a fresh wave of terror washing over me. He was going to put me through another "spiritual cleansing," another ritual of torment.

Two burly guards appeared, seizing me roughly. They dragged me through the mansion, my protests muffled by their heavy hands. I fought, screamed, kicked, but it was futile. They were too strong, too many.

They took me to a secluded wing of the house, a windowless room with thick, padded walls. Father Michael, a stern-faced man in dark robes, stood waiting, flanked by several of his disciples. He regarded me with a look of pity mixed with stern conviction.

"Child," he intoned, his voice deep and resonant, "you are troubled. Your soul is restless, your heart consumed by bitterness. The evil within you must be expelled."

"There's no evil within me!" I cried, struggling against the guards. "There's only pain, etched there by your master!"

He shook his head, his eyes unyielding. "Denial is the first symptom of deep spiritual affliction. Prepare her."

The disciples moved in, powerful hands restraining me. They forced me onto a stone slab in the center of the room. I thrashed and screamed, but it was useless. They were relentless. Father Michael chanted in a language I didn' t understand, his voice rising in intensity. Then, a foul-smelling liquid was forced between my clenched teeth. Holy water, he called it. It burned my throat, making me choke and gag.

The ritual was an endless nightmare. They stripped me, leaving me exposed, humiliated. They lashed me with thin, willow branches, chanting prayers with every whip, claiming to beat the evil from my flesh. My skin stung, then bled, then went numb. I closed my eyes, trying to dissociate, to float away from the searing pain, the utter degradation. I was barely conscious, my body a canvas of crimson welts.

Then came the fire. They dragged me, half-dead, from the slab. The floor glowed, a bed of incandescent coals laid out before me. Father Michael' s voice boomed, "Walk, child! Walk through the cleansing fire! Let the flames burn away the demonic influences!"

I screamed, a raw, animal sound, as they forced my feet onto the scorching coals. The pain was beyond anything I had ever imagined, a searing, all-consuming inferno that raced up my legs, through my entire body. I writhed, tried to pull away, but their grip was unyielding. My mind snapped, a desperate self-preservation mechanism. I felt my consciousness recede, detaching from the agonizing reality, until only a faint, distant echo of pain remained.

When it finally ended, I was a husk. My body, a roadmap of burns, lashed skin, and bruises. I was vaguely aware of being lifted, carried away. The silent room, the chanting, the excruciating pain-it all blurred into a horrific memory.

I awoke in a hospital room, once again. But this time, it was different. No dramatic entrance from Chyna. No cold pronouncements from Blake. Just the hushed efficiency of nurses, their faces etched with concern. My body was a mass of bandages, my head a throbbing symphony of pain. I was utterly alone.

A notification buzzed on the hospital-provided tablet, left on my bedside table. It was from Blake. A terse, impersonal message: "Your purification is complete. May your spirit find peace. The guru sends his regards."

Then, another notification. Chyna's social media. A picture of her and Blake, smiling, holding the twins. "So grateful for our beautiful, harmonious family," the caption read. "The negative energies have finally been expelled."

My fingers, trembling slightly, moved across the screen. I found Blake's profile. Block. Then Chyna's. Block. My last act of defiance, a quiet severing of ties. The notification then popped up: "Your divorce is finalized." It was dated days ago. The pre-signed document, my last hope, had been used.

That night, I found a small lighter and a metal waste bin in my room. With painstaking effort, I gathered every photograph, every card, every tangible memory of Blake and our life together. I watched them burn, the flames consuming his deceiving smile, his empty promises, his twisted love. Each flickering ember was a piece of my past, turning to ash.

The next morning, I bought a one-way ticket to the farthest place my meager savings could take me. A random destination, anywhere away from here. As the plane lifted off the tarmac, leaving behind the glittering skyline of New York, I closed my eyes and whispered a silent prayer: May I never see him again.

Chapter 8

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