Chapter 1 Prologue.

⚠️Content Warning: Abuse.⚠️

Silence...

That was all she heard. Silence. She could hear nothing. No breathing, no heartbeat, no footsteps. Nothing. It was as if the world around her had frozen in place. She tried to move, to speak, but her body wouldn't obey her commands.

The silence was shattered by the sudden slamming of the bedroom door. Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to regain control of her limbs. The pressure on her chest eased, and she gasped for air. The room spun around her as she crumpled to the floor, crouching in a fetal position. Her heart raced; her breaths came in ragged gasps. She tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't support her weight.

She sat there, crouching in front of the door, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees as if trying to hold herself together. With great effort, she stood up, wincing as pain shot through her battered body. Cuts and bruises covered her skin, and tears streamed down her face. She stumbled to the bathroom, gripping the sink for support as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Her brown skin was covered with bruises in various shades of purple, blue, and red. Tears streamed down her face, making her mascara run, blending her pain into an ugly mix of black and blue. She looked like a broken doll, discarded and forgotten. The person who had done this to her... she didn't even want to think about it.

Her braids, once neat and tidy, now hung limply around her face, tangled and dirty. Her black hair was dishevelled and matted. She lifted a trembling hand to her cheek, wincing as the touch registered as pain. The mirror reflected her pain-filled eyes, wide with fear. The light in her brown eyes, normally warm and inviting, had been extinguished, replaced by a hollow, empty stare.

Tears blurred her vision as the reality of her situation crashed down upon her. This couldn't be her life, her reality. But deep down, she knew the truth. The man she had once loved, the man she had given everything to, was the same one who had hurt her the most.

As her cries grew louder, echoing off the bathroom walls, a small, hesitant knock sounded at the door. "Mommy?" a tiny voice called from the other side. "Are you okay, Mommy?"