Chapter 1 A beautiful cage

"Fucking useless!" He slapped her one more time and she fell back on the bed.

He pulled her up to her feet and slapped her a second time.

"Stand on your feet when I talk to you!"

Hannah did not realize that they were having a conversation. It looked like she was getting beaten.

Her vision grew blurry and she had to shut and open her eyes a few times to bring the room back into focus.

It didn't feel right that she was standing in a bedroom as big as most people's living quarters, standing atop marble floors and under the warm glow of the chandeliers up ahead.

It didn't feel right that she was wearing a dress that could pay off a person's college tuition. It didn't feel right that she was here.

It didn't feel right that getting beaten was something that she had grown accustomed to.

It didn't feel right that she was with him. Nothing felt right.

"A fucking disappointment! Nothing but a stain on my legacy!"

Hannah swallowed hard and focused her gaze on the floor. She hated her reflection. She didn't recognize that person.

"Did you see those other women, Hannah?"

She knew what was coming next, the comparison.

"Did you see how amazing they looked? How perfectly their bodies fit in the dresses?"

When she did not respond he shoved her and she almost lost her balance.

"Answer me!"

"I saw them" she responded quietly.

"Did you see how you could not compare? See how your ugly self did not even stand a chance next to them?"

"Yes" she replied as her lower lip quivered.

"Ugly thing" he spat.

Her husband was quick to compliment the beauty of other women and even compare her to them but never acknowledged her looks. If anyone else did he would beat her and tear whatever confidence she had in stock.

She hated it. Hated how she had grown accustomed to the situation and how sometimes, when she hit a particular low she would agree with him.

Tonight he hit her because his business partner's wife dressed better than her at a company dinner. Hannah did not understand why that infuriated him.

She didn't even want to be there but she tried to look good and even got compliments on her outfit from the woman in question.

Why wasn't anything enough? She lived in a mansion but woke up every morning feeling suffocated and desperate to escape her gorgeous prison. Theodore had broken her and she knew in time that she might be pushed to take her life.

The blow and the words that followed flooded her mind and spirit with an intense amount of pain. But the pain carried anger that was foreign to her.

Anger born from years of mistreatment. It had begun to blossom in the shadows of her broken heart and watered by the fear that she had lived in for so long. Taking in a deep breath that seemed to hurt her lungs, she pushed the hair from her face and looked up at her husband.

She struggled to fathom how he had changed so much. How did he manage to go from a man she was willing to spend forever with to a raging monster?

What changed? What did she ever do to him?

Theodore continued to rant about how she was a disappointment to him but she couldn't hear him. The world seemed to disappear and all she could think of in that moment was how badly she needed to leave this man.

Fear began to give way to resolve. She was going to leave, dead or alive but she would. She'd had enough. But first, she needed to pacify him.

"I'm sorry " she said meekly.

"You'd be nothing without me, do you know that?"

Hannah nodded. How could she forget when he had a habit of reminding her.

"I know"

"I picked you from the gutters and cleaned you up. You owe your life to me!" He inched closer, "you owe me your obedience and submission!"

"I'm sorry"

"You let that bitch steal the show with her cheap dress!"

Hannah knew there was nothing cheap about the dress that woman wore.

"Why give you money if you can't make me look good in public!"

"It will never happen again"

He scoffed and shook his head. "I knew I should have taken Sierra"

Hannah tried to not cry at the mention of his mistress. It didn't matter, she'd be gone soon anyway and he could turn Sierra to his new punching bag.

"I'm sorry"

Theodore glared at her, unable to find more debasing words. Meanwhile her heart raced as she envisioned the possibility of an escape. The idea was intoxicating and filled her with an adrenaline rush.

She would be free soon. She could almost taste it.

Finally, her husband seemed to calm down.

"Go change. You look like shit. I have to go find a way to make that bastard Collin and his wife pay for what they did to me"

With that, he walked out of the bedroom, slamming the door loudly behind him.

As he left, Gina, her personal maid walked into the room. She rushed to her madam's side and unsure of what action to take just stood and looked at her with eyes full of concern.

"I'll be fine, Gina" Hannah said as she wiped a tear.

"I'm so sorry madam," Gina placed a cautious hand on Hannah's shoulder, "Do you need anything?"

"I'll be fine" Hannah repeated. She assured herself that she would be once she was out of the house. Out of Theodore's grand prison.

"Your face, madam" Gina exclaimed.

"Is there swelling?"

The older woman nodded and Hannah pursed her lips. How many times had she endured bruises and swollen skin she did not know. It had almost become a ritual.

Clear skin today, swollen face the next week.

"What happened?"

"His colleague's wife dressed better than I did tonight" Hannah almost laughed.

She was in pain because her husband took competition way too personal and expected her to act the same. He beat her over a dress that he chose for her because her style was "classless and embarrassing to his person"

Gina cursed Theodore under her breath and Hannah couldn't help but smile even though it hurt to do so. The woman loved her like a daughter and Hannah was grateful.

"I'll get some ice for you"

"A bottle of whiskey would do. I don't need a glass"

Gina looked like she wanted to object but thought better of it.

"I'll have some painkillers brought up as well" she said and Hannah nodded slowly.

Everything hurt.

Gina left the room, giving Hannah one last 'please be strong' look before shutting the door gently behind her.

With Gina gone, Hannah, moving with quiet determination, went into her walk in closet and With trembling hands,gathered a small bag, stuffing in a few essentials.

There was some cash she had secretly saved, clothes, and the precious locket her father had given her before he passed.

Theodore had forced her to stop wearing it because he didn't appreciate cheap, ugly jewelry and beat her when she attempted to defy him.

She prayed to her father to grant her his strength as she placed the locket around her neck. It felt like a talisman against the darkness that had engulfed her life.

"Soon," Hannah whispered to herself as she put the bag away, "soon"