Chapter 2

Ethan burst out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair dripping. "What' s going on? Sarah!"

He saw the blood, the dog, the terror on my face. For a fleeting second, I saw concern in his eyes. He rushed toward me, his hands hovering over my bleeding leg. "My God, Sarah, are you okay?"

But before he could touch me, Brittany was on her feet, screaming. "Get away from him, you bitch! What did you do to my Prince?"

She shoved Ethan aside and ran not to me, but to her dog, cradling his head in her hands. Then, her eyes, filled with a terrifying rage, fixed on me. She stormed over and, with a strength that surprised me, slapped me hard across the face.

"He' s a prized show dog! If you' ve hurt him, I' ll kill you!" she shrieked, her face contorted with hate.

My head snapped back from the force of the blow, my cheek stinging. I looked at Ethan, my eyes pleading for him to do something, to say something. He stood frozen between us, his face a mask of conflict and indecision.

"Ethan," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Her dog attacked me. She just hit me. Are you going to let her do this?"

Brittany laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "She' s lying, Ethan. She must have provoked him! Prince is a sweetheart, he would never attack anyone without a reason." She clung to Ethan' s arm, pressing herself against him. "Baby, she's scaring me. Are you going to let her get away with hurting my dog and threatening me?"

The moment stretched, thick with betrayal. I saw the choice being made in his eyes before he even moved. His shoulders slumped, and he turned his gaze from my bleeding leg to Brittany' s pouting face.

He let out a sigh, a sound of weary resignation. "Sarah, just... just apologize to Prince. Let' s calm everyone down."

The words didn' t compute at first. "Apologize? To the dog that bit me?"

"Don' t make this difficult," he said, his voice taking on a hard edge. "Brittany is our guest. Her dog is worth more than this apartment. Just say you' re sorry so we can move on."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out another one of my forgiveness vouchers, one I' d given him for Christmas, and held it out to me. "Here. For this. Now apologize."

My world tilted on its axis. He was trading my dignity, my pain, for this woman' s favor, using my love as currency. The voucher in his hand was no longer a symbol of forgiveness, it was an invoice for my humiliation.

Seeing my hesitation, Brittany' s smile turned cruel. She grabbed my hair, yanking my head back. "On your knees," she hissed. "Apologize to my baby. Now."

Ethan didn' t move. He didn' t stop her. He just watched.

With my leg throbbing and my heart shattered into a million pieces, I felt my strength leave me. Brittany' s grip was like iron. She forced me down to the floor, my knees hitting the hardwood with a painful crack. I was now at eye level with the Doberman, who watched me with placid, dark eyes.

"I' m... sorry," I choked out, the words scraping my throat raw.

Brittany released my hair, patting my cheek with mock sympathy. "Good girl." She then turned to Ethan. "Lock her in the guest room. I don' t want her upsetting Prince anymore tonight."

Ethan nodded numbly, pulled me to my feet, and dragged me toward the guest room. He pushed me inside without a word and locked the door from the outside. The click of the lock was the sound of my last hope dying.

I slid down the door, my body shaking with sobs. On the floor next to me was the voucher Ethan had tried to give me. It must have fallen from his hand. I picked it up, my fingers trembling. With a surge of newfound clarity, I tore the small card into tiny, unrecognizable pieces. It was over. Whatever we had, it was gone forever.