Chapter 2 Shattered Vows

Brinda's P.O.V

I slowly felt my body return to me-as though my soul had wandered too far and had only just remembered where it belonged. But somewhere deep inside, a part of me still wished my thoughts were the reality that ended it all.

My eyelids fluttered open, the stark white ceiling above unfamiliar and sterile. I wasn't home. That much I knew. Panic crawled into my chest, but my lips moved before my mind caught up-whispering into the empty air, begging silently for freedom I had never known.

With trembling breath, I gathered enough strength to lift my head, only to realize... I was in a hospital.

Confusion turned into fear.

Who brought me here?

Before I could unravel my thoughts, a warm presence entered the room-a young woman with cascading blonde curls and a kindness in her eyes that soothed the tremble in my bones.

"Good morning, Miss Brinda," she said, her voice smooth as velvet.

"I'm Nurse Christy. We're all relieved you're awake. Your blood pressure had us really worried." Her voice brought strange comfort amid the chaos.

She reached for my hand-her smile sincere. For a moment, the warmth of her touch allowed my walls to crumble completely.

"You're going to be okay, Brinda. You just need a bit more rest before we process your discharge papers."

Her deep green eyes met mine, seeing the cracks in my soul. Then came the words that twisted my healing heart.

"You're lucky to have your sister by your side, but she seemed genuinely concerned. Almost too much."

My body stiffened. Memories surged forward-fragments of yesterday clawing their way back into consciousness that was dawning.

"Where... where's Lizzy?" I whispered, trying to sit up, my vision still foggy with remnants of pain.

"She just stepped out to grab something special for you," Nurse Christy replied with a playful smile, her cheeks tinged red.

My heart ached.

"That's so... weird, but I'm grateful. Lizzy's all I have, but somehow a part of me felt like I knew where she had gone"

Tears prickled behind my lids.

"I'll leave you to rest now," Christy whispered, leaving the room.

As the door clicked shut, the illusion shattered.

"How could he do this to me?" I muttered, clutching my chest as tears finally claimed space within me.

"He can't do this... not him... never him!" I screamed, dragging my body off the bed, ignoring my battered state. My legs were foreign, stumbling, but rage carried me through the hospital corridors until I found a cab waiting outside.

"Madam, are you okay?" the driver asked, concern furrowing his brows as he stared through the rearview mirror.

"I'm fine, just take me to Red Lane now," I choked out, wiping my tears with trembling fingers numbed by pain.

- - -

The cab stopped before a mansion that once echoed laughter and dreams across my horizon. Now, it loomed, silent and cold, like a grave.

The scent of fresh-cut grass mocked me.

My heart hoped-foolishly-that Brad would come running out, yelling my name. But reality was merciless over and over.

I stepped in. The door was unlocked.

The moment I entered, moans-loud, shameless-bounced off the walls, stabbing my soul in ways that blinded my eyes.

No. No. Please no...

I climbed the stairs, legs fueled by adrenaline and heartbreak.

"I'm so sure that Brad won't hurt me because he loves me to death," my mind kept echoing, bracing for what came next.

"Brad?" My voice broke. "Please don't let it be what I'm thinking..."

The door flung open-and I saw it. Saw them.

"LIZZYYY! How could you destroy me in this disgusting manner?!"

My voice shattered the air, shutting my world in one, but Lizzy just looked at me-cold, lifeless-nothing but a stranger with scabs.

"Why are you yelling, you pathetic bitch?" Brad's voice came sharp, venomous, as he casually smacked her bare skin, echoing like a blade through my throat.

My knees buckled.

"What... what did I ever do to deserve this, Lizzy... WHAT?"

Without warning, Lizzy lit a cigarette, her lips curling into a smirk. "Your existence - and that was horrible enough, and I'm so glad the game's over"

Brad's hand flew across my face. The blow sent me crashing to the floor.

"You better get the hell out before I let my fiancée treat you the way you deserve, you filthy whore," Lizzy hissed.

"Fiancée?" I choked. "No... this can't..."

But it was. And Brad-once my world-confirmed it with a deceitful smirk.

"She's pregnant with my first child, which means your chapter's over till death."

More blows with unbearable pain as I clutched the shards of a broken vase, not for defense, but just to hold something real but solid.

"Leave my man alone, loser," Lizzy said, her laughter a knife in my chest.

I lay there-bleeding, broken, betrayed, hoping he'd come to his senses.

And yet, Brad wasn't done.

He dragged me like a rag doll, skin scraping against the floor with every inch. I screamed, cracked and wild, but it was as if they'd gone deaf. Or worse... they liked it.

At the threshold, he slammed me onto the rough floor. "I won't say it again. Get the fuck out" and never come back, you piece of broken mess"

"It is so hilarious that you thought I would end up with a whore like you with no control," he said firmly.

The door slammed behind me.

Blood trailed down my nose, mixing with tears and the sting of old scars.

"I could have sworn with my life that Lizzy was my wine, not poison," with more tears pouring down.

How did it come to this?

How did they become the villains of my story with all the abundance of love I showed them?

But as I took the long walk of shame away from the house I once called home... something inside me changed forever.

Something dark.

Something unbreakable.

I turned back, bloodied and bruised, while I whispered to the wind - soft, but certain-

"This isn't how my story ends."