HAPTER 052

OLIVIA’S POV

The bright room light above me was the first thing I noticed as I slowly opened my

eyes.

Then a few secondster the pain kicked in, my head was aching, my whole body was full of bruises and it hurt a lot.

Still, I managed to sit up, I was back in the bedroom. Thest ce I remembered was the basement.

I turned around to see Adrian seated on the chair, his head tilted slightly forward, eyes. closed. He was asleep. His presence alone made my stomach twist. I swallowed hard and slowly lifted my arms, inspecting them in the soft glow of the bedsidemp.

Belt marks.

Dark, angry welts covered my skin, crisscrossing over my arms like a cruel reminder ofst night. I winced as my fingers barely brushed against one of the swollen marks. The pain was still fresh, burning, and unforgiving.

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach. A strange feeling settled in my chest, and my thoughts drifted back to yesterday.

must have passed out yesterday when we were in the basement, but that’s not what disturbed me the most before I passed out I could feel the room spinning, my ears were ringing and I couldn’t feel the pain from the belt anyone, it was like my whole body went numb before I passed out. This leads me to another question…

Why did I pass out, it couldn’t be because Adrian was hitting me with the belt, it started at the party, after I took the ss of champagne I started feeling dizzy but I ignored it,

The question nagged at me. I had been feeling off for weeks–waves of nausea, unexined dizziness, sudden fatigue, and let’s not forget how hungry I’d been. I had ignored the signs, brushing them off as stress, but now…

Now, I couldn’t ignore them any longer.

A deep sense of unease settled over me. I needed to go to the hospital and see a doctor, both to check my bruises and what had been wrong with me for a while. No more excuses. I had to know if something was wrong with me.

A soft vibration against the mattress drew my attention. My phone.

I turned carefully, trying not to make tooth as I reached for it. The screen lit up with several unread messages. My chest tightened as I saw the name shing on the screen.

Julian.

b18 /b

I hesitated, biting my lip. My thumb hovered over the screen, my mind battling against itself. I wanted to tell hi

I wanted to let him know what Adrian had done to me. But would it even make a difference? Would telling Julian change anything?

I inhaled shakily, my heart pounding in my ears. Adrian had be unpredictable, more dangerous than ever. Everyday felt like walking on thin ice, never knowing when

it would crack beneath my feet.

I opened the messages.

Julian: Hey, are you okay?

Julian: I haven’t heard from you since yesterday. Call me when you can.

Julian: Olivia, please answer me. I’m worried.

My fingers trembled as I typed a

“I’m fine.”

d a reply.

It was a lie, but I didn’t know what else t

It was a lie, but I didn’t know what else to say. What could he even do? I knew if Julian

wouldn’t

found out what happened. dn’t sit back and do nothing. And that terrified ollime. If he confronted Adrian, it wouldn’t end well. /li/ol

I pressed send before I could overthink bit /band locked my phoneb, /bclutching it tightly in my hands.

A soft groan came from the chair. I stiffened, turning my head slightly. Adrian stirred, shifting in his seat before his eyes fluttered open. For a brief moment, there was something almost human in his gaze–concern, maybe. But it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

He ran a hand through his hair and sat up straighter, his sharp eyes locking onto mine.” You’re awake.”

I nodded, unsure of what to say.

His gaze flickered to my arms, where the belt marks were still visible. For a second, I thought I saw guilt sh across his face, but I knew better than to believe it. Adrian didn’t regret things. He never did.

“You fainted yesterday,” he said, his tone neutral. “The doctor said it might have been. exhaustion.”

Exhaustion? He called the doctor yesterday? So if the doctor said it was due to stress was there any need for me to still go ito /ithe hospital?

Something wasn’t right, a doctor came here yesterday and he didn’t bother to get any treatment for my bruises? Was Adrian lying?

Well if you’d look at it from my perspective he wouldn’t want to look like a kidnapper or an abusive husband in front of any doctor so that must be why he didn’t call for medical care.

He then had to lie, he didn’t want me to know, I hoped it wouldn’t be a problem when bI /b

told him I was going to the hospital.

My grip on my phone tightened, but I forced myself to stay calm. I couldn’t afford to set him off again.

“I need to go out today,” I said quietly. “I need to get some painkillers and some other things from the nearby pharmacy.” Yeah, I had to tell him it was a pharmacy and not the hospital.

His brows furrowed slightly. “pharmacy?”

“Yes.”

A long silence stretched between us. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he simply nodded. “Fine. But take the driver.”

I swallowed hard and nodded. There was no point in refusing. He wasn’t going to let me go anywhere alone.

He stood up, stretching his arms before ncing at the time. “I have to head to work. Stay home after your appointment.”

I nodded again, my stomach twisting with unease.

He walked toward the door, stopping briefly before looking back at me. His expression was unreadable. “Rest. You need it.”

With that, he walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

As soon as the door clicked shut, I let out a shaky breath. My fingers brushed against my bruised arms once more, and I felt the sting all over again. But the pain in my body wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was knowing that this wasn’t over.

I nced down at my stomach, a sinking feeling settling deep inside me. I had to find out what was really wrong with me.

Subsorbed