---- "Rebecca! You haven't even apologized for bumping into me, and now you have the nerve to marry into my life!" he snarled. "You wish I were dead? Just wait and see how I'll 'take care! of you from now on." I gasped for air, my struggles futile. I wanted to scream that it was not me who had crashed into him, but it would not matter. Thomas never believed a word I said. He was convinced I was the one responsible for his car accident, and that belief turned our marriage into a living hell. Five years of love, five miscarriages, and endless heartache from the women he paraded before me. I was exhausted, drained of the will to fight any longer. Tracy had been keeping an eye on me for five years, witnessing the scars that marred my body and soul. Then, she finally saw the truth. " Rebecca, I know all the terrible things Thomas has ---- done to you. He's not worth it. "If you want to leave, I'll help you. It's my fault you're in this mess... you should never have had to endure this," she said through tears. Her words made me cry silently. After the call, I wasted no time in booking a flight abroad for the following week. It felt like years of tension melted away in that moment. However, then, Thomas's call interrupted my brief respite. "Rebecca, get to Chloe's dance party immediately. I'm texting you the address. There's something I need you to do." I quickly got dressed and hailed a cab. I figured I might as well play along one last time before I left. At the venue, Chloe was in the makeup room, her skilled hands crafting a flawless look. She was a ballet dancer, her makeup as perfect as her pirouettes, a sharp contrast to my worn-out, ---- pale reflection in the mirror. She pursed her lips, tugging at Thomas's shoulder. "Thomas, Rebecca's still limping. Isn't it a bit much to make her come all this way?" "Don't worry about her," he said witha dismissive wave. ''She's as tough as they come- she once carried a sack of sand as heavy as a full- grown person." After high school, to scrape together my college tuition, I actually hauled sandbags for a month. "Wow, Rebecca must be pretty strong." Thomas caressed Chloe's hair with a tenderness that did not reach his eyes as he turned to me." Chloe hurt her ankle in her last performance. Today, you're taking her place." Slipping into the ballet dress I had not worn in ages, the white fabric hugged my body, a ghost of the past. I remembered how I had learned that ---- Thomas liked girls who danced ballet. I practiced until I fell over and over, all to master the dance that might catch his eye. leven dressed to his tastes, all for that chance to make him fall for me the moment we met.