Branches On Both Hands

Elysia lived in the shadow of a noble name, her once bright future now tarnished by the harsh hand of her husband, Dominic. For eight years, she endured a life of quiet suffering. But then came Enoch, a man whose words cut through the murk of her existence like a blade. His touch, firm and unexpected, stirred something in her.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I end up embracing you,” he said, his voice a low, dark promise. “Will you allow me to seduce you? It would very much please me.”

In the midst of her desolation, Elysia found a glimmer of something she had forgotten. Her world seemed to spin when she met Killian, a man who saw beyond her bruises. “The trade is equivalent to an exchange,” she said, her voice a whisper.

Killian, with a gaze that could see through lies, offered her a choice.

“Then take out what you have. I don’t know what it is, but it should be attractive enough. I don’t like cheap deals.”

Elysia, in her pain, shed her past like an old coat.

Killian’s eyes softened as he looked at her, his voice barely a murmur. “Do I look that frightening to you that I would not hold a battered woman? You’re beautiful, you know. Cherish yourself more. It is what you deserve. It is what you are owed.”