Faith Frazier POV:
Dale's breath hitched. His body stiffened, then slowly, agonizingly, he turned. The charred remnants of his "proof of love" lay scattered in the fireplace. Three years of his sacrifice, his devotion, reduced to ash. All his hesitation, his guilt, his remorse – they vanished in an instant, replaced by a towering inferno of rage.
His mind reeled. He remembered the lonely nights he had spent collecting those tickets, each one a desperate attempt to bridge the distance between us, a symbol of his unwavering commitment. They were his lifeline, his connection to me. Now, they were meaningless, a pile of worthless garbage.
"Did you do this, Faith?" His voice was unnervingly calm, a terrifying prelude to the storm brewing within him. His sanity snapped. A dark, primal fury radiated from him.
"Yes," I replied, my voice steady, betraying none of the turmoil raging inside me. "I did."
"Why?!" he roared, his voice cracking with disbelief.
"Why?" I echoed, a bitter laugh bubbling in my throat. I watched his face contort with pain, a cruel satisfaction twisting in my gut. "Don't you dare pretend you're surprised, Dale. You think I' m blind? You don't love me anymore. Why would I keep something that reminds me of your lies? It makes me sick." I bit down on the inside of my cheek, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. "It makes me utterly disgusted."
His chest heaved. He grabbed a chair, swinging it wildly, smashing it against the glass cabinet. Shards of glass rained down, a deafening crash echoing through the room. "You selfish bitch!" he screamed, his face contorted with rage, veins throbbing at his temples. "You're spoiled, Faith! I'll show you what real disgust feels like!"
He waved his hand, and two burly housekeepers rushed forward, grabbing me by the arms. "What are you doing?!" I shrieked, struggling against their grasp. "How dare you!"
His back was to me, a wall of cold indifference. One of the housekeepers, a woman I had trusted, slapped me across the face. "Jetta's the real mistress now, you hear?" she hissed, her eyes gleaming with malice. She pulled out a small pink pill, forcing my jaw open and shoving it down my throat.
I choked, coughing violently. "What was that?!" I gasped, my throat burning.
"Something special from Jetta," she sneered, forcing me to swallow.
The basement door slammed shut, plunging me into suffocating darkness. The scuttling of rats, the skittering of insects, the faint cries of unseen creatures – they filled the blackness. But I was beyond fear. All I felt was a crushing weariness.
My skin began to itch, an unbearable agony. Red, swollen welts bloomed across my body. I writhed on the cold concrete floor, scratching myself until I bled, the itching so intense it made me scream. Then came the burning, an inferno consuming my skin, followed by a suffocating tightness in my chest. My lungs burned, air refusing to enter. I fumbled for my phone, my hands shaking, cold sweat plastering my hair to my forehead.
I tried to call for help, but there was no signal. Only a cold, metallic echo.
Finally, a connection. Dale's voice, cold and distant, came through the phone. "Apologize, Faith," he said, his voice flat. "Then I'll let you out."
"Jetta… she drugged me," I gasped, my voice barely a whisper, my body convulsing with pain.
"Don't you dare accuse her," he retorted, his voice devoid of emotion. "She's innocent."
Then the line went dead. Just before the call ended, I heard Jetta's soft, sugary voice in the background, a chilling counterpoint to my suffering. My hand went limp, the phone clattering to the floor. Darkness consumed me.
Flashes of memory assaulted me: Dale, his face etched with worry, cradling me in his arms, promising to never let me hurt again. "I'll never let you feel pain, Faith," he had whispered, his lips pressed against my forehead.
A single tear rolled down my cheek as I closed my eyes, the bitter irony of his words a final, crushing blow.
