I loved Hudson Farley for ten years.
At eighteen, Hudson sponsored my way through college. I gave him my first time.
At twenty, I hid in the crowd and watched Hudson and Aria Fox's engagement ceremony.
That night, Hudson climbed into my bed and held me from behind. "Thelma Pruitt, once I take control of the Farley family, I'll call off the engagement and marry you."
At twenty-three, I gave birth to twins and handed them over to Aria to raise.
The first time I heard my own children—the babies I'd carried for nine months—call Aria "Mama," I cried the entire night.
At twenty-eight, Aria killed someone in a hit-and-run.
Hudson came to me, his expression strained. "Thelma, Colton and Willa can't grow up without a mother."
"Aria's already agreed. You take her place in prison, and she'll annul the marriage."
"The kids and I will be waiting for you when you get out."
I stared at the man I'd loved for a decade and realized, with a jolt of clarity, that this was the closest Hudson Farley had ever come to making me a promise.
I nodded. Said one word.
"Okay."
...
"Tomorrow I'll drive you to turn yourself in. Don't worry, I've already taken care of everything."
Hudson exhaled with visible relief, stood, and hurried toward the door.
"Colton's been fussing for his mom and dad to eat dinner with him. I need to get back."
"Thelma, I love you."
I sat where I was, watching his retreating figure until it disappeared, and sank into thought.
I'd walked out of a small mountain town on my own. Earned my way into Weston University on merit alone.
I was supposed to have a bright future. Instead, I'd become Hudson Farley's caged bird.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in years.
"That promise you made ten years ago—does it still stand?"
"Of course."
A deep voice came through the line. "Three days from now, no matter where you are, I'll come for you."
After I hung up, my first instinct was to pack.
But then it hit me: I was about to go to prison. What was there to pack?
I sat motionless on the couch all night. When dawn came, I picked up a pair of scissors and cut my waist-length hair short.
Hudson had once mentioned, offhand, that he loved my long hair. So I'd kept it that way for ten years.
Now, that love fell away with every strand.
The sun had barely risen when Hudson pulled up in his car.
His gaze swept over my cropped hair, and shock flickered across his face. "Thelma, your hair..."
He knew how much I treasured it. How much time and care I'd poured into it. How I used to wince over a single lost strand.
"It'll be easier to manage in there."
I looked up with an awkward smile, then turned to stare out the window.
The black Maybach sped down the highway and pulled up in front of the detention center.
"Thelma, it's only three years."
"I swear, the day you walk out, the kids and I will be right here waiting."
I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing at all.
Hudson didn't notice. He kept talking, laying out his plans for three years from now.
Three years. I'd already wasted ten on Hudson Farley.
Was I really going to waste three more?
I changed into the orange jumpsuit and walked through the prison gates.
A guard assigned me to a ten-person cell, impatience flashing in her eyes.
"Move it!"
"Keep your head down and behave yourself!"
She shoved me hard. I stumbled and hit the concrete floor.
A sharp hiss escaped my lips, but before I could even cry out, fists rained down on me from every direction.
"So this is the one the boss told us to give a warm welcome."
The women exchanged a look, and the blows came harder.
All I could do was curl into the corner and shield my head with both arms.
