I stood rooted to the spot, the stench of urine filling my nostrils, completely at a loss.
"Little slut, so you went and snitched, huh?"
The ringleader strolled over with her nose pinched shut and flung a basin of cold water over me.
"What did I tell you? You just let my words go in one ear and out the other, is that it?"
She grabbed me by the hair and kicked me into the bathroom.
My prison uniform was ripped off, and needles began piercing my skin, one after another.
"Ahhh—!"
A bone-deep pain ripped through me. I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted blood.
The cold needle traced across my skin, and I never knew when the next stab would come.
Through the haze of agony, my mind drifted back to the moment I'd just seen Colton.
When I gave birth, Hudson was away on a business trip.
During my postpartum recovery, Hudson was with Aria, hosting a one-month celebration for the children.
When I wanted to see my babies, Hudson only ever had one answer: "They're too young. It's not convenient."
So I waited. And waited. Until Colton and Willa started calling Aria "Mommy."
"Check it out! Look at the tattoo I gave this whore. Not bad, right?"
A violent surge of pain tore me out of my memories.
A crowd had gathered around me, staring down at the tattoos scrawled across my body.
Someone read the words aloud, one by one.
"Whore."
"Slut."
Every filthy word forced my eyes shut in anguish. If only this were a dream.
If I could just wake up, I'd still be that girl from the mountains.
I would never have met Hudson. Never would have willingly given him two children.
The next day.
The same routine.
I was dolled up like a ragdoll. Someone even smeared lipstick on my mouth.
Only after they made sure none of my injuries were visible was I taken to the visitation room.
Willa Acevedo stood timidly behind Hudson in a pink dress, peeking out at me from behind him.
"Daddy, is this the bad woman that brother was talking about?"
"Is she going to take you away?"
Those innocent words drove another knife straight through my heart.
I fumbled for the phone receiver, desperate to explain something, anything. But I didn't notice Hudson's gaze locked on my reddened lips.
"Willa, sweetie, go wait outside."
Hudson coaxed his daughter out of the visitation room, then turned back to me, his face dark as thunder. He slapped a stack of photographs down in front of me.
"Thelma, I really underestimated you."
"Are you that desperate? Even in prison you have to paint yourself up. How many men are you planning to find to satisfy yourself?"
"The privileges I arranged for you weren't so you could make a fool out of me!"
My mind went blank for a split second, and then I was shaking my head frantically. "No, I didn't! I would never!"
Hudson snatched the photos back up and pressed them against the glass in front of my face. "Then how do you explain these?"
"Thelma, you've really outdone yourself!"
I clenched my fists, looked over in a panic, and realized they were doctored photos.
Me, tangled up with several different men.
Legs intertwined. Lips pressed together. Explicit. Graphic.
Almost instantly, nausea surged from the pit of my stomach.
I dry-heaved, but no words came. I didn't know how to explain.
"I... I didn't..."
The wounds on my body began throbbing again.
I pressed myself against the glass partition, desperate for Hudson to believe me.
But in the end, the man left me with only two sentences.
"I'm never bringing the children to see you again."
"I'm afraid that with your blood running through their veins, they'll turn out just as worthless as you."
No. That wasn't how it was.
I screamed Hudson's name, trying to explain, begging him to tell Colton and Willa.
