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THE PAIN CUT INTO HER WRISTS, AND SHE COULDN’T REACT BECAUSE her hands were tied so tightly behind her back. Terrified, she turned her face toward him. The blow struck so hard that it hammered her head down into the bedding, rebounding back up for the next blow. She opened her mouth to scream; but before the sound could come out, her mouth was blocked by something hard. The duct tape he stuck over her mouth made her feel like she was wearing a mask.

The candles were still lit in the living room. The bottle of wine and the glasses were sitting on the coffee table. Blood trickled down along her nose as she stared at the glow from the candlelight, her head turned to the side, and she thought about the restaurant and their three-course meal just a few hours before.

He had ordered calvados to go with their coffee, without asking her if she liked it, so she hadn’t needed to admit that she didn’t know what it was. They held hands over the table.

Pain shot through her as he cinched her ankles together tightly. Something hard chewed into the flesh right above her ankle bone.

Later they had danced in the living room. Very close. He had held her face in both his hands and kissed her.

Dear God in heaven, help me!

The blood kept flowing, and she struggled to get the air in through her nose. She concentrated on her aim as she lifted her bound legs and tried to kick him off the edge of the bed. He was sitting with his back to her but managed to turn around and parry her feet. Another blow from his fist bruised her cheek and temple.

“Lie still now and nothing will happen.”

He held on to her firmly and angrily shoved her bound legs to the side.

His clothes were on the chair next to the wardrobe. Her own lay in a messy heap on the floor by the end of the bed. Piece by piece, he had asked her to undress slowly.

The left side of her face throbbed. The quiet music played on in the living room. Her fear felt like an iron grip around her gut.

She cried from pain and shame. Buried her face and body down into the soft comforter and wished it would swallow her up. Her tears mixed with the blood as he pulled her out over the edge of the bed so that only her upper body was resting on the mattress. The world and reality exploded as he shoved himself into her with a violent thrust.

The tightly adhering tape held her scream back. She fought to keep her nose free of the bed and struggled to inhale calmly, but she kept getting thrown out of rhythm by the pain, which threatened to destroy her. Her body began to relax, as a fog slowly shrouded the pain and she lost consciousness.