Breaking Free from Possession

Dawn broke gray and merciless over the Hamilton estate, its pale light filtering through the curtains of the servants' quarters where I'd spent the night curled on a narrow cot. My body ached from last night's humiliation, my palms still raw from crawling across that marble floor. But as I heard footsteps approaching, I knew my torment was far from over.

"Get up." Rosalie's voice cut through the morning stillness like a whip crack. She stood in the doorway, already dressed in a pristine white robe, her hair perfectly coiffed despite the early hour. Behind her, two burly men in dark suits waited with the patience of trained attack dogs.

I struggled to my feet, my legs unsteady. "What do you want now?"

"There's something that needs attending to before my wedding." Her smile was arctic. "Follow me."

She led me through the mansion's corridors, past oil paintings of Hamilton ancestors who seemed to sneer down at me from their gilded frames. We emerged into the back garden, where the morning air carried the scent of roses and fresh earth. My heart clenched as I recognized where she was taking me.

The small memorial garden I'd created for my parents sat in a quiet corner behind Gideon's mansion. It wasn't much—just a patch of carefully tended soil with two white stones I'd placed there, surrounded by the forget-me-nots I'd planted with my own hands. It was the only place I could go to feel close to them after their ashes had been scattered.

"This eyesore has to go," Rosalie announced, gesturing dismissively at my sacred space. One of her bodyguards stepped forward, holding a shovel that gleamed wickedly in the morning light.

"No." The word escaped me as a strangled whisper. "Please, not this. It's all I have left of them."

"My precious Princess died yesterday," she continued, as if I hadn't spoken. "Such a beautiful poodle deserves a proper burial. And this spot has the most lovely morning light." She paused, savoring my horror. "Nobodies like your parents don't deserve such a beautiful resting place compared to my darling."

The shovel was thrust into my trembling hands. The metal felt cold and heavy, like an executioner's axe.

"Dig," she commanded.

My knees buckled. "I can't. Please, I'm begging you—"

"You can and you will. Unless you'd prefer I have my men do it while you watch? I promise they won't be nearly as careful with your little shrine."

With shaking hands, I pressed the shovel into the earth. Each scoop felt like I was burying my parents all over again, destroying the only sanctuary I'd managed to build in this nightmare. The forget-me-nots came up in clumps, their delicate blue petals scattered like tears across the dark soil.

"Faster," Rosalie snapped. "The wedding preparations won't wait for your melodrama."

Tears streamed down my face as I worked, my vision blurring until I could barely see. The white stones that had marked my parents' memorial disappeared into the growing pile of displaced earth. Everything I'd built to honor their memory was being erased, replaced by a grave for a pampered pet.

When I finally collapsed, sobbing over the ruined garden, Rosalie's patience evaporated.

"How dare you," she hissed. "How dare you make this about yourself on my wedding day?"

Her bodyguards seized my arms, dragging me across the lawn to the mansion's stone courtyard. The gravel bit into my knees as they forced me down, the sharp stones cutting through my thin dress.

"You selfish little creature," Rosalie snarled, circling me like a vulture. "Disturbing my wedding preparations with your pathetic emotional outburst. Is this how you planned to seduce Gideon one last time? By crying and playing the victim?"

The first slap came without warning, snapping my head to the side. The second followed immediately, then a third. Each blow sent lightning through my skull, but I bit my tongue to keep from crying out.

"Apologize," she demanded, her hand raised for another strike. "Apologize for your selfishness. For trying to manipulate my fiancé with your crocodile tears."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, tasting blood.

"Louder!"

"I'm sorry!" The words tore from my throat.

But even that wasn't enough. Rosalie's eyes glittered with a madness that terrified me as she reached into her robe pocket, withdrawing something that caught the morning light like captured fire. Her engagement ring—a massive emerald surrounded by diamonds, easily the size of a small stone.

"You know what I think?" she mused, holding the ring up to the light. "I think you need to learn what it means to truly swallow your pride."

Horror flooded through me as I understood her intention. "No, please—"

"Open your mouth," she commanded, her voice deadly quiet. "Swallow it. All of it. And if you dare seek medical attention before my wedding ceremony is complete, I'll make sure you never see another sunrise."

The bodyguards forced my jaw open as Rosalie pressed the massive ring toward my lips, her smile promising nothing but pain.