The house smelled of detergent and dust, yet it carried a weight far heavier than any aroma could hide. Bella froze in the doorway, and her chest tightened. She watched her mother fold clothes, humming and pretending everything was fine. The silence pressed into the room, suffocating her. Every movement her mother made felt like a deliberate mockery of Bella's pain.
"Bells," her mother said without looking up, her voice warm and smooth. "One week left. Only a week and you'll be back on campus. I'm going to miss you."
Bella's throat constricted. Miss her? The words cut deeper than any slap ever could. Her mother smiled as she spoke. The same smile she gave at church, to neighbors, to anyone except the person who needed her most.
Her voice trembled, sharp and bitter, before she even knew she was speaking.
"Miss me?"
Her mother paused, hands hovering over a folded shirt. "You'll miss me?"
Bella's laugh was harsh, almost a scream. "You preach purity. You tell me self-control. Every time I asked, 'Mom, how do you stay strong after Dad?' you waved it away—the grace of God, the grace of God. That's all you ever said. And now… of all people, you chose him. My boyfriend."
The room went still. The air split like glass. Her mother's eyes flicked up, wide and unreadable for a heartbeat, then hardened into a mask Bella knew too well.
Bella stepped forward, fists trembling at her sides. "Do you even know how much that hurts? Do you know what it feels like… to realize the man I loved, the one you shamed me for, was the same man you let tempt you?"
Her mother's lips parted. Nothing came out. The silence ignited Bella's fury.
"Wait. Is that why you hated him so much? Is that why you warned me, cursed him, and painted him as poison? Was it fear? Were you scared he'd tell me the truth? Were you scared your little secret would crawl out in the open? Is that why you tried to separate us? "
Her voice broke into a scream. "Answer me!"
The crack came before she even saw it. Her mother's hand lashed out, hot, hard, and stinging across Bella's cheek. The echo reverberated in the room like glass shattering.
Bella staggered. She pressed a trembling hand to her face, feeling the burn, the sting, and the betrayal.
"You don't talk to me like that," her mother snapped, voice quivering with fury and shame. "I am your mother! Who do you think you're talking to? Stop insulting me."
Bella's chest heaved, her sobs rising, but her anger swallowed them whole.
"Insulting you? I'm telling you the truth! " Bella hissed, raw, ragged. "Why can't you admit when you're wrong? For once… just once, say you're wrong! "
Her mother's jaw tightened, eyes blazing. "Don't you dare lecture me, Bella. You're still a child. You don't understand—"
"I understand enough!" Bella screamed. "You failed! You let your loneliness turn into betrayal, and you dragged me into your mess. You destroyed the one safe thing I had!"
Her hands shook as she grabbed clothes from the bed. She folded them with force. Tears ran down her cheeks. Mutters and curses escaped between shaky breaths. "Thank God it's only a week left," she whispered. "I can't breathe here. Jesus, I can't breathe… this house is poison. This truth is poison. And you—standing there like nothing's wrong."
Memories bled through her mind like open wounds. She remembered fifteen-year-old Bella. How she pleaded with her mother to stop sending late-night flirty messages. How she begged her mom to protect their father from the pain she was causing. The slap, the burning sting, the hallway echoing with her mother's fury. Bella pressed her palm to her ear, feeling blood and betrayal mingling.
And now—years later—it was happening again. Same hand. Same denial. Same silence.
Bella crumpled on the floor beside her half-packed suitcase. Her shoulders were shaking, sobs hot and ugly. "I can't live like this. I can't live with a mother who hurts me every time I speak. Who hides behind religion? Who slaps me instead of listening? Who steals from me and pretends she's holy."
Her phone slipped from the bed. Trembling, she grabbed it, dialing Chris without thinking.
"Bella?" His voice was low, urgent, and immediate.
She couldn't hold it. The sob burst through her throat. "She slapped me. Again. She won't admit it. She won't say she's wrong. Chris, I can't breathe. I can't stay here. I'm suffocating."
Chris cursed under his breath. "Damn it, Bella… This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I should've ended it. I should've never let it get this far."
"Forget it," she whispered, voice breaking. "I don't want to talk about her. I need you. Please… talk to me. Talk me to sleep."
Chris went quiet for a moment, feeling the weight of her words, hearing the tremor in her breath. "Bella… I wish I could be there. I hate that you're crying alone in that house. I'd tear down every wall if I could and hold you. Hold you until you forget everything she said, everything she did."
She didn't respond. His throat tightened. He pressed a hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry for not stopping it when I should have. I thought I could control it. I thought I was strong enough. But I wasn't. And now… you're paying the price. That's not fair. None of this is fair."
Her breaths began to steady, though the silence screamed louder than her tears. Chris clenched his jaw. "You don't deserve lies, pain, or betrayal. Not from me, not from her. You're the one thing in my life that feels pure. And I ruined it. I ruined us."
His voice cracked, raw and naked. "But please… don't let my mistakes bury what we have. Don't let her brokenness destroy you. If you have to hate me, fine. But never stop living. Don't stop breathing. You're too beautiful, too strong, too much of a light to let her darkness win."
She sucked in a shaky breath. "It's so hard," she whispered. "But… I'll try to be fine."
Chris pressed the phone tighter to his ear, his voice steadying, grounding her. "Breathe with me. Deep… hold… now let it out."
She obeyed, trembling, a small laugh escaping her lips—soft, like glass chimes. Chris froze, then grinned. "There it is. Bella… you know what that does to me? "
She laughed again, a little stronger. "You're ridiculous."
"Maybe," he said, voice velvet with heat. "But I'm ridiculous for you. Always have been."
Her chest rose and fell, and she curled deeper into the pillow. "Chris…"
"Yeah, baby?" he urged. "Say it again."
"Chris…" softer now, needing to lace the sound.
Chris closed his eyes, his body reacting to the way she breathed him in. "God, Bella, do you know how dangerous your voice is? Do you know what you're doing to me right now?"
She countered in a half-whisper, "You're the dangerous one."
He chuckled deep and low. "Insane for you. Always."
Her phone vibrated—Adrian was calling over and over. Bella ignored him at first, clinging to the last thread of composure Chris had helped her reclaim. But curiosity, habit, and unresolved tension pulled her toward answering.
"Bella," Adrian's voice slid through the speaker—smooth, soft, coaxing. "You sound… not okay. I can tell."
She hesitated. "I… I'm fine."
"Mm. That's a lie. Don't even try to deny it. I can hear it. I don't know what's happened, but I can hear the pain in your voice, Bella."
Something about his tone softened her defenses. She took a shaky breath, gripping the phone.
Adrian didn't immediately start drama. Instead, he guided her, playful yet protective:
"Hey… Please remember to breathe. I know you think the world's ending, but it's not. I'm not asking for your heart, not now. Allow me to be here, even a little."
Chris's texts poured in: apologies, love, and grounding words.
Adrian's messages were teasing and flirty, coaxing her heart. "I wish I could be there to make you laugh… to make you forget for five minutes that life is trying to break you."
She scrolled social media, laughing at memes, crying at nothing. Distracted. Torn between two men and their worlds.
Each notification pulled her in another direction, and she couldn't decide which hand to hold.
Adrian leaned close to the phone, whispering, knowing she was breaking:
"You're human, Bella. You're allowed to fall apart. But you're not alone. I see you, even if you think no one does."
Her defenses faltered. She realized she wasn't ready for full-blown chaos yet. Her heart raced, torn between two men, two kinds of love, and two different kinds of comfort.
Her phone vibrated again. Chris's latest text blinked on the screen. At the same time, Adrian's name lit up. Bella froze, chest heaving, tears and laughter mingling.
Her world pulled in two directions. And she didn't know which one she could reach for first.