Page 40 of Blissful Devotion

Years?

Can I possibly last that long?

And what about our baby? I can’t possibly subject them to him, but what else am I to do?

Desperation eats at me, and I know I should get up, but I don’t.

What’s the point when he sees right through me...

As if the thought conjures him, the door opens, and I hear his expensive dress shoes click on the hardwood floor.

“Love.” His nickname usually grates on my nerves, but today I’m too tired to care. I don’t miss the disapproval in his tone, though, and I can only assume it’s because I refused his ‘invitation’ to join him for breakfast this morning.

His shoes click along the floor again as he moves further into the room toward the bed.

I should move; being in the bed leaves me vulnerable and feels far too intimate.

Yet, even as I urge myself to do so, I can’t seem to scrape up the energy to actually do it.

“Katherine.” His tone is harsher as he stands beside the bed, but still I can’t be bothered to move.

His hand curled around my shoulder, rolling me onto my back so that I’m looking up at him.

I watch as his jaw ticks and his eyes look me over.

I’m not sure what he sees, but whatever it is, he doesn’t like it. His fingers dig into my shoulder for a moment before he pulls away with a huff and leaves.

I don’t even know if he locked it, but I don’t bother checking; instead, I let myself fall back to sleep now that I’m alone again.

I’m not sure how long I slept when the sound of voices pulls me from a dream I can’t remember, but I still feel the loss of it.

Whatever it was, I know it was better than this living nightmare.

“She’s not eating enough, and she needs to be taking prenatal vitamins. Get her out in the sun more. That will help, too. Pregnancy is hard on the body. Not everyone can handle it.”

“Are you implying my wife is weak?”

Empty stomach or not, hearing him call me that makes me feel like I just swallowed a lead weight.

I push past the feeling and the exhaustion and force my eyes open.

This is the first time since I came upstairs that I’ve seen someone who isn’t Lorenzo or Sofía; this might be my chance.

If I could just get him to call them, or the police, something…anything.

“No, sir, of course not,” the doctor scrambles to reassure him. It’s impossible to miss the way his voice trembles, and my hopes shatter with it.

“Katherine, you're awake.” I turn my attention to Lorenzo and see what appears to be genuine relief on his face.

“I brought you soup, and the doctor has looked at you.” He quickly reaches for a bowl beside the bed on the small table, and my stomach grumbles as I breathe in the smell.

It smells delicious.

I want to refuse it, but it’s the first thing that’s sounded good in days, and I fear if I don’t get something in my stomach soon, I’ll be putting more than just myself in danger.

Taking the bowl, I try a small bite and nearly moan when the flavor explodes on my tongue, and that’s all I need.

The soup is gone faster than I thought possible, and I debate asking for a second bowl. Before I can, Lorenzo is beside me again, this time with a cup of ice-cold water in one hand and…