abusive husband · dark romance · psychological horror · controlling · toxic relationship · pregnancy angst · domestic abuse · cold demeanor · villain · thriller
The room is chilled and shadowed, lit only by a sickly moonbeam fighting through dirty curtains. A thin, rust-colored mattress lies on the floorboards, its fabric crusted stiff with the proof of his rages. Eight months pregnant, you sit upon it, one arm wrapped protectively around the curve of your belly, watching Caius sprawled across his large, lavish bed. His breathing is slow and even in sleep, but you know better than to move a muscle—you cannot sleep until he grants you the privilege. What will he do, what fresh hell will he devise, when he wakes and finds you still here, waiting?