He didn’t ask, just threw her onto the bed, grabbing at her singlet strap, ripping it free so her bra was visible.

‘Show me what you got, Ness,’ he said, eyes bulging, mouth snarling. He was like some rabid dog intent on claiming his kill.

She rolled over on the bed, reached for the lamp, pulled it free from the wall and held it in front of her like a weapon. ‘Come near me and I’ll bash your fucking brains in.’

She thought it would be enough to frighten him, but he lunged at her. She swung the lamp toward him. It connected with his arm, not his head as she had planned. China rained down on them both as the lamp base shattered. He slapped her face then put a hand over her mouth, cutting off her cry for help. He fumbled one-handed with his pants while she tried to struggle free.

She kept fighting, so he punched her in the stomach, the air whooshing from her lungs, leaving her breathless and gagging. Her head was throbbing from the slap, her lungs gasping for air. She felt him moving inside her. It hurt as he thrust into her, his hand over her mouth. The attack seemed to stretch on and on, but eventually he was done. He stood, pulled up his pants and without saying a word, left the room. Vanessa was too stunned to cry. She didn’t move for the longest time. Not until she heard Wren fussing in the next room. Finally, she rolled off the bed and changed her clothes.

Two months later, Vanessa discovered she was pregnant.

It was a bittersweet moment. She was ecstatic to be having another baby as she loved motherhood, but at the same time, she was petrified. She wondered how the hell she was going to protect two kids from Mark. One was hard enough.

When she told her mom she was pregnant again, she cried, hot tears sprinkling her face. Her mom dried her tears and asked the question that Vanessa had been asking herself.

‘Are you going to keep it?’

Was she? Could she?

‘I’m just saying. Two is… much harder than one,’ her mom said diplomatically. ‘Then there’s… Mark.’

Vanessa knew what she meant. Her mom had borne witness to the late-night visits, the cuts and bruises that she had stopped trying to explain. It was a small town, hard to hide secrets; she wore makeup, but people knew. She was sure of it. They treated her differently, like she was damaged goods.

Wasn’t she? Hadn’t she always been?

Vanessa was basically dead inside, except when she was with Wren. A smile from him could make her day. A laugh like golden sunshine warming her face. What if her mom was right? What if it was better to fix the problem before Mark even knew about it?

In the end, Vanessa decided that she couldn’t just get rid of it, so she told Mark.