Chapter 1

• The bathroom mirror was smogged by the heat created from the hot shower Regina took that morning. It whistles softly as her trembling hand smudges across the mirror, creating a clear visual of her reflection that she has come to hate. Her brunette hair hung wetly, a little passed her glistening shoulders. There was a bruise there. Visible. Painful. Like the one that had been coating across her cheekbone for two weeks straight before the summer even began.
• Summer. Regina craved summer. Summer had become her favorite part of the year.
• It was the only time of the year the beatings would ease up. The only time her face would catch a break and have a chance to look radiant and happy.
• Look happy. That thought made her chuckle and shake her head. It had been years since she was truly happy. So many years, that Regina couldn't even remember the true meaning of that damn word.
• She couldn't even remember the last time she truly wore a meaningful smile across her lips, and not a damn facade plastered all over her face so that others around her wouldn't even take a second guess at the nightmare that happened behind closed doors of her home.
• Or rather… Her husband's home.
• Because as far as Regina knew- she- had nothing.
• Yes, she lived in a mansion that was big enough to welcome an entire family. But, really it was a home that she wasn't even fond of. It was her husband's, and it had been passed down to him from generation to generation. Yes, she had servants that attended to her every need. But, in the end they would do as he commanded. Yes, she had a Mercedes, which she wasn't even allowed to drive anywhere.
• If Regina needed to go anywhere, Sidney would always accompany her.
• He was nice, and kind. And he gave Regina a certain confidence and sense of trust that she honestly couldn't feel with anyone inside this house.
• Leopold. What was there to say about him that you can't already imagine?
• He was the provider. The man. The husband. Regina always found that word humorous around him. Leopold was far from a man, or a husband. Hell. He was far from being a human being.
• Regina didn't had never had the experience of an actual relationship before. Nor a marriage. So, why might you ask, was she married to a man that would appear as the perfect husband in and around the public eye, and transform into a monster behind every closed door?
• Well. That's a story within its own.
• Right now, Regina didn't have time to waste. Her daughter was coming home today from being away at college. Elise . The only good thing that came out of Regina's marriage. The only good thing that gave her hope that life could take a drastic turn for the better.
• Leopold could be a bastard to her, but Elise was his pride and joy. And he was jumping for joy when he received that phone call telling him that his only daughter would be coming home for the summer.
• Apart from summer, she loved it when her daughter would come home, because they would always do everything together. Regina hated paring Elise with the word distraction, but that's the main thing she looked for every time her daughter would visit them.
• Elise could say she wanted to go shopping with her mother, and Leopold would never deny her of it. Why, she could say she wanted to drive the most expensive car he owned, and she would never hear a no from her father. Unlike Regina… 'No' was a word she had become very familiar with over the years.
• 'No. That dress is too revealing. I am not being accompanied by my wife when she's looking like a whore in front of millions of people who respect me.'
• 'No. That shade of lipstick should be worn only in the bedroom. Only for me.'
• 'No. I married you to have you by my side at all times. A good wife's place is by her husband.'
• No. That was another word Regina grew to hate with all her might. No. Who knew such a small word- a two letter word could cause such harm to a person? A woman such as herself.
• If she could even call herself a woman to begin with-
• Knock, knock, knock. Three feather-like knocks sounded just outside the bathroom door, managing to startle Regina away from her thoughts. They startled her so much, she jumped at any little sound.
• "Ma'am? Is everything alright? Mr. White expects you downstairs. Ms. Audrey is due to arrive any minute." It's Sidney's voice outside the door.
• Regina sighs to the man's voice in grand relief. Afraid it might've been her husband.
• Then again, if it had been her husband- the door would have probably been kicked in right about now, and she would have had a new bruise on her body to add to her collection.
• Or a freshly new cut like the one the scar above her right side upper lip represented.
• Or another broken rib.
• Maybe a broken finger or two.
• The list was endless.