Chapter 45

• Alexis
• Valen’s little hands gripped my leg as he looked up, worry etched across his innocent face. “Daddy, why are you making Mommy cry?”
• I couldn’t bear to meet his eyes. My lips quivered, holding back sobs so fierce that I tasted the faint tang of blood from biting down. I wanted so badly to shield him from this nightmare, to keep him from seeing the ugly truth of his ‘father’s’ cruelty. But the pain ran deep, and my tears betrayed me, falling in streams I couldn’t control.