A loophole

For as long as you love me, I promise to be with you.

 

That was the vow Maya had given Kel, a binding oath that had tied her to him like a steel cable, so that he could drag her round like a dog on a leash. It was this vow that had been forcefully repeated at the wedding, although Maya didn’t remember much of the event. Brilliant gowns in obnoxious colours, fakery and false smiles mixed in with a heavy misery, hidden in the depths of the enormous golden dress, which she refused to acknowledge as her own, as she danced with Kel in front of the audience. Her only clear memory, alive with anger, was, halfway through the gracious show, his grip becoming tighter, imprisoning her in his arms and his lips; soft and gorgeous and absolutely disgusting, crushing against her own. She’d had to hold back a snarl and a want to bite his nasty, probing tongue right off, while the watchers had sighed and appraised, as false and as phony as the wedding itself.

 

After that, it all became a blur. Receding from the ballroom. The bedroom doors opening. Closing. Locking. Tugging and pulling, rough hands everywhere. Not pleasurable, like it’s supposed to be, just dirty. The sort of dirt you couldn’t wash off, no matter how extravagant the bath. Of course, drowning was also an option, but Kel had ordered a maid to be in there, watching, at all times.

 

The people weren’t cruel to her; however, they didn’t treat her with respect. If she made a comment she was often spoken over by Kel or patronised, as though she were a little mouse that had learnt a clever new trick, so, soon after she arrived, she gave up talking unless she was directly spoken to.

 

Living this life �" whispering endearments while hating the empowering listener, putting on smiles while dying inside �" made her hollow, empty. Almost like a shell; charming and pretty on the outside, but vacant and not really alive. And so the weeks passed like days and soon it was midwinter.

 

Maya would’ve given up on life already, were it not for the little ember still burning in her soul, keeping out the threatening cold by a mere fraction, just enough to stop her from completely freezing. This tiny fire was hope.

 

Kel thought he had her trapped. He thought that he’d enclosed her in an inescapable snare and built high walls around her. Strong walls, impenetrable walls, thinking it was enough to keep her in.

 

He was wrong.

 

While he had bricked up the door, she had carved herself a window. A loophole.

 

For as long as you love me.

 

He had never loved her.

Author's Note

Not the most charming part, I know...