I could still feel his touch on my skin.

The way his rough hand left behind scratches as he trails his hand up and down my arm.

I wanted to push him away and jump into a pool of water to wash away the sins of his hand. I didn't want him to touch me. Not like that. All I could feel in the bile rising in my throat as he continued his assault on my body.

I remember it so clearly.

How his breath burned my neck, sending a feeling of desperation down my body. Desperation to get away from him and into the arms of who would always protect me no matter what.

But I had been frozen in place. The only thing that showed any reaction was the tear that slipped down my cheek.

He tugged my shirt down and whispered in my ear. "No one can ever replace what we have. You are mine and I am yours."

I remembered how I beg him. I remembered the exact words. "Please don't do this to me. I beg you. Let me go."

A force slammed itself into my body and I found myself hitting the cold ground. I looked up, the tears falling down faster than before.

"Don't you ever beg me to let you go. You are mine."

He took off his clothes and that was the end of it.

He kept me with him until he felt like it was safe enough to let me go. He got what he wanted from me.

He made me feel disgust in myself. He made me detest the touch of any man on my body. He ruined my body, mind, and soul.

They told me that I will get better. Everyone tells me the same thing. Everyone has the same pitiful look in their eyes when they looked at me. Everyone kept reassuring me that everything will be okay.

But I know, nothing will be okay anymore.

~Isabella Valldarri.

.

.

.

I stared at the blank white wall, feeling the familiar feeling of emptiness inside of me.

The feeling that made its home in my mind, refusing to ever leave me. Taking over my life with it's blank thoughts and expressions, I continue to sit day in and out, never leaving the confines of this room.

My husband does not hold me anymore. He, like I, could not bare the sight of my own skin. The skin that has been tarnished by the man who took every single ounce of happiness away from me. Antonio can't even look at me without crying.

I wanted to cry along with him. I wanted to mourn the loss of our lives but I couldn't. No matter how much I try to feel, I couldn't.

I know he blames himself for not protecting me. I see the look in his eyes.

He looks defeated.

Just like I was.

~Isabella Valldarri

.

.

.

He's in jail now. After three weeks of searching for him, they caught him. He didn't try to put up a fight. The day where I decided to leave my sanctuary is the day I see Lorenzo surrendering himself to the officers. He gave me a message though.

I know he saw me. I had seen the smile on his face as he looked towards my direction. A smile that brought me back to when he had stripped me of who I am. A smile that promised me that he would return and reclaim me again.

A smile that finally brought one feeling back into my body.

Fear.

~Isabella Valldarri

.

.

.

Lorenzo had gifted me something from my imprisonment. Something that I never knew he had given me.

He had given me a child.

~Isabella Valldarri

.

.

.

"You know now, don't you?"

Ashley looked up and hugged her mother's journal closer to her chest. She wiped away the tears that fell down her cheeks. "That's why you hated me, didn't you?" she whispered, looking into her eyes.

Alessandra nodded her head. "My husband left me just so he could force himself on a woman who wouldn't even give him a second look."

"I'm the result of that night," Ashley whispered. "Antonio, he raised me knowing I was the daughter of the man who raped his wife."

Alessandra closed her eyes. "I blamed your mother when I should have blamed myself instead."

"What did you do?" Ashley whispered.

She closed her eyes and for the first time, Ashley saw a trace of vulnerability in the woman. "It doesn't matter anymore." She opened her eyes and gone was the vulnerable woman.

Back in its stead is the woman who destroyed Ashley's life.

She cracked a smile and tilted her head to the side. "Well, you seem well now."

Ashley didn't move or say anything. She continued to stare at Alessandra, wondering what had led this woman to become so cold and evil. A part of her felt pity towards Alessandra.

The woman didn't seem to have anything but wealth but what was the wealth if she didn't have a family to share it with.

"You know, Samuel changed. He defied my orders just to protect you. Protect the girl he hated ever since he was a little boy." Alessandra walked closer to her and laughed humorlessly.

Ashley's finger itched out to the button at the side of her bed. She touched it softly, ready to press on it if Alessandra gives her a reason to.

Alessandra seemed to have noticed as she stopped and smirked.

"Ashley, dear, do you not trust me? Why darling, I am hurt." The woman mocked, putting her hand over her chest.

Ashley only stared at her.

Alessanda laughed and turned around. "You're weak just like your mother had been, Ashley. You constantly pity yourself instead of sucking it up and being a woman. Maybe that's why you lost one of the twins."

Ashley's eyes widened and a tear slipped down.

Alessandra's fist clenched. "You know I'm right, don't you." She laughed but there was no denying the pain in the sound. "Someone had to be the one to tell you this."

"Alessandra," Ashley whispered.

She turned her head to Ashley and gave her a hard look. "You're not getting anywhere by being a softie, Ashley. People are going to continue to take advantage of you until you start to take control of your own life." She turned back around and walked out of the door, leaving a cold aura behind her.

.

.

.

A knock came at her door. She pulled herself up from her bed. "Come in."

A man stepped through the door, holding a clipboard. He looked up at her with an emotionless expression on his face. "You must be Ashley. My name is Dr. Morcelli. How are you feeling today?"

Ashley looked at him. "What happened to Dr. Carson?"

"He's away right now. I'll be in charge of you until you are dismissed." He had an empowering voice that demands the attention from those he was talking to. He would have made a good businessman if he hadn't chosen to become a doctor.

Ashley's stomach swirled. She placed her hand on it and saw Dr. Morcelli glancing down at her stomach. "I feel alright." She muttered.

"That doesn't help me." He grumbled. He pulled out his stethoscope and walked over to her side. He pressed it down on her chest.

Ashley turned away from him and stared out the window.

After a few seconds, he pulled it away and nodded his head, jotting down notes on his clipboard. "Alright your heartbeat seems stable. I would suggest staying here for an extra day for me to check up on you but it's all on you now."

Ashley nodded her head. She needed to do what was best for her remaining child. "I'll stay for another day."

It had been quick but Dr. Morcelli's lips tilted before it was placed in a fine line again. "Good. I'll be back around noon to check up on you again. Try not to get stressed."

"Of course."

"Also you might want to pull up your gown a bit." His voice had been stern but the quick look of amusement in his eyes betrayed him.

Ashley looked down and blushed when she saw part of her bra showing.

The gown had slipped down a decent enough amount for Dr. Morcelli to see how gifted she is.

She hastily pulled it up and looked at the clock on top of his head. "T-thanks." she muttered.

"Di niente." He said, leaving.

Ashley let out a sigh. She laid back on her bed and placed her hand over her stomach.

"Please, don't leave me." She whispered.

She clutched her stomach protectively and closed her eyes to sleep.

She didn't have them closed for five minutes before she heard the door opening again. Groaning at how her sleep keeps getting interrupted, she opened her eyes and stared at the door.

Her body froze and her heart beat faster in her chest. Her fists clenched itself around the bed sheets and her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Dante." His name burned on her tongue and her body scooted back further into the bed, wanting to be away from him.

Dante shoved his hand into his pocket and gave her the smile that she used to love some much. "Hello Ashley."

.

.

.