My brain is betraying me.
I sat on the soft rug in the library, legs tucked under me, secretly reading an article on my tablet about trauma bonding. The words stared back at me like a diagnosis I couldn’t escape.
Dopamine surges from intermittent reinforcement.
Cortisol flooding the system during fear, followed by massive oxytocin release during “love-bombing” moments.
The amygdala hijacking rational thought.
The brain rewiring itself to associate the abuser with survival and pleasure.
It was clinical. Cold. Scientific.
And it described me perfectly.
Daddy found me there, as he always did. He didn’t knock. He never needed to. He simply walked in, saw what I was reading, and a dark, knowing smile curved his lips.
“Learning about us?” he asked, voice low and smooth.
I didn’t bother
