I stand barefoot on the warm sand as the sun dips below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of pink, orange, and gold — the same colors that have witnessed every chapter of our story.
Eighteen years.
Eighteen years since I was a broken, grieving girl who had nowhere else to go. Eighteen years since the man I called “Daddy” out of respect became the man I screamed for in pleasure and surrender. Eighteen years since I chose the cage… and found freedom inside it.
I look down at my hands. They’re no longer trembling. The rose-gold collar still sits perfectly around my neck — a symbol I once feared, now a crown I wear with pride. My belly is round again with our thirteenth child. Our children’s laughter echoes from the villa behind me like the most beautiful melody I’ve ever heard.
I clos
