Sometimes, after the usual beatings from Colin, I just lay on the ground and imagine what my life would've been like had my mom not forced me into the marriage. Sometimes, I wonder how Dom, Elena, Dad, Nina, and everyone else around me are doing when I'm not around.

I think about how Dom and Lara are doing, and I hope that they're doing great, and if they're considering having kids. I want to live to see Dom-bear have little cubs of his own. That is, if I ever get back home. I hope that they're still together, because Dom and Lara are made for each other. It's a match made in heaven.

I wonder if Nina is still pursuing her degree at USC, and if she's forgotten me and moved on with her life. The most important thing to me is wondering if Elena and Dom kicked our mom out. They wouldn't have forgiven her after what she did to me. They would've done so much worse, had it not been against the law, but they know the best thing to do is to just isolate her and cut her off from everyone in the family.

But, I also know one thing. Dom and Elena will never stop trying to look for me. They don't care if they die doing it. They will look for me, and find me, if it's the last thing that they do. A memory in regards to this would be when Dom almost lost me at the park, as a kid, and I thought he had given up on looking for me, and left.

When he found a sobbing and hysterical 5 year old me, he told me that if I was lost, he would never stop looking for me. He pinky promised me that when I was a kid. Gosh, I hope he keeps that promise.

"Get up. We're going to dinner," Colin barks in my ear. His voice bounces off my ears and goes elsewhere, which is a place where I can't evaluate them. I look back at him, and roll my eyes. He nudges me a little bit, and enunciates his words a little bit more.

"Are you deaf? I said we're going to dinner," he reiterates, and I sigh. I continue to lay there, with pain still stinging my body, as I hope that he'll go away. When he realizes that I'm not going to move on my own, he grabs my upper arm and yanks me so that I'm sitting up. His other hand places itself on my other upper arm so that I stay upright. My palm plants itself on the floor to keep some balance so that I don't fall back on the floor.

"I already told you twice, and I won't repeat myself again. You're lucky that I repeated it once already. Get dressed into something nice, and we'll go for dinner. If you don't, I'll dress you myself. Mark my words," he threatens, which earns another eye roll from me. I can't help but call out his bullshit on such threats, as they're emptier than a cardboard box. But, I have to go with it. I'd end up with broken bones if I tried to defy him. I stand up, and straighten out my ruffled clothes.

"Where are we going?" I ask, as I run my fingers through my hair. He sighs.

"My idiot dad wants to have us over for dinner, for some odd reason. I don't know why, considering I already told him that I don't want him in my life. He's trying to get closer to me, or some crap like that. I'm just so done with his bull crap," he says, while he heads into the closet to fetch something to wear. I roll my eyes again at Colin's insensitivity.

At the same time, my heart aches for my own dad. It's times like these when I miss his hearty German accent bouncing off the walls, along with his warm hugs, genuine wisdom, and loving nature. In this marriage, Colin lacks any affectionate qualities, but if my dad's here, then he will make everything feel better. The fact that Colin doesn't appreciate his own dad makes me miss my own, but also makes me loathe him even more. 

In addition to that, Isaac is almost like the angelic version of Colin. I'd give anything to spend a day with him instead of spending 3.5 years with Colin. "Fine. I'll come with you," I sigh, and I get up to go and put something nice. Colin scoffs.

"It took you long enough. I swear, I don't know how I put up with you," he whines, and he goes into his closet to pick out something.

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual," I think to myself, and I go through my closet to see what I have to wear. After some looking, I pick out a long sleeved, full length black dress.

"Perfect," I think, because not only does it hide my bruises, it keeps me warm because it is a January night. The last thing I need is to freeze in the middle of the night and become a glacier. I gently slip it on, and wince when it brushes over my sensitive bruises that are slowly healing. My eyes water when the pain stings my body, but I take deep breaths and tough it out so that I can get dressed and not beaten even more by Colin.

When I get the dress slipped on, I walk out of the closet, and head to the bathroom to get myself ready for tonight. When I get to the bathroom, I take my Nyx concealer, and pain some on the visibly bruised areas of my body. Taking my makeup brush, I press the concealer into my skin to make it last for the longest amount of time that it can sustain, and before I know it, the bruises are concealed, and invisible to the outside world.

Then, I take my comb, and run it through my dyed locks to make them smooth. While I'm combing my hair, Colin comes waltzing in, wearing a white dress shirt, and khaki pants. He takes one look at me, and a satisfied look is plastered on his face. His eyes feast on me, and drink in my slightly cleaned up appearance.

"See, this is how you should dress. Women are supposed to wear dresses, and look beautiful. It's a shame that women like you that have Latina blood in them are not as gifted in the brains. But your looks make up for it 100%," he admires, and he comes over to where I'm standing.

He wraps his arms around me, and plants kisses on my cheek and neck. Anger starts to fuel inside me from his racism and sexism. A pair of scissors in the drawer catches my eyes, and I want nothing more than do stab him in the eye with them.

I hate him. I just hate everything about him. I hate how he's treated me throughout our marriage. I hate his personality. I can't stand seeing or dealing with him on a daily basis. "Enough of that. Let's get going," he orders, and he makes his way to the car.

I follow him, with a pit of dread weighing down in my stomach. The night hasn't even started, and I know that it isn't going to go well.

**********

When we get there, Colin stops in the driveway big enough to hold at least three cars. Colin gets out, and we walk towards the house that screams, "MONEY!" Colin's dad, Isaac, was the, since retired, co-founder of a multimillionaire company that was booming for many years.

After Colin finished college early with some financial assistance from his dad, he got a better job at another business. Ash didn't want the business, so Isaac gave it to the other founder, and led his life from there. His fortune is still reflected in his house, cars, attire, and everything else he owns. It's probably also going to show in his food too, considering how much money he has.

As we're walking up the pathway to the house, the door swings open, with Colin's dad standing there, with an excited look on his face. "Colin, my boy! You're here!" his dad embraces, and Colin gives a slight smile.

"Hi, Dad," Colin simply says, and Isaac engulfs him in a warm hug. Disdain is  boiling from Colin's voice, as he gives him a hug that has apprehension gripping it from all angles. He then lets go, and his attention shifts over to me.

"Nicole! You're here too! It's so good to see you!" he exclaims, and he comes over to me.

"Hi, Isaac!" I greet, and he comes over to where I am. He wraps his arms around me, and I do the same. He can never top my dad when it comes to being a father figure, but it's nice to have someone somewhat close to that.

"Come inside, you guys. My wife is waiting!" he entices, and he walks back into the house.

"Pffft, which one?" Colin snaps, as we enter the house.

As we walk throughout the house, I examine the intricate designs that make the house so lavish. The chandelier hanging in the middle of the hallway shines like a million moons. The costly paintings hung on the walls make me feel like I'm walking through an art museum. The chandelier gives off a golden light that gently illuminates the entire house. 

My heels click against the marble floors like the hooves of a horse. The smell of food wafts throughout the house, making the setting more comfy than it looks. A long dining table greets us at the first turn of the hall, reminding me of Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want. " "Please, have a seat," he says, and we all sit down to have dinner. Mrs. Mitchell is sitting across from me, with her arms folded on the table.

Her bottle green dress is a clear indicator of the Mitchells' wealth, as it's made of a satin like fabric and shines under the golden light effortlessly. A jewel studded necklace rests on her neckline, as she also exudes a familiarly prideful look. "It's good to see you again, Nicole. How are you doing?" she asks. I just shrug.

"Oh, I'm okay. Nothing interesting has been happening lately. How about you?" I ask. She sighs.

"Oh, I'm alright. Just kind of tired lately. I'm glad we're all here," she appreciates. Her gaze then shifts over to Colin, who has boredom painted all over. He just looks like he wants to eat, get drunk, and go home.

"Ah, Colin, you're looking lovely today. I'm glad you seem well," she says. Colin flashes her a sheepish smile. Another drop of disdain shines in his cruel brown eyes, as he looks at Lauren. 

"Thanks, Lauren," he says, and Isaac brings the food over.

"Here we go! We made an arugula salad for starters today. The baguette is finishing up in the oven," he announces, as he starts to serve me some salad.

"Sounds delicious. And that's enough," I say, and he stops serving me salad. Lauren gets up to go and fetch the baguette from the oven, and I start to dig in on my salad. While Colin and Isaac are talking about their business related affairs, I'm just enjoying the taste of the peppery arugula, nutty Parmesan, and the different seasonings added to it.

"So, Nicole, what are you doing lately?" he asks, as Lauren brings the toasted baguette, with some butter on the side.

"Oh, nothing much. Just staying home and helping around the house. How about you? Where's Asher? Are you enjoying the retired life?" I ask, as I take a baguette slice and butter it. He chuckles, and helps himself to some baguette as well.

"Asher's doing fine. I had him over for dinner a few nights ago. I'll let him know that you're wondering about him. Yes, I am. Just spending time with my wife, and having fun, I guess. I've lived my life. It's time for you guys to live yours," he says, as Lauren runs back into the kitchen to tend to something.

"Well, I guess that's true. It's nice to live your life at this point," I say, as Lauren runs back in. She flashes us a quick smile, and sits back down to talk to us.

"So, Nicole, are you working a job?" she asks, as she sips her water from the fancy glass.

"No. I'm a homemaker. You're a nurse, right?" I ask.

She nods. "RN. I didn't want to give up my job after marrying Isaac," she confirms, as she puts a hand on Isaac's shoulder. She flashes him a warm smile, which he returns.

"You should find a man who treats you right and who lets you do whatever you find comfortable for you. I'm glad you found that person," she lectures, and smile.

I flash a smile back. "That's what you think," I think to myself, as the timer for the main course goes off.

Eventually, the dinner turns into an alcohol party. Isaac eventually brings out the expensive spirits, and everyone except me has a bit of fun when it comes to the alcohol. Colin eventually turns into the persona that I don't want to see. Eyelids that are being weighed down with all the alcohol in his blood, slurred speech, and the smell of several kinds of wines surrounding him. I resent him and fear him the most when he's drunk, and I have no clue what can happen at this point, since everyone's not in their right mind.

"Nicole, would you go get the bricks from the backyard? I need to weigh down something for tomorrow," Isaac asks, with his intoxication slurring some of his words. I get up, and go to the backyard to fulfill his demand.

"Wait. If they're all drunk, and they don't know what they're doing, then it's the perfect time to escape. I can flag down someone, and they can take me to the police station. Why didn't I do this earlier?" I think to myself. When I'm heading towards the backyard, I look back, and no one is following me. I get to the backyard door, and I fiddle with the lock to get it open.

Eventually, it slides open, and I run out to the backyard to find a way out of there. I look around, and I find a door that could possibly mean my way out. I run towards it, and I immediately start to fiddle around with the lock to see what I can do to get it open.

I try to pull it open, but it stays solid. I look around, and I find a brick next to me. I pick it up, and hit the lock with it, in the hopes of breaking it open. It, however, doesn't budge or open. "What is this thing made of, concrete?" I think to myself as I try to unlock it.

All this time, my heart is beating. What if I get caught? What if I do make it out of here? So many thoughts were racing throughout my head, as I tried to get the door open. "Come on. Open already," I think, as I try to open the lock, but it's too complicated. The grooves, and the mechanisms are far too complex for me to figure out.

"What the hell are you doing?" an angry voice asks behind me.

Immediately, I stop fiddling with the lock, and my eyes close in fear. "Oh, no no no no. Gosh, I'm dead," I think to myself. My heart starts beating at an uncontrollable rate, and I can't get it to stop. Sweat starts to dampen my forehead, as I turn around to face the demon in front of me.

I come face to face with Colin, who has a dangerously angry look on his face. His jaw is tight, with his fist balled up. He comes closer to me, with his infuriating eyes coming closer to my own. "You were trying to get out of here, weren't you?" he accuses, with his voice lowering to a steely undertone.

I gulp, and shake my head. "N-No, of course not," I assure, but my stammering and shaky voice destroys my lie. He glares at me, and his hand flies up to squeeze my neck.

I gasp, as he brings my head closer to his. It's not hard enough to cut off my breathing, but it's hard enough for fear to boil within the depths of my stomach. "I'll deal with you when we get home," he snarls, and his hand wraps around mine and yanks me back into the house.

***********

The first punch sends me flying against the wall. The second causes me to crumple to the ground like a house of cards. The numerous kicks that comes afterwards cause me to ball up like a cat. I cup my hands over my ears to close out Colin's yelling.

"YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO LEAVE THIS PLACE! YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME! DO YOU GET THAT? YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY WIFE, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! WOMEN LIKE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO SERVE US MEN. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO COOK, CLEAN, AND MANAGE THE HOUSE FOR US! I'M DISGUSTED TO CALL YOU MY WIFE!" he yells, as I tune him out.

The tears in my eyes fall to the floor, as I'm sure the bruises that I got a few days ago will have more friends joining them very soon. When he's done with me, he just goes off into the other room to sleep off his intoxication.

He leaves me there, helpless and hurting, on the ground to suffer for the rest of the night. As I drift off to sleep, I think, "One day, I will go far away from you and start a new life. Mark my words, Colin."