Finger on the trigger, I aimed, about to fire when Nick turned and knocked the weapon from my hands, a bullet hitting the floor-length mirror, shattering it.
I didn’t have time to react before he wrapped his hand around my throat, pinning me against the wall. “This was part of your plan all along, wasn’t it?” he seethed, lip curling, nostrils flaring. “You didn’t mean a word of what you said. It was all an act.”
I parted my lips, struggling to breathe. I could have tried to deflect the situation. Beg for mercy. He always seemed to get off on that.
But I was done playing Nick’s twisted games.
If I was going to die, I was going to do it on my terms.
“Of course it was,” I strained to say, eyes unwavering, not a hint of hesitation or fear within.
Nick blinked, obviously taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor from the meek, subservient wife to the powerful, fearless woman I’d become.
“Do you really think I’d want to be with you, you fucking sociopath? That I’d want that disgusting excuse for a penis anywhere near me?”
Face reddening, he tightened his hold on my throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe, every muscle in his body vibrating with a fury I’d never seen from him before.
And I’d seen him plenty angry.
Teeth clenched, he brought the blade up to the low neckline of my dress, slowly dragging it down the material, tearing it.
“Well, since you don’t want my ‘disgusting excuse for a penis’ anywhere near you, perhaps you’d prefer my knife.” His grip on my neck loosened for a split second.
But that was all the time I needed for some of my self-defense training to kick in.
With as much force as I could muster, I landed an open palm to his nose, a crack echoing as blood spilled from his nostrils. His knife falling to the floor, he brought a hand up to his face. I took advantage of his moment of weakness and punched his stomach a couple times. He bent forward and groaned in agony. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I delivered a powerful knee to his groin before spinning from him.
I didn’t look anywhere other than at the gun on the floor, the distance seeming like miles instead of mere feet, my legs feeling weighed down. When I finally reached it, the cold metal felt like sweet relief. Just as I was about to turn and fire, Nick tackled me to the floor, stealing the gun from me.
Using his body to pin me down, he lifted my arms over my head, binding my wrists together in one of his hands. I squirmed against him, fighting to free myself, but his strength overpowered mine.
It always did.
“It’s useless to resist, my love,” he said, dragging the gun along my frame as he forced my legs apart with his knees. “You knew this was how it was going to end with us.”
I swallowed down my sobs, not wanting to let him see my fear. But as the cold metal trailed up my thighs, it was impossible, my body shaking harder with each passing minute.
“From the moment we met, you knew this was inevitable.” He ran his tongue along my neck, teeth clamping onto my earlobe, his bite harsh and punishing, causing me to release a scream. “Or perhaps I should say from the moment you let someone else fuck you, you knew this was inevitable. It was so simple, Julia. All you had to do was adhere to the vows we made. Fulfill your promise to love, cherish, and honor me.” He pushed my thighs farther apart, using his weight to keep me glued to the floor, despite my attempts to wriggle free.
“Is that what you did?” I hissed as I fought against him, refusing to give in without a fight. “Honor me by raping all those women.”
“How many times do I have to tell you?” he seethed, crazed. Wild. Manic. “I—”
“I know. You freed them,” I mocked.
“Exactly, Julia. I freed them from the cage life had trapped them in.” He brought the gun up to my temple. “Just like I’m finally going to free myself from the cage you’ve trapped me in.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I trembled.
“I don’t have a choice. We promised each other.” He pressed a chaste kiss to my neck. “‘Till death do us part.’ And you know I never break my promises. Goodbye, my love.”
“Nick… Please…,” I begged one last time before a gunshot echoed in the room.
Then everything went still.