MR CEO'S PROMISE TO HER

ESTRELLA'S POV “You little b*tch, what can you do, right?“ My husband barged into my room, where I usually retreat after he returns from work. “Dominic,” the fear was evident in my voice. “You didn't like the food?“ “The food? You think that's the problem? It's you.“ He yelled before he descended on me to give my daily dose of the day. Sometimes, he had an excuse for why he was hurting me. It could be something as flimsy as him being tired from work or me being pregnant. He descends on me like his life depends on it. “I'm sorry.“ I managed to squeak out while I did my best to shield my belly. “You should be.“ He stepped back from me, chest heaving in satisfaction. “You should be grateful and obedient. I gave you a good life. The least you can do is not add to my worries.“ I do my best to not let out a desperate sob. That would only enrage him further. “Think about the consequences of your actions. You can't even do anything right. Useless dud.“ He muttered to himself as he stalked out my door. I cry for a long time. Not from pain this time around. I was tired of being his punching bag. My husband wasn't always like this. We got married right after we graduated college only a few months ago. The plan was to work for a few years before I would stop when we eventually got married. The plan went down the drain when I missed my cycle the last month of college. Fortunately for me, he didn't dispute. He did right by me, and we had a few good months until he returned home from work one day drunk. That was when his true color started showing, he slapped me all of a sudden when I opened the door for him. The slap had me reeling because it was so unexpected. “Dominic.“ I shrieked once I recovered from my shock. “Why… how…” “If you say one more word, you'll get another.“ I stood my ground. “How dare you?“ True to his words, I got another slap. “Dominic!“ “Look at what you have on.“ He snarled. “Were you hoping there would be another man with me so you could seduce him?“ I looked down at my blue Chanel gown. The gown he brought for me. It was one of the gowns I could still wear with a four-month pregnancy belly. He stalked past me. St*pidly, I thought he was going to apologize to me in the morning. Three months later, I was still waiting for his apology. I rubbed my belly, it was the only source of comfort I had left. The next night, he came home earlier than usual, so I didn't have time to hide before he came in. He stormed in and fixed his steely gaze on me. “What are you doing here, Estrella?“ He said in a low, deadly voice that promised danger. I took a step back. “Uh, welcome home, Dominic.' “Answer my question. Are you planning on poisoning me? Were you hoping I'd drop dead so you can go away with my money?“ “Dominic.“ I thought about dashing into the kitchen and grabbing something I could use to defend myself, but I couldn't move. “You want to kill me, don't you?“ He picked up the plate of pasta and moved to me. “No no no.“ I mumbled. “I didn't know you would be back early.“ “It's my house, wifey. I can come home anytime I want, unless you have something to hide.“ “No. Nothing to hide.“ “So eat the pasta.“ “I ate already.“ That was my first mistake, and I found out too late because he smirked. “I thought as much.“ In a flash, he had the plate mashed on my face. I cried out in pain as he squeezed my throat. “I'm going to kill you tonight.“ “Dom, please.“ I clutched at his arms all to no avail. “You poor wretch, I picked you from nothing.“ I couldn't hear what he was saying anymore. Dots swirled around my vision, but still I fought until I couldn't anymore. The next time I came to. I found out I was in the same position as I was last night, slumped against the dining wall. My husband couldn't even bother to see if I would need medical attention. I was cramped all over. I stood up with some difficulty. The whole time, tears streamed down my face. How did I come to this? I was on track to have a good life. I had the perfect boyfriend. The whole town knew I was going to end up with Dominic. Ours was the classic love story. The orphan and the son of the richest man in town. My life changed after Dominic convinced his family to sponsor my college education, and I majored in business and finance. My whole life was dedicated to him. I was very grateful to him, which is why I didn't hesitate when he told me not to work when we found out I was pregnant. We left town and moved into the big city, where he started his own company. I was so proud of him. He gave me everything I could possibly want. For a girl that grew up with nothing, I was eager to start my own family with him. I looked myself in the bathroom mirror, and what I saw broke me. The only sign of life was my pregnancy. There were all sorts of bruises on my body. Yellow for the ones that were healing and the latest purple from when he squeezed me unconscious last night. Like a robot, I cleaned myself up and wore a fresh, comfortable gown to accommodate my belly. I opened my closet and pulled out the brown envelope that taunted me every day. It was my divorce papers. I snuck out to city hall after the fourth hit and kept it. I kept hoping he would stop and realize the errors of his way. He didn't. He kept hitting me. Last night was the straw that broke my camel's back. He could have easily killed me last night, and I know for a fact that he would have gotten away with it. Me, I had no one to fight for me. He made me have a life, and he could easily take it from me. In a way, Dominic was my god. I didn't allow myself to think too much as I signed on the dotted lines. I choked back a sob as I took one last look at my pretty prison. I couldn't let him continue maltreating me, so I left with nothing except the cloth in my bag, my pregnancy, and a few dollars, just enough to get a bus out of the city.