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this between us, but let’s not make this a habit. This bridge has been crossed . . . now burn it.” Liberty nodded her head and walked out of the office. She wasn’t expecting the doctor to become her ally. If life had taught her anything it was that she could only depend on one person and that was herself.

Liberty soon realized that her new life was not all that it had been hyped up to be. Samad didn’t know how to love . . . all he did was control. His leash on Liberty was so tight that she could not breathe. What had started out as a fairy tale had quickly transformed into a nightmare. The clothing that he made her wear ate away at her self-esteem, making her feel invisible. No one spoke to her directly; instead Samad’s servants, chefs, and maids spoke to her through him. She felt like a child, stifled by a tyrannous parent. It was an extravagant existence indeed, but the loneliness she felt outweighed all of the glitz. Samad was an important man who kept his property secure, but the longer she was there the more she felt like a prisoner. The guarded estate, security cameras, and perimeter boundaries were not there to keep strangers out . . . Liberty felt as if they were set up to keep her in. She was stuck and although Samad treated her fairly, depriving her of nothing, she still felt out of place. He intimidated Liberty, and she hated the stern rule he watched over her with. He was a ruthless dictator, and she was too afraid to go against the grain for fear of what the repercussions might be. She had every material possession at her fingertips, but when it came to having money of her own she was penniless. He never put a dime in her hands, but instead sent one of his men with her if she needed to go shopping. He inspected her purchases, making sure they met his approval before she even came into his home. And just in case the thought ever crossed her mind, he took away her every opportunity to escape. Samad wasn’t new to this. He realized that Liberty had been Americanized for way too long and that it would take some time for her to become accustomed to his ways. So he kept a watchful eye over her to ensure she stayed in line.

He purged her body of the drugs she had been abusing, forcing her to go cold turkey for weeks until she no longer craved them. Those had been the hardest days of her life, but once the hazy cloud of addiction was lifted from above her head it was the one thing she did appreciate Samad for. He was overbearing and gave her no independence, but his intentions were good most days. Liberty knew she had nowhere else to go. With no family, no friends, and limited resources at her immediate disposal she was stuck. So she did what she had to do, which was assimilate to Samad’s lifestyle and cause no fuss to avoid confrontation. She had died on the inside a long time ago. Compared to some of her previous circumstances, life with Samad was simple and she wanted nothing more than to keep it that way. She had seen Samad’s temper when it came to his dealings with different associates and she never wanted to be on the receiving end of it. She complied with his house rules and made sure that she was seen but rarely heard. When it was just she and Samad, he was more relaxed. The pressure for her to behave just right was taken away when they were alone, but whenever there were others in the room Liberty felt a thick tension from him.

He had been working increasingly hard at getting her pregnant. He disguised his motives by calling her beautiful and setting the scene for romance, but he no longer had Liberty fooled. She couldn’t help but smirk at his frustration because if it was up to her she would never get pregnant by him. He was clueless to the measures she had taken to ensure that it didn’t happen, and as the days moved on he grew insecure from what he assumed to be his impotence. She could sense his apprehension, and it made her days a bit easier to know that she had a little bit of control back in her