Just one week before my wedding, everything felt like it was spinning out of control. I had imagined that week would be magical, like in the movies—where the bride floats through her days, glowing with happiness and excitement. But the truth was far from that. The reality? I was drowning under a mountain of to-do lists, endless emails, and calls from people who acted like my schedule belonged to them. My phone buzzed nonstop, and my mind never stopped racing. I loved Daniel, my fiancé, with all my heart. But

A visit to my parents’ house with my boyfriend, Lewis, was supposed to be a happy, heartwarming day. Instead, it spiraled into a nightmare so fast I could barely keep up. A strange reaction from my dad, a locked basement door, and a desperate escape revealed a side of Lewis I never knew existed—a side that tore my world apart. It all started months earlier, the day I met Lewis—a scene that could have been pulled straight from a cheesy rom-com. I was hunched over my textbooks in a cozy

I thought I was marrying the most thoughtful man I’d ever met. I really believed it. But what I didn’t know was that I was stepping into a house where “help” meant being a servant, “love” was just about control, and a locked door marked the scary line between keeping my sanity and facing betrayal. I met Collins when I was 28 years old. I was exhausted and stressed out, standing in the tiny kitchen of a busy Italian restaurant during the night shift. I was juggling plates, forcing smiles