Free Total Submission by Roxy Sloane

kid, you weren’t responsible
for what happened, do you hear me? You were defending yourself,
that’s all. Nobody could blame you for it.”
    Her face twists. “Brent did. When I told
him, we were teenagers. He said that I murdered Clayton, and if
anyone found out, I would go to prison for the rest of my life. I
can’t take the guilt,” she sobs, “I’m so, so sorry.”
    I swallow back the rage. How could Brent do
this to her? She’s been through so much. But now I see the terrible
weight she’s been carrying, believing all these years she was
responsible for this man’s death.
    That she was bad and rotten, and could be
sent to jail at any moment.
    “Look at me, Isabelle,” I command.
    She’s still crying desperate sobs, so I tilt
her chin up towards me and stare reassuringly into her eyes.
“You’re safe now, I promise. The past is gone, it’s all over. You
did nothing wrong, I swear. You did whatever it took to survive,
but I don’t believe for a second you killed him. You’re a good
person, it’s in your bones. He was the bad one, he preyed on you,
and tried to hurt you. And he got what he deserved.”
    Isabelle’s eyes seem to brighten. “You… you
don’t hate me?” she asks in a whisper.
    Is that what she’s been thinking? That if I
discovered her secret, I would walk away? No wonder she’s kept her
distance, always holding back, trying to keep control.
    “No. I could never hate you, my darling,” I
swear. “Your secret is safe with me.”
    I see the relief in her eyes. “I’ve been
holding it in so long,” she takes a deep breath. “I thought I’d
never be free from the secret.”
    “You are now.” I kiss her softly, feeling
her yield to me, totally trusting. “You’re free. The past can’t
hurt you anymore.”

ELEVEN:
ISABELLE
    That night between us changes
everything.
    Before, I was holding back, scared to
surrender to him for fear I would reveal my dark secret. No matter
how much I wanted to obey him and submit, a part of me felt like I
was on the edge of a tall cliff, too terrified to make the leap.
Afraid that after he knew everything, he wouldn’t want me.
    Now I’m falling, but it’s an amazing
feeling. I know that Cam will catch me before I hit the ground.
    Always, he’ll be there.
    Now, we’re more in sync than ever before. We
fall into a relaxed routine, waking up together every morning, and
eating breakfast together before he goes to work. I changed my
phone number and haven’t heard from Brent. And when I go out, the
security guard Cam hired to stay near me in public makes me feel
safe and protected. It’s been a week now, and I’ve loved the
freedom of spending my days alone: sometimes I meet Olivia for
lunch, but mostly I’ve been enjoying the city, visiting art
galleries and museums, and planning more charity events.
    I’ve been thinking I can do more than just
the usual fundraising. When my father died, he left a lot of money
to a charitable foundation in the family name. I never felt
confident enough to talk to the board about our donations, but now
I’m planning a meeting to discuss what we do with that money. I’d
love to be able to start a program helping foster kids, or
organizing volunteers and day trips for kids in group homes so that
they can see the world outside the narrow confines of the
system.
    I’ve been blessed with so much. For years, I
was panicked about it being snatched away again, but now with Cam I
feel a security I’ve never felt before. Maybe I can stop worrying
about losing it all, and start thinking about giving it away
instead.
    The week speeds past, until suddenly, it’s
Friday. My birthday.
    I haven’t told Cam – birthdays are always
weird for me, a bittersweet reminder of my life with the woman who
was my birth mom. The Ashcrofts liked to splash out with fancy
dinners and gifts for me, but it always made me feel like they were
trying too hard to erase the past. Now, I prefer a quiet, low-key
day, so I don’t say a word