Free BETWEEN CLOUDS AND STARS: A Sexy Standalone Romance by Sharlyn G. Branson

and left the room.

9
    Estelle
    Past
    O nly six months had passed since our wedding, but John had already completely changed the way he treated me. Very often he’d come home drunk and start an argument with me over the most trivial of things, such as why was his supper not hot enough, why had I smiled at the neighbor, why was I wearing a low-cut top and God knows what else… I sometimes thought he must derive some perverse pleasure from fighting with me and screaming in my face.
    One day, as I was emptying the pockets of my husband’s pants before putting them in the wash, I found a receipt from a strip club. There was also a flyer, which detailed the services on offer at an event headlined by some porn star. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I read that they intended to charge $200 for fifteen minutes of sex with the great porn star. I’d begun to suspect John was being unfaithful to me, and this confirmed my suspicions. With every passing day, my hopes of a better married life slowly evaporated. I wasn’t allowed to go out and have fun, whereas my husband did so whenever he felt like it.
    Sometimes I asked myself if he was with me just because he was afraid of being alone. No matter how hard I tried to understand him, my efforts were doomed to fail, because John Chan was too secretive. I couldn’t peer into his soul, and perhaps that was for the best, because I was scared of what I might find out about him.
    One lovely summer night, we went out to dinner with his friend and his wife. John treated me really nicely. He’d hugged me, paid me the attention I needed and even called me “darling.” But this was just a show for his friend Patrick and Patrick’s wife, Cecilia. Outward appearances were very important to John, and he wanted to present himself as the perfect husband. I enjoyed the respite from his usual self, hoping it promised some sort of a future for our marriage.
    Stars twinkled in the sky like diamonds, and the air was cool and fresh. We laughed at the jokes Patrick dropped, one after the other, savoring the delicious food and the wonderful French red wine. At my husband’s insistence, I wore a pastel green dress. There were bruises on my neck, which I’d decided to hide with a purple silk shawl.
    Four days ago, after his latest drunken spree, John had returned home and become angry with me yet again for my inability to get pregnant. He’d thrown me on the bed and raped me. Just like that… As if I was his possession and he could do whatever he wanted to me. He’d gripped my neck really hard until he’d become concerned he might kill me.
    And he would’ve if he’d gone on for any longer.
    In the morning, when he saw the marks he’d left, John started to apologize to me, promising this would never happen again. I believed him, because I was too stupid, young and naïve.
    “To be honest, I can’t stand having something wrapped tight around my neck. This heat’s killing me and you’re wearing a shawl. How can you take it?” Cecilia’s question caught me off guard.
    Why did she always have to ask questions? Of course, I was too hot, but I couldn’t take it off and bring shame to myself. I felt my face blush with embarrassment. I glanced at John, who was very good at hiding the truth and spinning tall tales. Fortunately, he rushed to answer before me, sparing me further discomfort.
    “Estelle loves silk scarves. Right, darling? And this one really makes her beautiful eyes pop.” He leaned in and kissed me on the temple.
    “Oh, John. You’re still like a teenager in love.” Cecilia’s musical laughter rang through the night air. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair and regarded us.
    In love… My husband definitely didn’t know the meaning of that phrase. You don’t beat someone and force them to have sex if you truly love them.
    “Wait a few years. We’ll revisit the issue then,” Patrick added and took a sip of his wine.
    Cecilia fired an icy glance at him.