I ran over to the toilet holding my hair back as I emptied out the contents of my stomach. Nothing could have prepared me for the way I felt. I had just lost my entire world in a matter of minutes.

My heart constricted in my chest as my body slid down onto the floor. I closed my eyes and leaned back up against the cold grey wall in my tiny bathroom.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, but time didn’t matter anymore. Nothing did. I cried until I was out of tears. My wall was firmly back in place. It was all about survival now.

When I left my apartment, I didn’t look back. I kept my chin up and put one foot in front of the other. I would keep my memories of Brad locked away in a safe place. Like a special vault where you kept your most precious things hidden. A place that no one else knew existed but me. I would never forget him, nor ever stop loving him.

My entire body was stiff and cold during the entire flight to Atlanta. The man sitting next to me offered me no comfort. Normally the slightest bit of turbulence would cause me to panic, but I didn’t feel a thing. My eyes stayed shut through the entire flight, I was completely shut down.

I heard the ding of the cabin bell and the flight attendant announced that we had arrived at our gate, causing everyone on the plane to jump out of their seats and grab their carry-on items. Colton gently nudged my arm.

“We’re home. I have a car waiting for us out front.” He said, trying to help me up from my seat.

I jerked away from him as if his touch burned my skin. “Don’t touch me.”

He shook his head; his face was filled with annoyance. “Is that how this is going to be?”

My eyes narrowed, making their point. “I agreed to come back to Georgia, not to you.” I wanted him to understand that things were not going back to how they were before. He needed to give me time.

Colton rolled his eyes, pulling on the sleeves of his custom-made dress shirt. “I agreed to let you transition back into your old life. But as you know, I’m not a very patient man, Alexis. I expect you to resume your life with me sooner rather than later. Fucking up Mr. Morgan’s life is still only a phone call away.” He unbuckled his seat belt and reached to grab our two black bags. He signaled with his eyebrows to get moving. Reluctantly, I left my seat and followed him up the jetway.

Once we pulled up to my parent’s house, Colton threw the shifter in park and turned in his seat to face me. “This is how it’s going to go down. You’re going to walk in there and act happy to be home. You are going to forget all about your little fling with Mr. Morgan and you’re going to act like your old self again. Your parents would be heartbroken if they suspected that you really didn’t want to be here. They have been worried sick about you since you left. I promised them I would bring you home and I want them to see that I’m a man of my word, a man who deserves the honor of marrying their daughter.”

I crossed my arms across my chest. “Anything else?” I was on autopilot. If he wanted me to play a part in this little charade of his I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. I was just thankful that he wasn’t forcing me to move back in with him just yet. He was giving me time to ‘adjust’. What a gentleman, huh? The thought of moving into his townhouse and being forced to share a bed with him made me sick to my stomach. I couldn’t even allow my brain to go there just yet. It was too much.

Colton ran his hand through his perfectly styled wavy hair and then reached for my hand. “I know you think I’m being cruel, but I’m only doing this because I believe in us. I still believe that deep down, you still love me. I’m fighting for us, Alexis. Someday you will thank me.” I wanted to laugh. He really was delusional. I didn’t love him anymore and I sure as hell would never thank him for destroying my life.

As soon as we walked into the foyer of my childhood home, my mother threw her hands over her mouth in surprise. “Alexis, you came back.” She looked relieved as I walked lifelessly into her waiting arms. “Thank God.” She petted the back of my hair. I swear this was the most affection I’d received from her in years. Maybe ever.

“I knew you would be back.” I spun around when I heard my father’s voice. Unlike the greeting with my mother, it only took one nervous glance at my father to have my vision go blurry. I stared into his eyes through the rim of his glasses, and willed the burning in my lungs to go away. I wasn’t prepared for the level of relief that I saw staring back at me. I knew my parents loved me like they were supposed to love their children, but they didn’t love me enough to help me when I needed it most. They saw Colton as the son they never had and they were so blinded by the fake image he portrayed that they wouldn’t even consider the possibility that he was a monster. “We’ve missed you so much, baby girl. It’s so good to have you back home.” He said. leaning in and kissing my forehead.

I glanced at Colton whose arm was comfortably wrapped around my mom’s shoulders. She was beaming at him like he had just returned from a mission in Africa and had saved hundreds of lives. This was the Colton that everyone saw. His plastic grin ran from ear to ear lapping up the gratitude he received for bringing them back their daughter. Things were going exactly as he planned, and when that happened, Colton was a happy man.