I sat up in bed, too sore to lie down. It had been two weeks since James' beating and I had still not fully recovered. The welts had mostly healed, but my backside was bruised, so tender to the touch that I lost my breath if I moved too quickly. James hadn't apologized for his outburst, nor did I expect him to. The closest thing to remorse he'd shown was his creased forehead when he saw the marks across my skin during our marital undertakings. The injuries hadn't thwarted James from finishing the task once it began. I shivered at the reminder.

With a sigh, I climbed out of bed, sucking in air at the movement. The idea of remaining cooped up in the house for any longer was suffocating, so I dressed in a thin overcoat and made my way downstairs toward the kitchen. I opened the door and stepped out onto the terrace, inhaling the fresh nighttime air, filled with the smell of gardenia and Pearl. I smiled as I breathed in the aromas, already feeling a little better.

Despite my pain, I made my way around the gardens, allowing the soothing smells to relax me. Without really thinking about where I was walking, I realized that I was near the barn. My heart leaped with joy when I thought about Pearl. I hadn't seen her since before my whipping.

I slid open the barn door and walked inside slowly, careful not to jostle my injuries. The building was eerie in the darkness, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust. Pearl's white hair glistened in the moonlight that streamed into the barn through the cracks in the barn. It was so bright, it would be hard to miss her, even in the middle of the night. Her fur nearly glowed in the dark, a welcoming beacon of light in the darkness that encompassed my life.

Pearl curled her lip up in anticipation when she saw me, a happy whinny resonating from between her giant teeth.

"Hey, girl," I said, nuzzling her shoulder. She touched the tip of her nose to my cheek. "I know. I missed you too."

I wished that I could ride her, but with my injuries, I doubted that I could even climb into the saddle, let alone handle the jostling of her galloping. Regardless, it did my heart good to see her. She and Ruby were the only respite I felt in Moberly Manor.

I smiled when I thought of Ruby and the bond we were slowly forming. Over the last several days, she had started opening up more and more, her fear of punishment in my presence dwindling. We were brought together by our shared experiences of hatred and cruelty, clinging to one another as the only good thing in the Manor. She was quickly becoming a friend to me, and I to her, in a world where friends were hard to come by.

I spent the next several hours feeding Pearl sugar cubes, brushing her hair, and braiding wildflowers into her mane, feeling more relaxed than I had since before my doctor's appointment. I wanted to stay with Pearl longer and bask in the tranquility that I felt when I was in her presence, but the darkness was beginning to fade and light glowed from the eastern sky. Everyone would be awake soon, and if they discovered I was missing, it wouldn't help my already delicate situation. No matter how much I dreaded it, I had to return to the house.

I wrapped my arms around Pearl's powerful neck and let out a deep sigh. "I'll come back as soon as I can. I promise." She neighed in response.

Closing the barn door behind me, I fought the pull that drew me back toward the barn, the urge to stay by Pearl's side, and begrudgingly made my way up the hill toward the main house. The journey felt ominous, as though I were a prisoner on death row being taken to my execution.

I walked through the garden and onto the terrace, sliding open the kitchen door as slowly and quietly as I could manage. I tiptoed through the house and toward the staircase, feeling a sense of relief that I had almost made it back to my room undetected, when a light in the living clicked on.

"Where have you been?" a deep asked from the shadows. I jumped, my hand on my pounding heart. I turned to see James sitting next to the living room fireplace, tapping his long finger on the arm of the brown, leather club chair.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk," I confessed, realizing how weak the excuse sounded that I was venturing around the grounds when it wasn't even light out yet.

James took a step forward, a look of vehemence on his face. I took a step back, my heart hammering in my chest. Although I'd been telling him the truth, James' expression made me feel like a child caught in a lie.

"I found this in your coat pocket this morning," he said calmly, holding up a crumpled piece of paper.

I narrowed my eyes, just making out the rough manuscript on the page. Sweat formed on my back, trickling down my spine in anticipation as I realized it was the note Charlotte had dropped in the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago.

James' cheeks reddened and he threw the wad at paper at my face. "I'm going to ask you again, Mia," he said through gritted teeth. "Where the hell were you?"

I bit back tears at his malicious words. "I just went for a walk. I swear it! I didn't leave the grounds. I stuck to the gardens and the barn. Please believe me." I begged. I was sure to get one hell of a beating now and I hadn't even recovered from my last one yet.

I fought the urge to run as he stepped ominously in my direction. "I have no doubt that you went to the grounds." When he stood before me, he reached out and caressed my cheeks. I flinched at his touch.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Mia," James said, registering the fear in my face.

"You're... you're not?" I asked skeptically.

"No. I promise. I won't lay a hand on you."

He smiled and turned his back on me. Something about his response sent chills down my spine. His vow not to hurt me was more ominous than any strike could be.

James poured a glass of vodka and downed it in one drink, his eyes never leaving mine. "Bring him in," he called into the kitchen.

A detained Caleb walked into the living room with Stephen right behind him, holding onto the ropes that bound him. Ruby trailed close behind, her body quaking with fear. Caleb struggled against the bindings until Stephen pressed a small black pistol to the base of his skull. Caleb stopped fighting and walked forward without resistance.

Stephen pushed Caleb forward with unnecessary aggression, causing him to fall to his knees in the space between me and James. Caleb looked up at me, nearly unrecognizable from the man who taught me to ride Pearl just a few short weeks ago. His eyes formed small slits, barely discernable beneath the dark bruises that decorated his face. His lips were bloodied and swollen to the size of golf ball, and a few of his teeth were missing.

My mouth dropped open with shock as I stared at Caleb. What had they done to him? I took a step away, as though the imprisonment could be contagious. My eyes ventured to James, a malicious look of contentment on his face as he registered my alarmed reaction.

"James," I said, my voice cautious. "What is this?"

"This is a life lesson, my wife," he said. He poured another glass of liquor and swallowed it in one gulp, slamming the glass down in frustration. "Steven has informed me that, since arriving at Moberly Manor, you have been visiting the barn quite frequently. I couldn't figure out why, until I found your love note. Now it all makes sense," he said through clenched teeth. "You've been having an affair with the groundskeeper."

I furrowed my eyebrows, thrown by the accusation. I stared at the garbled paper on the ground, trying to contemplate why he would think I was cheating with Caleb... then I put two and two together.

"Caleb and I are just friends. Nothing more," I argued, unable to tear my eyes off of Caleb's bloodied and bruised eyes. He watched me as I spoke, silently pleading for his life. "I haven't even seen him today. This entire thing has been a misunderstanding."

"Then who is C?" James countered, narrowing his eyes.

I opened my mouth to admit that it was Charlotte, to tell him that Caleb didn't deserve to be punished when he had done nothing wrong. But then Charlotte's terrified face flashed before my eyes, her body covered with bruises and mutilated with burned marks, and I faltered. If I told James the truth and Charlotte's husband found out we had met in secret, God only knew what would happen to her. I couldn't betray my friend that way.

But at the same time, Caleb was innocent in this mess. He'd done nothing other than provide a friendly face in an otherwise terrifying place, and help a scared newlywed feel more at home. It wouldn't be fair to pin this on him just to save Charlotte.

As I contemplated my options, knowing there was no right answer, James' face contorted with anger, mistakenly taking my hesitation as a confession of guilt. With a howl of rage, he brought his leg up to meet Caleb's ribcage, causing a gut-wrenching cry to resound through the manor. My stomach dropped as Caleb struggled to catch his breath.

"It isn't true, Mr. Moberly," Caleb choked out between gasps for air. "I'm a married man, a devoted husband and father. I love my wife and would never cheat on her!" Caleb turned to look at me. "Please, Mrs. Moberly! Please tell him this is all a misunderstanding! Please, tell him the truth!" he begged, his eyes full of tears.

I bit the inside of my jaw, back and forth in my mind, contemplating what I should do. My shoulders slumped forward when I realized that there was nothing I could say that wouldn't result in someone getting hurt.

So I said nothing.

I pressed my lips together in a taunt line, choosing to keep my mouth shut. Charlotte had my back our entire lives; now it was my turn to have hers. She was my sister and I would do anything that I could to protect her, no matter the cost.

My gaze fell in shame, unable to looks at Caleb's bloodied and bruised face, his eyes that pleaded for me to come to his rescue, the only person who could save him.

James measured my reaction and grimaced. He ran his hands through his ink black hair, yanking at it by the root as though he'd gone insane.

"I'm sure everyone in Grayson knows that you've been gallivanting around, sleeping with the help while I busted my ass at the office each day. My employees are probably laughing behind my back, thinking I can't even control... my own... wife!" He emphasized each word by a punch or kick to Caleb's already beaten body.

The pristine marble floor spattered with Caleb's blood and sobs racked his body. I could feel his eyes on mine, begging for me to stop this madness, but I refused to look at him for fear I would break. Still, James continued his unrelenting beating.

"Please!" I finally cried, unable to take Caleb's grunts of pain any longer. "It doesn't have to be like this, James. I'll be better, I swear! I won't embarrass you anymore. I will be the wife that you want, the wife that you deserve. Please, just stop!"

James scoffed. "You expect me to just let your lover go?" he asked incredibly. "To free him so you can both make a fool of me again?" He shook his head. "No. I refuse to be disrespected in my own house. There's only one way to make sure this doesn't happen again."

James kicked Caleb again, so hard that I could swear I heard his rib break. I wanted to step in, to take his place before it was too late, but I caught Ruby's fear-filled eye and she gave a small shake of her head, begging me not to interfere. Though it pained me to do so, I let out a shaky sigh and planted my feet firmly on the staircase as Caleb was assaulted. Instead of saving an innocent man, I took the coward's way out and closed my eyes so I didn't have to see the injuries inflicted at my hand.

"No," James said, motioning for Stephen to hold my head so that I had no choice but to look at Caleb. "I want you to watch your lover as his life leaves his body. I want you to see the damage that you caused as a result of your infidelity," James said through gritted teeth.

Tears poured down my cheeks as Stephen forced my head up, my eyes trained on Caleb. He was quaking with fear, lying on his side on the marble floor, unable to fight the assault any longer. He was weak, covered with blood and bruises, so pale that he looked more corpse than alive. The word please forming on his lips one last time brought tears to my eyes. I opened my mouth to tell him how much I regretted my decision, to explain that I had no choice, to say that I was sorry he had to endure this pain because of my selfishness.

But I never got the chance to apologize.

Before I could blink, James grabbed the pistol from Stephen's hand and pointed it at the back of Caleb's head. A thunderous snap echoed through the room as James pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through the back of Caleb's skull. He fell to the floor in a lifeless heap, the light leaving his eyes, his final please still etched onto his lips.

***************

"What did you do?" I mumbled as I stared at Caleb's motionless corpse.

"What did I do?" James sneered. "No, my dear. What did you do?"

I glanced at Ruby's face, drained of blood, nearly as pale and sunken as Caleb's. Her eyes remained frozen to Caleb's dead body, and I feared she might faint. I, on the other hand, was full of adrenaline. It coursed through my veins, strengthening and emboldening me in a way I'd never experienced before. At that moment, in my state of unimaginable fury, I felt like I could move mountains.

James watched the transformation with humor. Instead of averting my gaze like a polite and chaste woman, I met him glare for glare. My cheeks flamed, blood pooling from the heart that pounded in my chest. I stared at my husband, full of loathing and fury. My hands clenched into fists, and I ground my teeth together so much it made my jaw ache.

After a minute of the two of us measuring each other, James's amused scrutiny faded- replaced first with anger that I would dare challenge him, then something else, something so small that I could barely see it. Fear. James was afraid of me.

The sight threw me, but it didn't lessen my hatred for him, the rage coursing through my body. James was a bully, and the only way to stop a bully was to stand up to them. What I wouldn't give to punch that smug face. How badly I wanted to hit him, to hurt him, to make him feel even an ounce of the pain he inflicted on others.

But that wouldn't undo the damage that had been done. Punishing James wouldn't bring Caleb back to life. It would only result in getting myself hurt. It would be worth it, though, I thought.

Then my mind went to kind, innocent Ruby and the fact that James might use her against me next time. Our conversations from the past few weeks resonated in my mind, along with my promise that I would do whatever James asked of me to avoid becoming a No Name woman. Ruby would never forgive me if I did something stupid and left her here alone with him.

With that thought in mind, my anger ebbed. I allowed my hands to unclench and dropped my gaze, resuming the stance of a chaste, obedient wife.

"Steven, please escort Mrs. Moberly to her room," James said, his voice cutting through the eerily quiet room. The he turned and walked away, leaving the morbid scene behind him for someone else to clean.

"This way, Mrs. Moberly," Steven said, clasping my elbow firmly. I fought the urge to shake him away, to scream at him that he was a traitor who just got an innocent man murdered. Instead, I bit my tongue as he led me up the stairs to my quarters.

I closed the door to my bedroom and fell against it, tears streaming down my face. The remorse of Caleb's death weighed heavy on my heart. Guilt consumed me as I thought of his wife and young children who loved him so genuinely, and who would now be left to fend for themselves, alone in a man's world.

True to his word, James had never laid a finger on me- the alternative punishment he inflicted was purely psychological. But it was so much worse than any beating could have been. James wanted to teach me a lesson, and he certainly did- even the accusation of someone interfering with our relationship would result in a death sentence.

I laid in bed, wide awake, as tears cascaded down my cheeks. I sobbed into my pillow as Caleb's cold eyes stared accusingly into my soul. I glanced at the tattoo embedded onto my ring finger, the mark that told the world I was James' possession. The idea made me sick. Though it was senseless to do so, I ran into the bathroom and began scrubbing my finger ferociously with soap and water as though I could magically wash away the evidence that I was with his wife.

After several minutes, I finally gave up, gripping at the bathroom counter as though it was my lifeline. I glanced in the mirror, startled by my blotchy, tear-stained face. But beneath the sadness, I saw something more- determination. At that moment, I made a solemn vow that no one else would be hurt as a result of my actions. Even if it meant I never left the house again, even if it meant I would be utterly alone in this world, I would never cause the injustice inflicted on Caleb onto anyone else. 

Thank you for reading! What did you think about James's outburt? And what about what happened to poor Caleb? Did Mia make the right choice? As always, if you are enjoying "Bound" so far, don't forget to vote! :)