"Long ago in a very beautiful land called Navia, lived a girl, not just any girl, but a princess so beautiful that they never found words good enough to describe her..."

Daisy recalled her father telling her that story every single night before she went to sleep and it always ended the same way; " eventually they chose the name Daisy, pure and fresh, beautiful and in its own way, strong."

Her father would then go on and tell her how she should never let anything come in her way, she was beautiful, he said, and when times called for it, she should be strong.

Then, gently as ever, he would kiss her on the forehead and whisper in her ear, "goodnight princess, be the daisy you are." To which she would smile,mumble goodnight and then wait to be tucked in bed where she would sleep soundly till morning. She had never been afraid of the dark or the monster in the closet, she was strong and brave. She was daisy.

             *********************

Every time Daisy had an argument with her husband, Fred, she would recall her fathers words, and heave amidst sobs. She had let him down. She was now an empty shell of the jovial girl she had once been, her eyes were soulless, she was bleeding inside.

She walked around her well manicured garden and admired its beauty. It was a beautiful day; the bright roses and the yellow bumble bees that clung to them ,the beautifully decorated lawns, the melodious chirps of the birds, the slightly warm winds, the fresh air and the tasty smell of damp soil. She took it all in and silently sighed. The garden always gave her a sense of inner peace.

She let out an almost inaudible sarcastic laugh. Her, Daisy, a girl brought up in a sweet, beautifully crafted cottage that was accentuated by the majestic trees around it, now lived in a 7 bedroom... (Or was it 12? she never really bothered to count) mansion that could comfortably house a whole village,and then some.

Anyone who saw her handsome husband, a lawyer, the best no less, and the lavish lifestyle she lived thought she had it all but she knew it was far from the truth. She was dying inside, her life slowly being sucked out of her.

She sat under her favorite tree and took out a book to read, it was the book club's book of the week and she knew they wouldn't really discuss the book but she chose to read it anyway. See, with books she was free. She could be who she wanted to be and go wherever she pleased.

Without knowing it, her thoughts slowly wandered into how miserable her life had become.
Her once loving husband was now a violent drunk who didn't even have the decency to hide his extra marital affairs.

  He wanted her to know he was doing it, for he loved feeding off her pain.
He called her a whore, a dirty lying whore who would he would kill if she ever left him. Besides, who would ever love her anyway? Where would she go?

" i will damn well see whoever i please! what will you do about it? huh? whatchu gon do? dirty piece of trash!"

Almost always, this was accompanied by slaps and kicks. She knew the cycle all too well.

" Fred please stop...you're hurting me..stop please..."

Nothing she said would stop him, in fact, that only seemed to agitate him more so she had learnt to keep quiet. She would cry silently as she waited for him to stop. She would shut the pain out and focus on her fathers voice:
"Be the daisy you are..."

He would leave her on the floor sobbing and go to his other women. It should have hurt her more, but she always felt a sense of relief when he left. He can't physically hurt her when he is away, can he?

She was glad she hadn't had children ~of course that wasn't her choice, she couldn't conceive, and Fred resented her for it~. She couldn't imagine her kids being subjected to that treatment. But sometimes she wondered if they would have given her the courage she needed to leave.

10 years into marriage and all she had to show for it were scars, both physical and emotional, but she wouldn't leave. She had to make it work. She didn't have anywhere to go, her parents were long dead and had no living relatives she knew of.

She couldn't work either, as Fred insisted he would kill her if she looked for work.

" so you think you're going to cheat on me under the disguise of work? huh? What are you working for anyway? Ungrateful bitch!!! you are going to sit your behind here and be the wife i married you to be!"

             *********************

When she came to, it was already getting dark and she had to make herself presentable for her husband.

"You're a lucky woman,"  he would say, "All you have to do is make yourself pretty and wait for me to bring food to the table."

She quickly got into the house, past the grand kitchen where her chef, Lucia, was cooking. Oh! the delicious scent terrorized her nostrils! but the bitch was also sleeping with Fred and she used every opportunity to let Daisy know.

She quickly  took a cold shower ~no time to let it warm up~ and made it to the dining table right on time, just as her husband walked through the door.

He was tall, gorgeous blue eyes that sometimes turned dark when he was angry, a well built body and had a smile that would melt any ones heart (sorry, melted A LOT of hearts). He was charming, but was also a monster. A beautiful monster.

He had barely sat down when the argument began, he reeked of booze.

" Where have you been?"

" In the house, but i did go to the garden. It was a beautiful day."

" You lying piece of shit! you think i don't know you are seeing the gardener? how stupid do you think i am!?"

" Fred, please don't..."

" Shut up! You get married to a successful lawyer but you have to go on and seduce a mere gardener?! Woman..."

" Fred, please-"

"Daisy, if you ever interrupt me again..."

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

Amazing book cover by Angelblooded03