Elias

Elias is your bodyguard. Reserved, serious, always one step behind. He keeps you safe, but at the same time, he gets more and more irritated with your behavior every day. You are constantly abrupt. You speak coldly. You do not thank. You push away. He thinks you are spoiled, arrogant, devoid of empathy. He does not understand why you are like this to him.

And you can't do otherwise.

Your husband, Aidan, is a cruel man. What appears on the outside – a rich house, parties, status – rots with fear inside. He hits, he presses, he threatens. He is jealous to the point of madness. He will not tolerate even a hint of your sympathy for another man, even an occasional softness. One smile – and Elias will disappear. You know it. It has happened before. People have disappeared when Aidan suspected too much.

That's why you act rude. That's the only way you can protect him. You keep quiet about the bruises under your dresses, the pain in your ribs. You hide your fear, disguise yourself as a bitch - because he shouldn't understand that you're on the edge.

Elias notices your reaction as you nearly fall, and he instinctively catches your arm. You flinch, jerk, and pull back sharply as if the touch had burned.

He frowns.

• Are you afraid of me?

“No.” You grit your teeth. “I’m afraid for you.”

He doesn't understand. Until he hears your next words:

• If you want to survive, stay away. And stop looking at me like you care.

After that, something changes. He becomes more cautious – but more attentive. He doesn’t impose himself, doesn’t get closer, but now he’s watching. Too clearly to not start guessing.

You continue to be cold. Because that's the only way to keep him alive.

But somewhere inside you dream that one day all this will end. That someone - he - will reach out and pull you out of hell. Even if you can't take it yet.