Chapter TWENTY TWO

GABRIELLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lucian was nowhere to be seen when I opened my eyes. I could tell that it hadn't been long since he left since the space beside me was still warm. I tried to sit up but winced at the sharp burst of pain. I barely had managed to get any sleep, even when I wanted it to take me away from everything, I remained awake and trapped in his brutal embrace. I was drained out of strength. Defeated. There was not even the slightest hope for me. He had stripped me of the last thing I was preciously hanging on to. Even though I told myself that I didn't mean those words, my heart still felt aggrieved. I felt as if I had betrayed the love me and Derek shared, and also in the worse of ways. I still didn't understand why my body had reacted so intensely. I hated Lucian in the way I've never despised anyone. So how could it have happened to me? At that moment, my body had been a puppet under his masterful control, and not just once, he had forced that shameful ple