169 ALMOST UP

EIGHT YEARS AGO ARIEL'S POV It was just a worse moment, like always, but now I knew things would get even worse. After coming from the wedding, I winced as Luke's grip tightened on my arm, his eyes ablaze with anger. We stood in the doorway of his mansion, my new home, a place that should have been filled with happiness. Instead, the air was heavy with tension, and it was all darkness roaming about. "I don't love you, Ariel!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with anger and disgust. "I will never love a woman like you. You are nothing but a piece of trash." "Why do you have to keep throwing these abusive words at me?" I asked, trying hard to hold the tears within me. " "Don't play dumb with me," he spat. "If it wasn't for my grandfather, I would have never even considered marrying you. You're just a goddamn golddigger, trying to take advantage of my family's wealth." Tears started to well up in my eyes. The pain was too much for me to bear. But what could I do? I had to go through t