Captured by the Beast

Prologue

Prologue

I had always dreamed of living my life the way I wanted. A life where someone would love me for me. We’d get married, have a small army of kids and live in a big house filled with laughter and love. I had told myself that I didn’t want to end up like my parents, in a marriage where neither one of them loved the other and only tolerated each other because of their parents. A marriage of convenience. A marriage devoid of love and laughter. A large quiet house filled with only silence or arguments that lasted late into the night. A place where a little girl felt unwanted, balled up in her closet crying. 

I said that I’d never be like that but here I am, stuck in a marriage to a man who didn’t even care about me. Someone who took full advantage of a little girl when her parents weren’t watching. A low life bottom feeder who took away my freedom once my father agreed to this marriage. I thought my father would stand up for me and take my side but he just smiled and thought about how rich he was going to be. 

I was only fourteen at the time. 

I couldn’t see my friends or go out and do normal things like a teen. I could only go from his house to school and back. It even got so bad that he decided that I didn’t need school since it was taking up too much time from caring for him. My father agreed to take me out of school when I was fifteen even though my mom was absolutely livid. I understood how angry she was but I also knew that she couldn’t do much against my father as the entire community would be against her. My mom wouldn’t be able to defend herself against them since she no longer had her powers. She would be dead had she even considered going against father. I remember how much she wept over not being able to save me from her fate but I understood.

I spent the next few years dealing with my new husband’s constant abuse whether it be verbal, physical, or emotional. I did it all thinking about my mom. I remember when I first moved into his house in this big fancy neighborhood. He smiled kindly to his neighbors who would look on in curiosity until we were behind closed doors where he slung me around and screamed profanities at me about looking at somebody’s husband a certain way. I had to get permission to do anything whether it be standing on the back porch or going out to shop for groceries. Having a cell phone was prohibited and talking to anyone that he didn’t approve of resulted in me getting slapped around. I had eventually had enough.

I spent the days when he was at work, exercising and practicing my magic so that I would never lose it. By the time he came home at night, I’d had dinner ready and his bath drawn. Once he’d fall asleep, I’d continue on with my practicing into the night until the day came where I’d grown bold. 

Today was a cloudy day as I stared out the window quietly. I had just come back from the grocery store with the ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Today was going to be a special day. Father was coming to do his monthly check up even though he was very much aware of the bruises and abuse, that wasn’t his main purpose of being here. He was here to kiss up to that bottom feeder of mine so he could get more money out of him. I quietly laughed before returning back to cutting up the vegetables. Tonight, I was making my husband’s favorite dish. Filet mignon. Something so expensive for somebody so full of shit. 

“Something to cheer him up.” I said aloud before throwing my head back and laughing. “You still have your humor, Nuri.” I told myself while scraping the vegetables into the pot before staring down into the boiling water. Humming, I made my way up to our room with a pep in my step while picking out something pretty to wear for him. I had settled on a nice red silk dress that hugged my curves as I stared at myself in the mirror. The dark purple bruises that he had left on my brownish red skin a few weeks ago had long faded. My once short black hair had grown so long that it fell a little above my bottom. Finally meeting my gaze through the mirror, my hazel brown eyes stared back at me before a smile slipped on my face. “Tonight is the night, Nuri.” I laughed quietly while putting a little makeup on before heading back downstairs to wait for my husband.

It didn’t take long before he burst through the front door, yanking at his tie and yelling about how dirty the house looked even though it was as clean as possible. I greeted him softly as he looked me up and down before laughing. “What’s this? Finally dressing up for me? It must be a special day?” He smiled while grabbing my face and roughly kissing me as I had to hold back the urge to retch. 

“Dinner is ready.” I smiled once he pushed me away before he took off towards the dining room as I quietly followed behind him. Once he took his seat at the end of the table where his plate was set, I took my seat at the other end. I quietly picked up my fork while picking at my salad while he complained about how bad my cooking was and how I would never be anything without him. He even went as far as to say that I should be thanking him for taking advantage of me and even marrying me. Oh, where would I be if he hadn’t come onto a fourteen year old. I had to stifle my laughter as he began to shove down his food like the messy pig he was. I quietly stabbed a bit of my salad before slowly bringing it to my lips as his continuous onslaught of words came to an abrupt stop as he frantically waved his hands at me before grasping his throat. He began choking as I chewed on my salad while watching him as a smile slipped onto my face. Slowly raising my glass to him, I laughed. 

“To us, my dear.” I cheered as he collapsed onto the table before slipping onto the floor. Quietly pushing my chair back, I rounded the table while staring down at his unmoving body. “Oh dear, clumsy me. I must have added something you were allergic to. How silly of me to do such a thing on my birthday.” I sighed while flipping him over so I could see his face. His face was swelling to the point it was almost unrecognizable. His eyes had rolled back into his head. Sighing once again, I bent down to check his pulse as I immediately stood back up with a smile on my face. He was dead and I was finally free. “I’m finally free!” I yelled while throwing my fists into the air before looking back at the clock. “Now, one more to take care of.” I laughed before picking up my husband’s arms and dragging him out of the dining room. Once I had him in the tub, I quickly went about cleaning up before changing into something comfortable. I wiped my face clean of my makeup as soon as he rang the doorbell. Quickly hurrying down the stairs, I stopped in front of them to straighten myself up first before opening the door. Standing before me in all of his ignorant glory was my father as he looked down at me with a distasteful look on his brown face.

“You could at least dress up a little more. Why not put on some makeup to look more like a woman?” He harshly spoke as I welcomed him inside. 

“Welcome Father, I hope your drive was pleasant.” I smiled as he turned and looked at me in surprise. “How has mom been?” I asked as he squinted his eyes before turning away from me. He composed himself again before making his way through the house like he lived here. 

“As useless as always. Where’s your husband? I told him that I would be over today.” He spoke with aggravation in his voice as I glared at his back. The only useless one was him and he knew it. That’s why my mom’s parents forced her to give up her powers so that she could be normal and would never disobey her husband. As he turned back to look down at me, I smiled at him again.

“He said that he’d be running a little late so you could wait for him in his office.” I instructed as he stared at me for a second before turning away from me again as I dropped the smile. “I left some refreshments for you while you wait.” I called as he began to make his way towards my husband’s office while I made my way back into the kitchen. I quickly turned on the gas stove before pulling the gasoline from beneath the sink. Dumbass kept random shit around the house for no reason but I was glad that he did. I quickly poured a trail leading out the front door before conjuring the fire through my hand. Sighing, I lit up the gasoline trail before running and taking cover as the house popped and lit up in flames. Excitedly moving from behind the tree, I stared up at the prison that held all of my bad memories once I got married as the neighbors began coming out to watch. Just as I was about to celebrate, I heard his voice as I quickly found him laying a little further from the house in the grass. Though his back had been caught by the flames and he was holding his leg, he was completely fine. When his eyes finally met mine, he began screaming.

“Sh-She’s a monster! A murderer!!” He screamed as I slowly made my way towards him through the neighbors who began stepping out of my way in shock. Just as I was about to step in front of him, I was tackled to the ground by an officer who started reading off my rights as my eyes never left my father’s.

“I am what you created. Have you gotten a good look at me now, Father?” I asked while laughing as fear and terror filled his eyes. He truly understood how far I’ve been pushed. How tired I was of this life. Prison sounded better than being stuck here with him. I thought to myself while laughing as the police officer loaded me into the back of the cruiser. This was the best birthday gift I’ve ever received.