"Lucien seemed like he wanted to agree with my request, but Christiana cut him off and said it would be better if she and I hung out instead."
"After she said that, Lucien had no problem and just agreed."
"I had no opinion; I just wanted to spend time with my husband, and that's what I got."
"After that event, my life was going to change, though I had no idea."
"I started hanging out with Christiana because my husband wanted me to."
"As I spent time with her, I found out she was fun to be with, and that was why my husband liked being around her."
"Christiana was a fun person, and I enjoyed her company. I was now comfortable and free around her.
I had no problems with her. I thought this was a great thing, and everything seemed normal."
"But then, weird things started happening."
"At times, I didn't know if it was me or Christiana who was at fault because incidents started occurring."
"I would either be holding a coffee and accidentally spill it on her, or..."
"I don't know if there was a problem with her, because she'd see me coming, but she'd still walk in my direction and bump into me, ending up in a mess."
"Apart from these minor incidents, other things began to happen."
"Until one day, Lucien came to me and told me to stop bullying Christiana. He asked why I hated her so much."
"I was hurt...deeply hurt, in pain...and didn't know what to do."
"After that, I cried."
"Since that day, my husband changed. He started ignoring me and didn't even come home."
"He slept at Christiana's house, and he was honest about not keeping it a secret."
"It was like he didn't love me anymore."
"He didn't want me anymore."
"I began to grieve every day and kept it to myself."
"My husband was so heartless toward me."
"Somehow, I don't know how, I managed to convince myself that this was temporary,
but all I was doing was masking my pain and holding onto false hope."
"Although Lucien didn't come back to the mansion, I kept staying there, waiting for him, hoping he would return one day."
"But luck wasn't on my side. One day, I was kidnapped from the house and brought to this place."
"They threw me into these woods, and before they did, the kidnappers told me that it was my husband who asked them to do this to me."
"It broke my heart. This is how I came to be in this place."
By the end of his words, tears were already streaming down the boy's face. His shoulders shook as he cried.
Aaron wanted to comfort the boy but didn't know how.
He felt a deep sadness for him and couldn't help but wonder how someone could endure such a tragic situation.
He thought about how Lucien could betray someone so innocent and felt an ache in his chest for the boy's suffering.
"You mean the kidnappers actually said that?" Aaron asked, still trying to wrap his mind around the story. Something about it felt off.
How could Lucien want to hurt this boy? What could possibly drive him to such cruelty?