Escaping Ethan's Clutches (Ruining Innocence Vol 1)

Chapter 18- Full Chapter

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Why do you think we can't stop dreaming about freedom? But then what is freedom really, if not an illusion...? Perhaps, we desire it with such fervor because we can't truly have it. For her, freedom meant a life without him, and for him, it came from her absolute submission.
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Ethan, it wasn't just a name, it was power. A power that turned anything it touched into ruins. She wondered sometimes, most times...

What would you have done in my place..., Dad?

At times, she was thankful he was dead, for it would have broken his heart to watch his daughter being dragged around like a pet. Watching the pain in her mother's orbs was enough to render her broken from the inside. She might as well have died from the heartbreak. But she held on for Maryam just as Maryam did for her mother. Death, though, doesn't seem to come easily to her. And she was yet to decide if it was unfortunate or not.

Her thoughts took her to the night she had been a spectator of not too long ago. The night her mom had endured blood-curling humiliation and distress. Lucas had been the one to drive them back home that night. She remembered the incident vividly.

Sprinting out, Lucas came around the car, pulling the car's door wide open. He waited patiently as her mother's shaken form stepped out whilst throwing a hateful glare in Lucas' way. Maryam followed her mother but not before sparing Lucas an apologetic look of her own.

"Mum, it's not Lucas' fault," she found herself murmur, holding onto her hand tenderly, afraid she might break into several pieces, right then and there.

"What do you mean? He's one of them!" she burst with unrestrained anger.

Maryam understood that it was merely anger misdirected. Lucas was innocent. Was he a good person? Maybe not. But he had certainly not tried to harm her in any way, shape or form. He was bound, just like she was.

"Madam, I-" Lucas began, slamming the door shut, his gaze pinned to the ground. Despite surrounded by darkness, the dim light in the front yard of her house was enough to highlight the guilt-stricken face. He was blaming himself for something that was completely out of his control. It wasn't his fault!

"Why are you pretending to be nice all of a sudden?" her mother screamed. Perhaps it was the silence from Lucas that encouraged her to go on, to misdirect her wrath, birthed from her need to protect her daughter. "It was you and Ethan that barged inside my house in my absence that night and tried to... tried to..."

Her mother couldn't bring herself to say it but Maryam's eyebrows rose in confusion before the understanding settled in. Her mother had misunderstood him, Lucas.

"Had I not been there on time, you two... you two would have..."

Maryam's orbs widened as she met Lucas'. He staggered back in shock, as if the mere thought was too burdensome for him to stand straight. Watching him in his broken state, she felt an overwhelming need to defend him, protect his honor like he had protected hers. She was not going to let her mother indulge in that misunderstanding any more than she already had.