TAINTED LOVE

THE ESCAPE

Bella was relieved when she realized that Moreno hadn't been around for almost a week.

Although, she was still trapped in this terrible situation, but the relief of not having to face Moreno was a welcome respite from the constant fear.

Then, one day, a young maid appeared with food. It was the first time anyone had brought her anything to eat since she'd been there, and she was suddenly aware of how hungry she was.

She devoured the food, feeling grateful for this small kindness.

Every morning, she would jolt awake from a nightmare. The same images flashed before her eyes: the face of the man she had killed, the dead body that had greeted her when she had opened the door the other day.

She felt the guilt, the fear, the horror all over again. It was like a constant cycle of torture, and she was powerless to escape it. It was as if she was trapped in a loop, reliving the same nightmare again and again.

Bella dreaded nighttime. Every time she closed her eyes, she was tormented by the same images of lifeless bodies haunting her sleep.

She would wake up in a cold sweat, heart pounding and body trembling. She would lie awake, trying to force the images out of her mind, but they always returned. She felt like she was losing her mind.

Time seemed to have stopped for her, as she had lost all sense of the days and weeks that had passed.

It was as if she had been transported to another dimension, where time didn't exist. The only thing that kept her grounded was the appearance of the maid, who came to bring her food at regular intervals.

Lately, she had been feeling unwell. She was nauseous in the mornings, and she felt drained even when she hadn't done anything strenuous.

Bella knew she needed to get help, but she didn't know how to get it.

All she could do was hope that the maid would continue bringing her food and that perhaps one day, the maid would help her in other ways too.

She heard the door click and knew it was the maid who was assigned to bring her food.

As soon as she caught a whiff of the food, her stomach began to churn. She ran to the bathroom, barely making it before she threw up.

She felt awful, her whole body shaking and sweating. She wondered what was wrong with her, and why she couldn't keep any food down.

Bella began to worry that she was seriously ill, and she needed help. She thought about calling out to the maid, but her pride was getting in the way.

As she sat on the bathroom floor, she tried to think of what could have caused her illness, but couldn't come up with anything. She felt completely helpless and at a loss for what to do. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

All she could do was sit there, feeling miserable and alone. She began to wonder if this was her punishment for something she had done, some unknown sin that she had committed.

A lightbulb went off in her head. She hadn't had her period last month, and now it was the 5th of the next month. Could she be pregnant? The thought filled her with terror.

She didn't know what to do, who to talk to, or how to handle the situation. She felt like she was sinking deeper and deeper into a pit of despair, with no way out.

She remembered that she was on birth control shots, but she hadn't gone back for her second round of shots when she was supposed to. That meant that she was no longer protected from pregnancy. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Everything suddenly made sense - why she had been feeling sick, why she hadn't had her period.