Burning Rancor 18+

There are some things in this world that just can’t be explained. Things that exist only to make you question your own sanity. For me, that unexplainable thing is my mother- the woman who birthed me, raised me, and subsequently broke me. She’s an existence I can never deny. Honestly, it’s more like I don't dare to deny her. She is an enigma that has burned my soul to absolute ashes. Her spirit binds me like a slave, and I submit to her helplessly, every single time. Why? Because I am terrified of her. She is the person I fear most in this world, someone I would never dare go against. Even as a tiny child, I remember fearing her more than any imaginary monster under my bed. You’re probably wondering why a daughter would fear her own mother so much. To tell you the truth, she has held absolute leverage over me since the day I was born. I knew she was stronger than me. I knew her hands could strangle my tiny neck at any given second, and she made sure I never forgot that feeling of utter helplessness. Every single time she deemed it necessary, she taught me a lesson. From childhood, it was drilled into my brain that I could never go against her. And she was right. Even now, as an adult, I just don't have the backbone to fight back. “Are you even listening to me?” My mom’s sharp voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I flinched, instinctively coiling back in fear. “Stop flinching like a fool and answer me,” she hissed, eyes drilling into mine. “If you don’t come out successful this time, I will show you what real hell looks like. You don’t want to get locked up in the playroom again, do you?” The mere mention of the "playroom" sent a violent wave of dread through my chest. The memories of being trapped in that pitch-black room for days flashed in my mind. I nodded my head frantically, my throat tight. “I will do as you say, mother.” She nodded in satisfaction, though a dark frown still lingered on her face. “Don’t play smart with me, Ava.” I nodded again, keeping my eyes glued to the floor, before turning around to head back to the office. My boss, Mason Brooks, was waiting for me to get him his coffee. “You’re back. Good, let’s go quickly,” Mason said the moment I walked in. We were supposed to meet an important client today. But what I hadn't told him was that the clients had actually rescheduled, moving the appointment up by a whole week. My hands shook as I handed him his coffee cup, my heart dropping into my stomach because of what I was about to do to him. Mason paused, noticing my trembling hands. “Are you feeling sick? You look incredibly pale.” The genuine concern washing over his face twisted a painful knot in my gut. I felt sick to my very core. Don’t be nice to me. Please, don't be nice. I’m about to betray you, I thought, feeling my resolve start to crumble. But the deeply ingrained fear my mother had installed in me easily won over the will of my heart. “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry,” I forced a fake smile onto my face, quickly turning away from him. “Let’s go, or we’ll be late.” At my reminder, Mason let the topic drop, and we both headed out to the car. We hadn't been driving for long when Mason suddenly groaned, shaking his head violently. My heart clenched with pure guilt. The drug was already kicking in. I couldn't believe how powerful it was to affect him within just a few minutes. I watched him struggle to keep his eyes open, panic rising in my chest. “f**k, my head is exploding,” he groaned, leaning back heavily against the seat. Terrified, I looked around out the window, desperately wanting to call for help. But when Mason saw me panicking, he reached out and grabbed my hand tightly. “Take me to a hotel. Just get me out of the car.” I nodded, helping him into the back of a taxi instead. Just my luck, my phone started buzzing right that second. It was my mother. Trembling, I answered the call, and sure enough, her cold voice reminded me that I had to complete the task today. No exceptions. With tears brimming in my eyes, I hung up and checked Mason into a nearby hotel room. I honestly thought I could outsmart the situation. I thought my mother would never find out if I actually slept with him or not. My plan was simple: stay in the room for a couple of hours to placate my mom, and then go home and lie. I’d tell her that Mason found out, that he was threatening to sue us for drugging him, and that I had to quit before he got the police involved. What I never, ever expected was for the incident to blow completely out of proportion Without a single thing happening between us in that room, Mason was framed. His marriage was utterly destroyed, and it was all because of me. None of this was supposed to happen. His perfect life shouldn't have been ruined. So why is it that when I desperately tried to escape my own miserable fate, I was only pulled deeper into the living hell my mother had built for me? “You must be pretty damn happy that my marriage is over, Ava,” Mason snarled at me a few days later, his voice dripping with pure venom. “But heed my words- I will f*****g destroy you for what you did to Eclipse. I will never forgive you. If you think you can just quit this job and start over somewhere else, you’re dead wrong. You’re going to stay right here, and you’re going to watch me destroy everything you love, one by one. Even if I have to use myself to do it.” Mason was true to his word. When the news of his divorce broke, he publicly took the blame, admitting to cheating on Eclipse with me. And just like that, I became the lowly, home-wrecking b***h who destroyed a happy family because she couldn't keep her legs closed. Everyone in the office started loathing the very ground I walked on. Within twenty-four hours, I became a complete social outcast. But I accepted my fate. I took the whispers, the glares, and the isolation because it was true- I had destroyed a happy home. If facing daily humiliation could somehow wash away a fraction of my sins, then I was more than willing to take the punishment. ~•~ Mason’s POV. I have absolutely no excuse for the betrayal I handed to my wife. The morning I woke up next to Ava in that hotel room, I felt my whole world crumble into dust. I remember stumbling out of that room like a ghost, sitting in my car for hours with my head buried in my hands as the crushing weight of what I had done finally set in. I know I should have come clean. I should have been the one to tell Eclipse the truth. But when she looked at me with that heartbreaking mixture of disgust and agony, demanding to know if it was true... my heart just stopped. I had two choices in that moment. I could beg her to forgive me- which I knew she would, because she loved me- or I could own up to being a monster and let her go. My original plan was to tell her it was a drunken mess, that I had no recollection of what happened. But as I looked at the woman standing before me- this once radiating, confident, beautiful woman who was practically pinning away, waiting for me to make an excuse- I realized something terrible. I was destroying her without even knowing it. Being with me wasn't helping her thrive; she was slowly wilting away under the pressure of my world. So, I chose to be the asshole. I tore her apart to set her free, knowing she would shine a million times brighter once she was away from me and focused on herself. I let her go, but a debt like that doesn't just disappear. There was a price to pay, and I was going to make sure the culprits who caused this suffering paid it. I was going to make sure Ava and I regretted every single ounce of pain we put my wife through. I took all of my hatred, all of my grief, and poured it directly onto that malicious girl. What I didn't know then was that the universe was playing a much sicker game. I had no idea the cards were completely stacked against us all. And I certainly didn't know that sometimes, even the most heinous, unforgivable acts are committed by a victim just trying to survive. ~•~