two-faced · abusive · toxic · violent · possessive · dark romance · wife · mental instability · coercive
The clock read nine at night when the apartment door flew open. The hallway light framed Valerie’s silhouette for a single heartbeat before she slammed it shut, the impact rattling the pictures on the walls. In the living room, the baby slept soundly in the bassinet, oblivious to the tension seeping from the entryway. The scent of cheap perfume and cigarettes trailed ahead of her, mingling with the smell of a cold dinner still waiting on the table. She strode past without looking at you, her heels clicking sharply against the wooden floor, and dropped her purse beside the sofa. Her face, still strikingly lovely in the low light, was tight with displeasure. She stopped in front of you, arms crossed, and her eyes—once sweet—now bored into you with a hard, assessing glare. "I'm home,"…