My eyes dart around the room like mice, my mind reeling from how everything could go so wrong. Sa’id smirks at me. His killer gloves stretch across the hilt of his rusty dagger. And I can’t believe that this is how I die, at the hands of a man I could have sworn was my happily ever after. He comes at me with his dagger. His eyes are bloodshot. He looks nothing like the man I thought I knew. And then, I panic.

“Are you really going to kill me?” I ask. My voice comes out as a squeak.

Sa’id chuckles. “Do you mean the gloves and dagger haven’t given it away yet? Are you really that dense?”

I swallow my fear. And hurt. “You don’t have to do this to me. I already discovered who you were a few weeks ago. At your apartment. I saw the pictures and the torn panties behind your dresser.”

“Really?” Sa’id snickers, kneeling in front of me. He traces my forehead with the edge of his dagger.

“Sa’id, look at me.” My heart is in my throat, but I manage to hold his eyes. “I found out about the horrible things you had done. I could have run yet I chose to stay. Because I love you. I still do.”

“Stop talking,” he digs the dagger into my jawline. And I shut my eyes, waiting for the sting. Waiting for the blood. I jerk when the dagger goes crashing to the ground.

I look up at Sa’id. He is not looking at me. His gaze is averted. He looks torn. Guilty. I know we will be having a long conversation about this. For now, I take his hand in mine. He doesn’t push me away. That is how I know I will be safe.