Fleeing her husband from a remote village, she stumbled into a bear trap and, slipping into unconsciousness, thought it was the end.
When she awoke in an unfamiliar room, Emily let out a quiet groan. Her head spun as if shed been struck, and her memory was a blank voidshe couldnt recall what had happened or how shed gotten there. Her body ached as though shed been lying still for days, refusing to obey. Trying to sit up, she froze in horrorher wrists and ankles were tightly bound. Panic surged through her, and she writhed on the bed, the springs creaking beneath her.
“Finally awake,” came a cold voice. “Dont worry. Youll stay a little longer. Once you understand your mistake, Ill let you go. Then well return home.”
In that moment, Emily remembered everything. She had agreed to a divorce with her husband, William. Hed seemed to accept ituntil the blow came. He had never planned to let her leave. “Youre mine,” hed told her. “And if you dont see that, Ill make you.” But Emily couldnt endure his infidelity any longer. After the first affair, she forgave him. After the secondno. Love had long faded, leaving only fear and disgust for a toxic marriage where obsession met loneliness.
“Let me go,” she whispered, trembling. “This wont change anything. You cant force me to love you. Will, please…”
“Youll come around. Right now, youre in denial, but youll see were meant to be. Give me another chance. And where will you run? Remember the abandoned village I told you about? My grandparents lived here. No one comes here. No one will help. And dont anger meyou know what happens then.”
Emily shuddered. The madness in Williams eyes terrified her more than anything.
Ten daysor was it more?she spent in that house. William freed her only for a few hours each day, watching her every move like a predator. Emily realized she wasnt dealing with a man but a sick one in desperate need of help. Yet she pretended. Played the obedient wife, feigning hope for reconciliation just to return to civilization. No one at work would miss herher boss had wanted her gone ever since Emily caught her with William. Her parents were dead, and her friends dismissed her disappearances”jealous husband,” theyd sigh, never asking further.
One day, when William was distracted, she struck him with a heavy figurine. He collapsed, unconscious but breathing. She didnt wait to see if hed wake. If he did, she knew shed have no chance. Hed said theyd stay there forever, and she couldnt live with a man whose rage was like a ticking bomb.
Grabbing whatever clothes she found, she fled into the freezing night. The cold stabbed her lungs, but she ran. Cars, roadsthey were all far away. She feared William would track her footprints, but she had to keep moving. The woods, the distant howl of wolvesit all terrified her, but shed rather face wild beasts than a madman.
Her strength waned. She didnt know how long shed run or where she was going. The thought of freezing or getting lost gnawed at her. Thensharp pain, a scream. Her leg snapped shut in a bear trap. Blood soaked the snow. She struggled, but the iron jaws wouldnt budge. The pain swallowed her, darkness creeping in.
Thena voice:
“Dont give up now, love.”
She woke again in an unfamiliar place. The scent of herbal tea filled the airsomeone had been pouring it between her lips as she drifted in and out.
“Where am I?” she whispered, sitting up.
“Awake at last?” came a voice from the doorway.
A man stood therecalm, kind-eyed, wearing a woolly jumper and warm trousers.
“You saved me?”
“You saved yourself. You fought. I just helped.”
He introduced himselfThomas. Hed found her in the trap, carried her home, treated her wounds, given her antibiotics. Shed been delirious for days. The trap hadnt broken bone, but the gashes were deep. “You survived. Thats what matters,” he said.
He lived in his grandfathers old foresters cottage, retreating here to escape the city and clear poachers traps.
“Guess I did right turning that man away,” he added. “A day after I brought you in. He was wildsearching for someone. Dont worry. If he comes back, he wont get near you.”
Emily trembled. William had been close. But now, she felt safe.
Days passed. She told Thomas everythingthe marriage, the affairs, the escape. He listened quietly. Shed expected to fear all men after William, but Thomas was different. He was calm, gentle. No demands, no blame. Just presence.
Ten days later, she could walk againthough with a slight limp. Thomas went to check the woods, and she decided to cook dinnera small thanks for his kindness.
When he returned, he frowned.
“I told you to rest,” he said, brushing snow off his coat.
“Sorry… I wanted to help. I feel useless.”
He softened.
“Alright. If you want to help, lets do it together.”
Over dinner, he shared something personal: two years ago, hed lost his fiancée in a car crash. Every year, he came here to grieve alone.
“Im sorry,” Emily whispered. “But life goes on. Shed want you to be happy. After William, I couldve feared all men. But youre not him. We cant hide forever in fear. We have to move forward.”
Thomas nodded, and they finished their simple mealstewed potatoes, a bottle of red wine. After, Emily finally asked: how did supplies reach this remote place?
“My assistant brings them every fortnight,” Thomas said. “The roads are bad now. Hell come tomorrowand youll go with him. Back to the city.”
Her heart clenched. Home. Where her pastand a confrontation with Williamawaited. The thought of seeing him again was paralyzing. But with Thomas, she felt shielded. Still, she knew: hiding wasnt the answer. She had to face it.
“Dont be afraid,” Thomas said, taking her hand. “Youll be fine. That bastard wont touch you again.”
She smiled through her fear. His confidence warmed her, but doubt lingered. And sadnesstheir time together was ending. But she knew it was right.
The next day, his assistant, James, arrived. Kind, steady. Emily fought tears. Staying here, with Thomas, was tempting. But she couldnt start anew without closing the past. At the door, she hugged Thomas tightly, memorizing his warmth, the scent of his jumper, his heartbeat. He stiffened, then slowly hugged her back, his hands trembling.
“Thank you… Ill miss you,” she whispered.
“Youll be alright,” he said, voice firm but eyes sad.
In the car, she watched Thomas in the rearview mirror, standing on the porch. She clenched her hands, resisting the urge to ask James to stop. She longed to go back, confess she caredbut no. First, she had to end things with William.
James took her straight to the police, as Thomas had asked. She filed a report, told them everything. Then he drove her home. Thomas had arranged for supplies”until things settle.” Emily didnt ask who James really was. She just accepted the help.
At home, Williams presence lingeredhis things, his scent. She gathered it all, stuffed it on the balcony. She wanted him erased. That night, by the window, she thought of Thomas. Regretted not taking his number. But hed saidno signal in the woods.
The next day, a call came. William was deadshot resisting arrest. Emily didnt cry. No guilt, just relief. Hed never hurt anyone again.
When James returned, she told him.
“Good riddance,” he said. “He came here yesterday. But the lads Thomas sent kept him away.”
“Lads?”
“He had you guarded till it was over. Dont mourn him. The worlds better without him.”
Emily nodded, throat tight. Then she asked:
“Take me to Thomas. Next time you gobring me along.”
James grinned. “Fortnight. New Years trip. Was wondering when youd ask.”
Her heart pulled her there, logic be damned. She didnt attend Williams funeral. His mother had enabled him. No respect for that.
Two weeks passed. She sold Williams gifts, planned a fresh start.
When the day came, James picked her up.
“What if he turns you away?” he frowned. “Should I wait nearby?”
“No,” she said. “He wont.”
She packed a sports bag and a modest New Years gift. James dropped her off early, discreetly leaving her things before driving away