I Was Stuck in a Marriage With a Monster Until One Day I Got a Chance to Escape – Story of the Day

I’m trapped in a marriage to a cruel and controlling criminal. I had started to lose hope of escaping from him without ending up buried beside his two previous wives when one dinner changed everything. I finally had a chance to get away, but I had to place my trust in the enemy to seize my freedom.

My husband, Robert, summoned me for dinner by having one of his bodyguards (who were really little more than hired bullies) deliver a designer evening dress and high heels to my door.

"If you don't put these on, I'll have to come in there and do it for you," Steve said.

His sharp-edged smile and fiery look suggested he'd enjoy doing it too. I faced an impossible choice: I could either hold out and continue my self-inforced isolation and hunger strike or have this goon paw and beat me into the stupid dress.

I'd been beaten enough recently, so I got dressed. Robert's chief bodyguard, Dylan, had also arrived by then, and the pair of them marched me downstairs to the dining room.

The solid wooden banquet table in the baroque mansion was laid with an extravagant dinner. Solid silver candelabras, tureens, and an expensive bottle of wine sat on the table. Robert stood by the fireplace, elbow leaning casually on the mantel and that all-too-familiar look of unyielding malice in his eyes. I was terrified but determined to defy him, no matter what.

"Sit," Robert commanded.

When I didn't comply, Dylan tugged on my arm to force me into the chair. I hated being bullied and pushed around by these goons, but at least Dylan used the least amount of force possible and didn’t seem to relish the excuse to be violent toward me like Steve did.

"Eat," Robert snapped.

He stared at me intently, eagerly. Despite his confident stance, I knew him well enough to understand the turmoil he was hiding. Robert was accustomed to being feared and controlling others using their fear of him. My defiance was slowly unraveling the tyrant.

"I'm not hungry," I replied.

Dylan's hand pressed against the back of my neck and shoved my face towards the plate. Steve chuckled.

"You think this is funny?" Robert screeched. "Get out!" he spat, looking at the guards.

I heard Steve and Dylan's footsteps receding as they marched away across the white marble floor. I stayed there, on the edge of my seat with my hands braced against the table, and stared down at my plate. Robert marched across to join me at the table.

"I said, eat." Robert's voice was flat, devoid of emotion but laden with expectation.

In truth, I was starving. I'd stopped eating and shut myself in my bedroom yesterday morning after a horrific night with Robert. The chicken piece and salad before me were torturously tempting.

I didn't want to give in to him, but I also didn't want him to summon his goons back into the room to force-feed me. I wrapped my fingers around my knife and fork and slowly lifted them.

"Do it, girl." Robert leaned back and relaxed in his seat. His gaze turned to the whole roasted chicken set before him. "The power is always in my hands."

I hated him. I hated him for winning this battle, for tricking me into thinking he was a good person before we got married, and for everything he'd subjected me to since.

I hated the way he stabbed into his chicken with his pocket knife, tore it apart with his fingers, and shoveled the food into his mouth like a caveman. I hated the sound of him eating and the way he breathed around each mouthful. I wished he was dead and some higher power out there decided to answer my wish.

Robert coughed. I watched as the look in his eyes turned distant, and he coughed again. Bits of chicken fell from his mouth as he reached for his glass. He chugged every last drop of the rich, red wine, and it did nothing to stop him choking.

I relished the sight. It would've been so easy to sit there and watch him die, but I knew my nightmare marriage wouldn't come to an end so easily. Someone would eventually come to help Robert, and then I'd suffer for sitting by while he was in distress.

So I slowly reached for my napkin and patted my lips. Robert was staring at me now, and I could just about make out the word 'help' in the garbled noise coming from him. I rose and strolled along the length of the table to him.

His hands flailed, sending his plate skidding across the highly polished table. Robert had doubled over. I pulled back my arm and hit him on the back.

Robert hacked like a cat with a hairball as I gleefully beat his back. I didn't really expect my efforts to save him—he needed the Heimlich maneuver—but that was fine. There were cameras in this room, somewhere, and it needed to look like I had made an effort.

It was disappointing when he spat up a lump of partly chewed meat with a sliver of rib sticking out of it.

"Every once in a while, power can be shattered by one, tiny bone," I remarked as I walked away.

Robert grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. His hand circled my throat as he pushed me back against the table.

"What did you say?" Robert shook me by the neck and glared at me.

I wished I was a stronger or braver person. Part of me wanted to aggravate him enough to kill me so all of this could be over, but I knew he wouldn't do it quickly. He'd promised me a slow and painful death after our first major argument.

We'd been married for a month the first time I 'defied' him. He'd given me two hours to go shopping, but I'd been gone for three. When I returned home, he was practically foaming at the mouth in rage. That was also the first time he hit me.

That weekend, he'd flown us to the villa on his helicopter. He insisted I join him for a walk down by the lake. I thought he wanted to apologize, but instead, he stopped beneath an old willow tree and pointed to a large, natural stone.

"My first wife's name was Mary," Robert said. "I caught her cheating on me and locked her in the basement. They say it's painful to bleed to death, and she seemed to suffer a lot before she lost consciousness."

Robert then pointed to another stone. "My second wife's name was Susan. I was going through a phase where I was fascinated by the various methods used to carry out the death penalty through history when one of my bodyguards informed me that she'd tried to run away. Hanging can go terribly wrong if one doesn't stick to the proper techniques."

"This... this can't be true." I turned to Robert, expecting him to admit that he'd been lying to scare me, but he'd just sighed.

"It seems like I've been cursed to fall in love only with disobedient, defiant women." Robert ran his fingers over my cheek. "I'd hope you would be different, Emma, but it seems I was wrong. We can still make this marriage work, but only if you obey me. If you won't do that..."

He led me around to the other side of the tree and pointed to a shallow depression of freshly dug earth. I started to shiver as I realized he was showing me my own grave.

"I've always wondered if death is inevitable if you inject an air bubble into somebody," Robert said lightly. “It may take some experimentation.”

I stared into Robert's eyes now as his grip on my throat tightened and decided this wasn't going to be the day I'd die, not if I could help it.

"I was just saying that I want to go out to the store soon," I replied, the pressure of his fingers on my throat making it hard to speak.

"For what?" Robert growled.

"To buy boneless meat," I replied.

Robert chuckled. He released his grip on my neck and stepped back. I immediately headed for the stairs. I had a small backpack with some emergency supplies hidden in the bottom of my closet, ready to go. All I needed was an excuse to leave the house unattended, and Robert had just agreed to do exactly that.

"You've got an hour,” Robert said behind me. “One of the bodyguards will escort you."

"I can manage without those gorillas," I said over my shoulder.

"It's not up for discussion," Robert replied. He then let out a low whistle.

His goons appeared almost immediately. They were always lurking somewhere nearby, but I was nonetheless startled to think that they'd been so close while Robert was choking. If I hadn't taken steps to save him, vile as he was, who knows what his goons would've done to me?

I stared at them as Robert came up behind me. He placed a hand on my belly and pulled me back against him. I felt his breath in my hair.

"Who?" I asked, looking from Dylan to Steve.

Robert chuckled. "Dylan."

This was the first time I had a real chance to escape, and this bodyguard was the only barrier between me and my freedom. I looked into his eyes as I walked toward the stairs, and he met my gaze.

Dylan had been working for Robert for three years, but he was only promoted to be his right-hand man a few months ago. He was as cold and rigid as a steel rod, but that was preferable to Steve's hungry gaze and cruel smirk. Although Dylan never hesitated to follow Robert's orders, I got the feeling he didn't enjoy causing pain and suffering the way Steve did.

Looking into Dylan's eyes now, I saw a momentary flicker of pity and got the feeling he might help me. It didn't make any sense—nothing Dylan had done up to this point gave me a reason to think he'd go against Robert—but I was desperate enough to trust that feeling anyway.

Dylan followed me upstairs to my room and stood near the door like a soldier at ease. He stared blankly at me when I opened my jewelry box, removed a roll of hundred-dollar bills and some of my bracelets, and held them out to him.

"These are real pearls and real diamonds," I said, "and there's enough here to make you very wealthy. It's all yours if you help me escape."

Dylan's facial expression remained stony, but his eyes widened. He wasn't just surprised, though. There was a softness in his gaze that suggested my plea had cracked through his steely facade and reached some gentler part of him.

"No," Dylan said.

I couldn't believe it. I’d seen the softness that he hid beneath that hard exterior. He wanted to help me—I was certain of it—but maybe his fear of Robert was greater than his empathy.

"Just drop me off somewhere along the road. You can tell my husband I ran away at a gas station," I pleaded.

I saw his jaw muscles moving, but he didn't reply. I held out both my jewelry boxes to him.

"There are hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewels and money here," I told him. "You could do nothing for the rest of your life..."

He glanced at the jewels and rolls of cash I was offering him. It was strange. Any other man would've shown signs of temptation or greed, but Dylan just seemed sad.

"I said, no," Dylan replied.

Had I been wrong about Dylan? I stared at him now. His face was as cold and hard as I’d seen it a thousand times before, but his eyes still gave him away.

“Please, help me, Dylan.” I circled the bed to stand beside him. “I can’t take it anymore! You’ve seen the way he humiliates me.”

“It’s none of my business,” Dylan replied.

There was one last thing I could try to get through to him and convince him of the danger I was in if I stayed with Robert. I pulled back my sleeve and showed him the yellowing bruise on my wrist.

“Look at me,” I pleaded, tears stinging my eyes.

Dylan glanced down at my arm and clenched his jaw.

“Look at me,” I implored him again as I turned and unzipped my dress to show him the bruises on my back. “It won’t be much longer before I end up buried at his villa with his two previous wives.”

I turned back to Dylan. His eyes flashed from side to side, and his lips were slightly parted. He seemed to be thinking hard.

“Is that where he keeps all the money?” Dylan asked.

“Yes!” I leaned toward him, eager to take advantage now he was showing clearer signs of temptation. “Stolen money, jewelry, antiques…I know the password to the door. You can take anything you want from there.

Dylan inhaled deeply and tensed his jaw. He stepped closer to me and closer still. There were only a few inches of space between us now. Every breath I took was laced with the spice and leather scent of his cologne. I should’ve been afraid, but I wasn’t.

“Okay, I’ll help you,” he said in a low voice, “but in return, you’ll tell me where I can find this villa with its room full of treasures. You have a minute to pack up.”

And he just turned and walked away. For a moment, I felt a little colder and lonelier as the space between us grew ever wider, but I didn’t have time to dwell on that now. I hurriedly shoved my jewelry boxes and cash into a small backpack.

I was willing to make any deal to get out of that hellhole and away from my depraved husband. I never could’ve imagined that the bodyguard I was trusting with my life was not who he said he was.

We were on the run for days, only stopping at roadside motels to catch a few hours of sleep. Dylan was stoically silent the entire time. I tried to make conversation with him, but the only responses I got were grunts, shrugs, or a side-eye.

One evening, we sat together on a lumpy motel bed, watching TV. He was stiff, as always, and kept his arms tightly crossed. In other words, he was being his usual self. Until he laughed.

It was so unexpected that I couldn’t keep the smile off my face when I turned to look at him. He glanced sideways at me and immediately clammed up again.

“Why are you always so quiet and withdrawn?” I asked.

He looked at everything in the room but me. The Adam’s apple in his throat bobbed, and it seemed like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how to get the words out.

“You should get some rest,” he said and leaped to his feet. “We’ll need to move on soon.”

I watched him head outside and couldn’t help the bad feeling that came over me. I’d clearly made him feel self-conscious when all I’d been trying to do was get him to be more relaxed. I followed him outside to apologize but caught him doing something that sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

Dylan stood in the shadows a few paces away from the motel room door. I wouldn’t even have seen him if his face wasn’t lit up by the eerie glow from his phone screen.

“...I’m not sure,” he whispered into his phone. “It could be a few days. She won’t tell me.”

My breath caught in my throat. I silently eased the door shut until there was only a sliver for me to peer through as I eavesdropped on Dylan’s conversation.

“Out of the question,” he snapped. “Emma has been through enough, and I won’t do anything to hurt or frighten her.”

Now I was really confused. My first thought, horrifying as it was, was that Dylan was speaking to Robert. Dylan’s stone-cold demeanor was impossible to read, after all. Even though I thought I’d successfully lured him with the promise of Robert’s stolen money, there was always the possibility he was luring me into a trap.

But the vehemence with which he told the mystery person on the phone that he wouldn’t hurt me was surprising. It seemed like he genuinely cared about my well-being under that harsh exterior. But who the heck was he talking to?

“I’ll keep it on me,” Dylan continued, “hopefully this will all be over soon.”

I slipped back inside after he hung up and crawled into bed. My mind was racing with all sorts of strange ideas about Dylan’s mysterious partner, but the one thought I kept coming back to was his insistence that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.

After that day, I started to really notice all the little things he did that showed Dylan’s concern for me. He was the first person to show me such kindness. He bought ointment for the bruises on my back and applied it for me. There were also mornings when he brought me breakfast in bed…something I’d never experienced before.

Even though he rarely uttered a complete sentence, his actions spoke volumes. I never asked him about the secretive phone call I’d overheard. Part of me wanted to, after all, I was risking my life by trusting him.

Logically, it seemed like I was making a stupid move, but I knew in my heart that Dylan would keep me safe. He was my savior.

One day, I decided to show him my gratitude by going to the store to fetch some groceries. All our meals thus far had either been the usual motel and guesthouse fare or takeaways from whichever place was closest when we got hungry. Since we were spending that night in a motel room with a kitchenette, I intended to prepare us a proper meal.

While Dylan was unloading our bags from the car, I slipped away and quickly walked to the store we’d driven past two blocks away. I picked up the ingredients for salad and pasta, then headed back to the motel. I ended up getting a little lost but found the motel again just after it got dark.

Dylan was standing near the window when I entered the room.

“Where have you been?” he asked gruffly.

“I just got us something to eat,” I replied.

“I told you not to go out!” Dylan spun to face me. “Do you have any idea what he’ll do to you if he finds you, Emma?”

His brow was furrowed, and he had a dark look in his eye. He uncrossed his arms and gestured sharply while he spoke. All in all, it was the most animated and talkative I’d seen him since we met. I was so shocked that all I could do was stare at him as he stomped toward me.

“Since when do you care about what happens to me?” I asked.

“Since I helped you escape!”

“Oh, that’s right,” I replied, “you need me to take you to Robert’s villa and give you the security code so you can take money from his private vault.”

“That has nothing to do with it!”

The truth hit me then like a ton of bricks. All the kindness and caring attention he’d shown me over the past few days was just a scam.

“You only care about me because you want to ensure I won’t change my mind about telling you what I know.” My heart sank as I voiced my thoughts out loud. “My God, I’ve been such an idiot.”

I turned to run away, but he caught my hand and pulled me back. I spun into his arms, and as he stared down into my eyes, I knew I’d been wrong. His concern had nothing to do with the money, and every bit of kindness he’d shown me came straight from the heart. I knew these things, and I felt the truth of them in every cell of my body when he kissed me.

His hand pressed lightly against my cheek, and his fingers combed through my hair as his lips pressed against mine. I never knew a kiss could feel like this, laden with fiery passion and yet so gentle and tender. I melted against his hard, muscular chest and felt his heart racing in sync with my own.

It was almost overwhelming. Emotions I’d never felt before welled up inside me, and I broke away from him. We stared into each other’s eyes, probably not for much longer than a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. I’d never imagined that I could feel so safe in a man’s arms. Nor had I ever realized that love could evoke such an electrifying sense of desire.

I had to have more. I leaned in to kiss him, and it felt like everything was right in the world. We spent that night together. I felt safe for the first time in my life when I was in his arms. Every touch of his strong, warm hands felt like a promise to protect me, and I surrendered myself to him, heart and soul.

When I woke the next morning, Dylan was sitting at the foot of the bed. He reached for my hand and kissed me, then said the four words every woman dreads hearing.

“We need to talk,” Dylan muttered.

I tried not to think the worst. After all, we’d just spent the night together, and he’d greeted me affectionately when he realized I was awake. I noted the open suitcase near his feet and decided to make light of his statement.

“Are we discussing how much money will fit in that suitcase?” I smiled at him.

Dylan smiled back, but only briefly. His brow furrowed, and he looked away as he ran one hand over his hair.

“There’s something important I need to tell you, Emma,” Dylan said. “I just don’t want you to think—”

A brisk knock at the door interrupted him. We both tensed immediately, our senses on high alert. If the person at the door were a motel employee, then they would’ve announced themselves. Dylan and I looked at each other. He pressed a finger to his lips to signal silence. We both knew that Robert had caught up to us at last.

My hiding spot was cramped and dark. My only window to the world outside and what was happening in Dylan and my hotel room was a narrow slit I could peep through. I didn’t need my eyes to identify Robert’s heavy footsteps passing within inches of where I hid.

“Hello, boss,” Dylan said, He then raised his voice to yell hello to Steve.

“Where is she?” Robert asked in a low voice.

“She ran away when I took her to the store,” Dylan replied.

“And you did too, apparently,” Robert said.

Dylan sighed. “Because I knew you’d blow my head off for losing her.”

I picked up a different sound then, a soft, regularly-spaced ‘shwick’ that I knew all too well. Robert liked to bring his pocket knife out and play with it as a silent threat. My memory of the rhythmic way he twisted it through his fingers, shut it and then flipped it open again synced with the sound of him performing those actions in the room beyond my hiding spot.

My heart pounded in fear. I’d had to squeeze myself into the suitcase so I’d fit, and it had been hell thus far to keep still so I would draw any attention to my hiding place, but now it felt like I was suffocating in here. Sweat trickled down my forehead and ran into my eyes, stinging them, and every shallow, rushed breath I exhaled only made the cramped space hotter.

What could I do if Robert attacked Dylan? I definitely wouldn’t remain hidden. Dylan was strong and tough, but I could never leave him to face Robert and Steve on his own. Maybe the shock of seeing me burst out of the suitcase would distract Robert and Steve long enough for Dylan to get the upper hand.

I positioned my finger near the small gap in the zip that Dylan had left for me to free myself. When he shut me in here, he’d urged me to stay hidden, no matter what happened to him. I hadn’t had time to answer him, so I wouldn’t be breaking any promises if I didn’t comply with his wishes.

“Dylan, Dylan, Dylan,” Robert said, “you’re like a brother to me. At least, you were.”

I almost screamed when someone kicked the suitcase. The only weapons I had with me were the acrylic tips on my nails. I had no illusions about them being good enough to keep me alive, but I could definitely take someone’s eye out before I met my end.

“Get him in the truck, Steve,” Robert said.

For a few minutes, all I heard was a confusion of footsteps, then they all moved toward the door. I stayed in the suitcase, barely daring to move. At any minute, I expected Robert to tear open the zip and yell triumphantly at me.

But there was only silence. I slowly poked my finger through the gap in the zipper and pushed it open. I flipped the suitcase lid back and found myself alone in the motel room. I could run anywhere now and be completely free. If I was quick enough, I could make it to the border and escape from Robert forever.

But I couldn’t leave Dylan at Robert’s mercy because my husband didn’t have any. His previous wives weren’t the only people buried at his villa. As much as I feared ending up in the dirt beneath that willow tree, I dreaded knowing the man I’d fallen in love with would end up there more.

Just last night, we’d found each other and come together as one, and I’d rather die with him than spend the rest of my life without him. I had to go back to that hellhouse and get Dylan.

I spent all day watching the house. When the daytime security guards left, only a single night shift guard arrived to replace them. He took up his station in the guard house and promptly leaned back to take a nap. Once it was dark, I drove around to the back of the property and climbed over the wall.

Since nobody was patrolling the grounds, I easily crept up to the house and made my way to the exterior cellar door. Since Dylan had told Robert I’d escaped when he took me shopping, my husband had obviously sent all his goons out to search the city for me.

I barely dared to breathe as I tiptoed through the house that had been like a prison for so long. I’d often studied the security cameras in my peripheral vision as I wandered those hallways and dreamed of the day I’d escape. I knew where all the blind spots were and put that knowledge to good use.

Robert conducted all his dirty business in his office on the second floor of the house, so that was where I headed first. The door was unlocked for a change. I slipped inside, and my heart stopped when I saw Dylan tied to a chair.

I dropped to my knees and fought back tears when I saw the dried blood and bruises marring his face. He seemed to be unconscious at first, but his eyes flickered open when I gently cupped his head in my hands. He groaned, but I quickly urged him to be quiet.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” I told him.

Dylan blinked at me and slowly tipped his back. He grimaced in pain. I glanced at the places where his legs and arms were secured and noted how tightly Robert, or possibly Steve, had pulled the zip ties securing him. I rushed over to Robert’s desk and took scissors from one of the drawers.

“Why did you come back?” Dylan whispered, his voice laced with pain. “It could be a trap.”

“None of the guards are here,” I replied as I snipped through the zip ties. “But we should still get out of here as quickly and quietly as possible.”

Dylan rubbed his wrists and rose. He took my hand and led me toward the door. I felt a rush of exhilaration flooding through me. Dylan and I were reunited, and the moment we stepped foot off this awful house, we’d be free to live out the rest of our lives together.

But it seemed all my luck had run out when Robert marched through the door, knife flicking across his fingers.

“Welcome home, wifey,” Robert said. “I knew you’d come back for your boy toy, and here you are!”

Dylan took a step sideways to position himself between me and Robert.

“Oh, don’t hide,” Robert said, “and don’t worry. The two of you are going to be together forever. That’s what you want, right?”

“What are you going to do to us?” Dylan asked.

“You’ll join my collection of traitors in the villa, right down by the lake. I’ve already promised Emma her mode of death,” Robert pointed at me with his knife, “but you still have options.”

“So that’s where you hide all your bodies, right?” Dylan asked.

“I said you’ll be together forever, and I meant it. I’ll put you into the dirt side by side. Does that make you happy? Tell me it makes you happy.”

There was a manic glint in Robert’s eyes as his gaze switched from Dylan to me. His grin looked more like a wolf’s snarl than an expression of happiness. I was terrified, but Dylan burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at, moron?” Robert asked.

“Three years, Robert!” Dylan exclaimed between laughs. “Three years of hard work earning your trust, pretending, blackmailing, and intimidating, and now you spit out all your secrets yourself in less than a minute! Thank you.”

Dylan gave Robert a slow clap. I didn’t understand what Dylan was talking about, but Robert seemed to understand perfectly. He lunged at Dylan with his knife.

“I know every detail of the crime scenes you’ve left behind, I also know where to find the bodies now,” Dylan said as he casually stepped back, out of Robert’s range. “You’ve just demonstrated to me your weapon of preference, too.”

Robert paused, his brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“You have nowhere to run. The house is surrounded.”

The wail of sirens drew my attention to the window just as the red and blue lights of a cop car flashed across the glass. I understood everything then. Tears filled my eyes as I stared at the back of Dylan’s head. He’d been lying to me all this time and had probably never been in any real danger because he was an undercover cop.

Steve burst into the office. “Boss, there are cops everywhere,” he yelled. “We have to go, now!”

“Son of a…” Robert’s lips curled back into a snarl. He looked ready to kill us both right then, but he backed away toward the door instead.

“Get the car,” Robert yelled over his shoulder. He then turned and ran. I listened to the sound of his and Steve’s footsteps disappearing down the hallway.

Dylan turned to me, and I rushed into his arms.

“It’s over now,” he whispered as he held me close, “it’s all over.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I leaned back to look into his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes softened as he looked at me. “I thought the most important way to bring this monster down and free you from his clutches was to crack the case. It turned out that the most important thing was falling in love with you.”

He leaned in to kiss me, and I knew that what we had was forever.

Wielding power for its own sake has never made anyone happy. Love, on the other hand, is the reward for being strong enough to save another. This is the thought that came to me as Dylan and I drove out toward the villa. He must’ve felt me watching him because he turned and gave me a warm smile.

“You can still change your mind, Emma,” he said. “You can show us where Robert’s villa is on a map, and the other officers in my department can clear the place out and lock everything up as evidence.”

“I know, but I want to go…” I glanced out the window at the tall trees growing up against the side of the road, “I feel like I need to, Dylan. I want to be the one responsible for revealing the evidence that’s going to ensure Robert spends the rest of his life in jail.”

Dylan’s hand closed over mine. I turned back to him as he pressed a tender kiss against the back of my hand.

“You’re a good, brave woman, Emma,” he said, “but I hope you remember that I’m here to support you every step of the way. If it gets too much for you…”

“Then I know I can count on you to help me hold it together.” I smiled at Dylan.

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