“Why didn’t you fight back?” Liam asks the instant we enter our bedroom.

I mumble something unintelligible and sit on the couch. I don’t want to answer because I am already on the edge as it is.

He sits beside me and checks the bruises that Heidi caused. “I always thought you were a fighter, but now, it stumps me why you didn’t fight back,” he repeats, as if wanting to be cleared of his confusion.

“Because I deserve it,” I finally answer while he checks the wound on the side of my neck.

His eyes return to mine. “You deserve to be assaulted and humiliated in public?”

I nod...