Page 2 of Cup of Lies

Your mind lies, Romy. It’s probably lying now.

The fury gleaming in Seth’s eyes as he handcuffs me to our bed burns inside my skull. I didn’t dream that up. It’s real and it happened.

Why would he handcuff me?

Are we freaks in bed?

I shiver at the terrible threads of memories, knowing it has nothing to do with our sex life. There’s something far more sinister at work here. I just need to get to the bottom of it.

How?

I need more time to think.

My mind whirls as I put away the folded towels in our bathroom. After getting them neatly stacked in the closet, I stare at Seth’s sink, my whole body trembling with sudden disgust.

Red, curly pubic hair has been left in the sink. I should be grateful he’s manscaped for me, but right now, gratitude is far from my mind. Visceral hatred for my husband consumes me as I stare at the mess he’s left for me.

I’m his sex toy, his maid, his nanny.

The word nanny makes my skin crawl.

What’s going on with me today?

I’m toggling from disgust to anger to fear, unsure why these feelings are consuming me.

I wish I had someone to talk to.

I wish I had a friend.

Why don’t I have a friend?

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare at the pube mess, scouring my mind for any recollection of having someone to confide in.

A brief flash of a puzzle teases my memories. There are two men there. Seth and Doc Junior?

No.

The memory isn’t from the lab where I always see those two together. It’s of two other men. I can’t see their faces, but I can almost hear them. Squeezing my eyes shut, I grasp at the whisper of a life I don’t remember.

Who are you?

Caius.

The name cuts into me like a blade—sharp, quick, precise. I’m left clutching my middle and stumbling out of the bathroom, gasping at the pain that’s filleting me from the inside out.

Who is this Caius?

The memory of saying his name comes to mind and then I remember Seth’s reaction. Hand over mouth, handcuffs, his phone.

What was his phone for?

I’d watched helplessly as he did something on the screen and then mind-numbing static crackled through my every nerve ending, chasing everything away except a blank quiet inside me.

My mind feels like a puzzle, but I’ve only been given a few colored pieces. The rest have been painted black, hiding in the shadows for me to find and put together.

They’re there. I just have to locate them.

How?

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