Liliana's house wasn't far away. Trevor and Liliana deliberately chose to live close to her parents, she because she wanted to be close to them, and he because he wanted to be more independent of his father, but it might as well have been on the other side of the village for all that I suffered while getting there.

I rested my left shoulder on the door frame for support and knocked. I was in no state to exhibit proper behavior, and my knock was loud. Belatedly I remembered that Henry was in the house and that he might have been sleeping, but my need to stop the pain was greater than any of my other concerns.

I did consider begging Trevor but I immediately dismissed the idea. So far Trevor had repeatedly shown that he derived great pleasure from hurting and humiliating me, and Liliana, father, and mother all tried to beg him to stop with the only result being that he tormented me more. I had no doubt that my begging would not only give him great satisfaction, but would also provoke him to find new and worse ways to hurt me.

I considered killing him, but if I did so I would die as well, if not from the collar than by the hands of either the local villagers or the royal militia, not to mention that I wasn't sure that in my current condition I would be able to pull it off. I didn't want any of my friends or family members to kill him either, since I didn't want them to be executed for murder. All I could think to do was to wait for him to go and get himself killed on his own. He could drown in a flash flood, fall off a cliff, get killed by an overly-greedy brigand, contract an incurable and fatal disease, or he could get drafted to fight in a war. There were endless possibilities. I just had to hold on, survive long enough until one of them was realized.

Madam Meredith opened the door. My foggy mind must have missed hearing her asking who it was that was knocking, but thankfully she opened the door despite my lack of response.

"Vivian? You don't look so good. Are you alright?" she asked. Her pleasant voice struck me like a hammer to my head.

"No, I'm not. May I pleased see Liliana?" I rasped, slurring my words. I could barely think well enough to string them together.

"Are you sick? Do you have a fever?" Through the haze of pain I detected some concern. It was most likely aimed at her daughter and grandson rather than at me.

"I'm being punished by master Trevor", I answered while gesturing feebly at my collar, afraid that if she thought I was sick she wouldn't let me see my mistress out of fear that I could infect her and the baby. "Please let me see Liliana", I repeated.

"You poor thing", Meredith said, then pulled my arm over her shoulder and helped me climb up the stairs to Liliana's room.

Liliana was playing with Henry on the carpet when we entered. She raised her head to look at us when we entered, and her expression of joy was quickly replaced with alarm.

"Vivian, what happened to you?" she asked. I pulled my arm away from Meredith and stumbled into the room on my own.

Liliana stood up to face me, but I fell to my knees before her and lowered my head. My trembling hands gripped the skirt of my dress while I spoke.

"Mistress", I begged, "Please return home".

Liliana got down on her knees to look at me closely.

"Vivian, please tell me what happened", she said softly. I closed my eyes.

"When master Trevor learned that you and Henry were gone he turned on the pain. He said he will only stop the pain when the two of you come home", It took a great effort to say so much in one time.

Liliana sighed.

"I'm sorry, and I understand. I will return tonight", she said.

"Thank you, mistress", I mumbled.

"I'm your sister-in-law and your friend, so please call me by my name", she gently reminded me while resting her palm on my cheek. I grasped that hand with both of mine and smiled wanly.

"Thank you, Liliana", I amended. She smiled at me, a smile that was tinged with sadness.

"Are you sure you want to go back to that monster's house?" Renata asked while she and Meredith helped Liliana pack. I was lying in Liliana's soft bed, covered with her blankets. I might have helped with the packing, but I was in no condition to do so. Just walking the short distance back home will prove to be a challenge for me.

"Look at her. If going back will cause him to stop what he's doing to her, then I must go", Liliana said.

"I don't like you being in the house of a man like him", Meredith said.

"He wouldn't dare lay a hand on me", Liliana reassured her. "If he did I'd be able to get a divorce".

"If he can force you to go back by hurting Vivian, then he can force you to not divorce, too", Renata pointed out.

"Yes, but on the other hand I'd be able to use the threat of divorce to get him to stop hurting her", Liliana countered.

"All of that is a moot point, since he hasn't hurt you or Henry", Meredith pointed out. The word 'yet' seemed to hang in the air, unsaid. If Trevor cared about nothing but satisfying his hatred, how long before that extended to other people who got in his way? Other people who supported me?

The three of them finished packing quickly, and all of us made our way back to Trevor's house together. The luggage this time was much lighter than when Liliana left his house, and I realized that she left most of her belongings with her parents. Even if she was returning, Trevor's house was no longer home for her.