"Are you all right, Miss Channell?" Hans asked, snapping Meryl out of her daydream.

"I...um...yes," she stammered as she looked at the shard of glass on the ground.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Hans?" she asked, trying to sound normal.

"You don't seem happy to see me," he said, a hint of hurt in his voice. "Is something wrong?"

Meryl bit her lip, unable to respond.

He put his hands in his pockets and walked further into the room. "I came to check on you," he said.

Meryl shifted uncomfortably as he drew closer, until she accidentally stepped on a shard of glass on the ground. The glass pierced her foot, and she yelped in pain.

Hans rushed to her side, squatting in front of her. He tried to grab her foot to remove the glass.

He reached out to touch her, but she pulled away, blood staining the floor beneath her. "Meryl!" he called out, and she knew that he had remembered everything.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed, backing away from him.

"What?" he said, confused and hurt. "Stop pretending, stop messing with  head,"

What are you talking about?"

She started to cry. "You know exactly what I'm talking about," she said, her voice breaking. "Just leave me alone."

"Meryl, please listen," he pleaded, his voice sincere. "I promise I won't hurt you again."

She froze, unsure what to make of his words, He had always promised not to hurt her, but it never ended well.

Ludovic was her boyfriend before she met Tyrson, and she had broken up with him because she couldn't bear the pain he caused her every day.

He had been addicted to drugs, and when he was high, he would beat her and even assault her. She never reported him because she was in love with him, blinded by her emotions. That was, until she met Tyrson.

"You think I'm a monster?" he said, a slight chuckle in his voice. But the chuckle died on his lips, and he looked at her. Their eyes met for a moment, and then she looked away.

"What?" he asked, his voice quiet. "Is it because of him? You left me for him, didn't you?"

She was confused for a moment. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about," he said, his voice growing louder. "I loved you. I gave you everything. What else did you want from me?"

Suddenly, he raised his hand as if to strike her. She closed her eyes, bracing for the impact. But it never came.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and saw him standing there, his hand lowered. "I'm sorry," he said, scratching the back of his head. He turned and walked out of the room.

Meryl let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. As soon as the door closed behind him, she collapsed onto the floor, shaking. She looked down at her feet, seeing the glass that had cut her skin. She carefully removed the shards,

"Meryl you need to see this" Iris entered with his laptop and trailed off when he saw her on the ground aside with shattered glasses and blood stain on the floor.

Just then, Iris walked in, laptop in hand. "Meryl, you need to see -" He stopped short, seeing her on the floor, glass shards and blood all around her.

He set his laptop down on the dresser and rushed to her side. "I'm fine," she started to say, but he wasn't having it.

He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. "You're not fine," he said, concern in his voice. "I'm going to get you some help.
*

"Is it what I think it is, Tyrson?" Julia said as she walked into the room. Her eyes were puffy and red, as if she'd been crying.

"I don't know what you're thinking, Julia. Just spit it out," he said, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

"Are you being serious right now?" she said, crossing her arms.

"I'm very busy, Julia," he said, his voice flat. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't add to my list of problems."

"If you're not going to leave, I'll leave," he said, standing up from the couch.

"You know the consequences of this, Tyrson," she said, a note of threat in her voice.

"Is that a threat?" he asked, his voice carefully neutral.

"Maybe," she replied, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. He scowled.

"You know what the consequences will be if I tell my mom you're not able to have children, right?" he said, his voice hard. She looked at him, shocked.

"H-how did you know?" she stammered.

"I wouldn't worry about that, if I were you," he said. "Just stay out of my business." And with that, he left the room.

He was halfway down the hall when he nearly collided with Iris, who was hurrying to get somewhere.

"What's that for?" Tyrson asked, noticing the first aid kit in his hand.

"It's for Meryl," Iris replied.

"Is she okay?" Tyrson interrupted, a note of concern in his voice.

"I thought you hated her," Iris said.

"Why would I hate her?" Tyrson said, genuinely puzzled.

"Excuse me," he said, and left.

"She doesn't need my help. It's best if I just stay away, like she wants." He shook his head, a feeling of frustration welling up inside him.

****

"I need you to find out more about her daughter, and where they live," a husky voice said over the phone.

"Of course, sir. Is there anything else you need?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.

"I'll take care of that. Just send the money to the usual account," the husky voice said, and the line went dead.

The other person hung up the phone, a wicked smile spreading across his face. "You don't know what's coming for you, Meryl," he muttered to himself.

********

Tyrson stepped out of the bathroom in his pants, drying his wet hair with a towel. "I should call my mom," he thought to himself.

He set the towel down and began searching the bed for his phone. But it was nowhere to be found. "Where could it be?" he wondered.

He checked the drawer, but it wasn't there either. Then, a thought struck him: Maybe he'd left it in Meryl's room.

He quickly changed into shorts and a t-shirt before heading to their suite. Once he arrived, he knocked on Meryl's door, but there was no answer.

"Maybe she's asleep," he thought. Without waiting for a response, he pushed the door open and walked in.

He had barely entered the room when Meryl came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a pink towel that only just covered her thighs.

She hadn't noticed him yet, and he didn't want to startle her, so he stood stock-still, his mouth slightly open in surprise. He had seen her in various stages of undress before, but still he was caught off guard by the sight of her, and he couldn't look away.

He couldn't help but notice that she looked even more beautiful than before. She'd lost some weight, and her hair was wet and sticking to her face, giving her a sultry look. He felt guilty for noticing, but he couldn't stop his mind from wandering.

He forced himself to look away, but Meryl was in the process of taking off the towel to get changed, and the sound of his cough made her jump.

"Holy sh*t!" she exclaimed, startled. When she saw who it was, she exhaled, her breath shaking.

It was Tyrson, her ex-husband. Not some strange man, come to rob her or worse.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, her voice icy.

He looked flustered. "I'm sorry, I just - I forgot my phone, I think I left it here," he said, stammering as he looked around the room.

She walked over to the drawer, took out his phone, and threw it at him. He caught it with one hand, his reflexes on point.

"You're welcome," she said, her voice cold. He got the message: Get out.

As he turned to leave, the light from the lamp by her bed shone in his face, forcing him to look at it.

As she turned, she accidentally knocked the lamp on the nightstand, and it fell to the floor with a loud crash. Shards of broken glass lay scattered across the floor.

"F*ck!" she exclaimed. Tyrson rushed over to her, concern on his face.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes wide.

She glared at him. "Are you happy now?" she snapped, her voice raised. "Now leave!" She waved her hand towards the door, gesturing for him to go.

"I'll leave once I've..." He trailed off, his voice serious. Before she could react, he reached out and grabbed her by the waist. She tried to wriggle away, but he was stronger than her, and she was small and light.

He lifted her up and placed her on the dresser. "Stay right there," he said, his voice firm.

"I'm not going to stay still while you're here!" she snapped.

She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held on tight. "Just listen for once," he said, his voice raised in frustration.

She went still, frozen in shock. He pulled out the vacuum cleaner and turned it on, but before he could begin cleaning, he noticed something glinting on the floor. It was a tiny camera.

"What the...?" he said, bending down to pick it up. "Why is there a spy camera here?" he thought.

He stood up abruptly, running to the bathroom. "What are you doing?" Meryl called after him, her voice tinged with confusion. He didn't answer.

He searched the bathroom high and low, looking for something, anything. And then, he found it: another camera, planted right in the shower.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed, and Meryl jumped. When he emerged from the bathroom, she was staring at him with wide eyes.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"What are you hiding from me?" he demanded, his voice cold and hard. She paled, her eyes going wide.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, but her voice shook. She was trying to cover up her fear, but he could see right through it.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes. "Stop lying to me, Meryl," he said, his voice rising in anger. "I know you're keeping something from me."

Tyrson could feel his anger rising, but he did his best to keep it under control. When Meryl didn't answer, he held up the cameras for her to see. She looked shocked, her eyes wide with fear.

"Can you explain this?" he asked, his voice tight. "Do you know who put these here?"

She shook her head, unable to speak. He wanted to demand an answer, but he could see that she was terrified. He had to tread carefully, or he might scare her.

He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her. He had to be sure. At the same time, he worried that he might be overreacting, that he might be reading too much into things.

But there was a part of him that was certain he was right. No wonder she had been acting so strangely lately. Had someone been blackmailing her? Had they been using these cameras to spy on her?

"Meryl," he began, trying to keep his voice calm and even.

""Please...don't ask me," she said, her voice shaking. He felt his grip on her loosen slightly.

He moved closer, taking her face in his hands. Gently, he caressed her cheek with his thumb. She wouldn't meet his eyes, and her whole body was trembling.

"Meryl, please," he said, his voice soft. "Please tell me what's going on. I just want to help."

Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and he reached up to wipe them away with his thumb. "You're not safe here?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"No," she said, her voice hoarse. "He's going to kill me."

He was taken aback by her words. "Who's going to kill you?"

"My ex-boyfriend..."

Tbc