"Ashley? That ghoul! She'll scare away children!"

As Ashley Palmer stepped out of the shower in a robe, these words rang in her head. She walked into her sprawling master suite, perched on the fifty-first floor of Malory Towers, the tallest building in Norwich.

"God knows how the ugly wh0re seduced Jake."

The world was envious of her a long time back. Now it hated and ridiculed her.

Ashley looked around, hoping to find comfort in luxury. The room had designer club chairs and sofas upholstered on cocktail tables. A stylish credenza and tripod floor lamp stood beside an anthracite side table.

She turned to the east city view, a wall made entirely of Saint-Gobain glass. Custom-made rugs covered the floor space. The extravagance did not bring Ashley any delight anymore. A long time ago, she was spoiled and adored. Now she was treated like an animal.

Jake Grayson, Chairman and CEO of Grayson Inc., was her husband. He was one of the most desired men in the city. However, he was the sole cause of her suffering.

An expansive mirror covered the wall near the changing room. Ashley approached it and examined herself in the mirror. A natural strawberry blonde, her hair was the cause of envy.

Ashley went for a jog every morning and worked out in the gym in the evenings. Her body was taut and slender with firm bre@sts. But her face contrasted the rest of her features. She hated her face. It was hideous!

Ashley used to be beautiful. However, she became a survivor of a horrific crime. A group of masked men abducted her on the day of her engagement. People found her disfigured and unconscious on the pavement the following day. The skin of her face was peeled, and her body was bruised and bleeding. She recovered her general health, but her face and psyche did not.

Multiple plastic surgeries only made matters worse. The scars were everywhere: her forehead, cheeks, chin, lips, and nose. Even her earlobes were affected.

Ashley would still have a reason to be happy if not for the trials of her personal and social life.

Ashley's marriage to Jake was a sham. It was a front for the corporate merger of Grayson Communications and Palmer Industries Inc., her father Arthur Palmer's company.

Ashley and Jake were the hottest couple in town before the tragic incident. After her disfigurement, her face became hideous, and people assumed Jake would dump her. However, the two billionaire families followed through to sustain the merger.

Ashley's mother had died of cancer when she was young, and Arthur had remarried a woman named Mary. Scarlet, Ashley's stepsister, had supported Ashley throughout the nightmare, attending to her at the hospital and helping her through the legal procedures.

"Don't worry, sister. As long as I am by your side, you're safe."

However, the brutal attack on her was not the end. Her troubles had just begun.

Tessa Grayson, Jake's eighteen-year-old sister, had also gone missing. She was found dead in an abandoned factory, her body disfigured and her throat slit.

Police forensics were shocked to find Tessa's murder weapon covered with Ashley's fingerprints. Phone records indicated Tessa was supposed to meet Ashley for lunch during those hours.

The cops grilled her for days, but Ashley had no information to give.

"The last thing I remember is the masked men drugging me and throwing me into a van," she explained to them. "I woke up in the hospital with my face covered in bandages! How could you think I did this to myself?!"

The District Attorney named Ashley as the principal suspect in the murder of Tessa Grayson. The prosecution argued that Ashley had staged the attack on herself. They tried to establish an insidious motive behind killing her sister-in-law. They argued that Ashley wanted to be the sole partner in Grayson Enterprises after getting married to Jake.

An expensive lawyer hired by Arthur Palmer got the case dismissed on a technicality. But Jake never forgave Ashley and said so to her face while she was in the hospital.

"I know you killed my sister, Ash. You'll pay for it dearly."

It was surprising when he married her regardless of his hatred. She knew the reason why on their wedding night. Jake arrived in their bedroom drunk and high on cocaine. The monstrous look in his eyes was enough to scare her into submission.

"Fxcking ugly slxt!" he spat. "You deserve that sh!tty face!"

"Jake…"

"Ashley Palmer! Look at you, in your lavish gowns, while my sister lies in a coffin! Are you happy now?"

"No, Jake, it wasn't me! Please believe me! I would never hurt Tessa!"

"Stop lying, b!tch! Nobody believes your deception! You killed her and thought you could usurp her shares? Fxcking slxt! I've been waiting for this day to give you your punishment!"

Ashley stared in horror as Jake tore off her clothes. He pinned her down to the bed when she protested and bound her with chains. Taking off his leather belt, he strapped her naked body until it was covered with bruises. Ashley screamed till she passed out, but nobody came to her aid.

Days turned into months, and Jake's physical torture turned sexual. He'd put a bag over her head and fxck her till she was sore and half-unconscious. Leather straps, barbed whips, massive d!ldos, hanging swings; her abusive husband crossed all limits of hardcore torture.

Ashley never reported her suffering to anyone because she thought she deserved the punishment.

"Perhaps it is my fault all this happened," she told herself. "If I had been with Tessa that day, she wouldn't have been killed."

"One day, Jake will see the truth and forgive me."

Yet, the abuse never stopped. Jake came to her several times a week and violated her against her will, all the while hurling filthy curses and experimenting with all sorts of torture instruments.

Ashley let the bathrobe slip off and examined her naked body. There were visible marks of nail scratches and scars on her back—a few noticeable bite marks on her breasts. Cigarette burns were ugly reminders on her thighs and buttocks. A few wounds on her waist were fresh from last night.

Tears filled in her eyes, but she did not cry. "I've wept enough."

"I will never be able to prove my innocence. Jake will never stop abusing me. In fact, he seems to enjoy it."

Only one solution could break the vicious cycle. It was time to end her marriage.

"I'm going to ask Jake for a divorce. And I'll do it with style."