Author's Note: I thought of making a story out of a movie I watched called Sleeping With the Enemy for a while now. While this one will be way shorter and faster than the ones I tend to write, I still felt the need to do so because it was bugging me. I did it with a new favorite couple of mine, which is Clexa. If you haven't watch The 100 then do so because the series is amazing. I don't have an update schedule because I tend to update when I have time to write and that depends on college. So if you like this story then follow it to receive notifications when I do update. Kudos and thanks for your support!

Ps: When I was writing this chapter I did it with the song A Time For Letting Go from Michael Bolton. It goes amazingly well so you should all give it a go if you're like me and you like to listen to music while reading.

4 Years Ago

She had been 21 years old when she met Finn Collins and he seemed like the kind of guy that every woman would dream of dating: He was attentive, charming, polite and treated her like a princess. After two years of dating, of meeting the respective parents and of having the usual romantic dates and trips, when Finn asked her to marry him she jumped at the opportunity of being with the man she loved. The wedding was spectacular, the place big enough to house their families and friends and every single friend of her kept on mentioning how lucky she was at having caught such a good man. At the time she had agreed with them, herself barely believing that this man had fallen in love and wanted to be with her. Nevertheless, everything changed the moment she said I do. Finn became someone completely different to the man she had dated, and all the traits that she found endearing and lovable about him transformed into jealousy rants and possessiveness of her time and her body. After a few months of living together, Finn told her that she no longer needed to attend college because he could provide for the two of them, that her sole duty was to be his wife and to attend his needs. Of course she did not take this suggestion well, and after telling him that it was her right to have an education, she learned the hard way that no one said no to Finn Collins.

That day was the first time Finn lay a hand on her, attacking and hitting her in places that could hide the bruises that she sported for two weeks. It had been brutal, each hit done with the intention of making her see that there was no escape, that she had no free will and that all she could and had to do was follow orders. The next morning she got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to check her reflection in the mirror and what she saw made her cry in shame and embarrassment at herself. She felt so stupid for having married such a man, she was scared of angering Finn and at the same time she was so terrified that she wanted to run away. One thing that had always made her feel proud was her sense of independence and her stubbornness at accepting what others told her to do. Because of that, she started to put her clothes away in a desperate attempt at running away from him. Her parents lived a few hours away from her and she knew that they would not ask her any questions if she decided to suddenly visit them. She had conflicting emotions about Finn and what had happened, her mind and heart confusing her and impeding her from simply leaving him forever.

It was in that position of packing her things that Finn found her, and immediately she held her breath in fear at what his reaction would be. Instead of the fury she experienced the day before, Finn was so loving and caring with her, crying and asking for forgiveness for his outburst and promising her that he would get help and that things would change. It made her stop herself from leaving, she wanted to believe him and to remind herself that behind the beast there was this man that had captured her heart with silly poems and grand romantic gestures. She wanted to help bring this man back, and perhaps in order to do that she had to also compromise with him, which made her agree to drop school in order to remain at home until he received the help he needed. This had made Finn so happy that he decided to go away on a weekend trip on board his parents' boat, the Ark, and although she had been terrified of being at the sea, she was also excited at feeling the sun on her skin. While Finn was swimming in the sea all by himself because she had never learned how to swim, she told herself that this was the life the two of them deserved. She had promised Finn that she would remain with him for better or for worse, and she had almost broken that promise this morning. Berating herself for her weakness and lack of judgment, she told herself to give the man she loved another chance...

Current Time

The moment Clarke Griffin opened her eyes she exhaled in sorrow at the thought of starting another day. She felt a warm body sleeping right next to her, and without making a sound, she quickly stood up and went to take a quick shower. She calculated the number of steps she took and the place where she placed her feet in order to avoid making any kind of noise. She knew that were he to wake up before she had their breakfast ready, the consequences would be severe. Quickly stepping inside the shower, Clarke brushed herself, somehow trying to eliminate his smell and the feeling of his body on top of her, claiming her, branding her as his own so that no else could have her. It repulsed her every time she touched herself to feel the pain of bruises on her white skin, sometimes even seeing the indentation of fingers on her hips and thighs. Silent tears fell from her eyes, angry at herself for her weakness and her situation that seemed like it would have no end. She cried at the life she had previously had, at the joy she had experienced as a young girl and how all of that banished the moment she married Finn Collins.

She cried in anger at herself for her naiveness and stupidity, for believing the many lies Finn told her, for refusing to give up on a man that would never change because he truly believed that there was nothing wrong with him. She cried for her parents, for losing her father after being married to Finn and for leaving her mother all by herself in that big house with the memories of her dead husband haunting her. She had been all by herself when she got the call from her friend Octavia, the young woman crying on the phone while explaining to her that her parents had been driving to a date when a drunk driver hit their car, immediately killing his father and placing her mother in the hospital for a full month. While her mother lived, she lost the use of her legs which meant that she could no longer be a doctor or work at the hospital she loved so much. That day it had been like losing both parents because her mother became a shadow of what she had previously been, too focused on the past to live the present or to notice what was happening around her.

Because of this, when Finn got home from work that day, Clarke told him that both parents had died in a car accident and that she needed to go home for the funeral and the repartition of goods. Knowing that Finn had meetings with important investors during that same weekend, the man allowed her to go by herself, an opportunity that she used to place her mother in a hospice home and to sell her childhood home and all the possible goods. Because Finn had made them join their accounts, there was no way for her to place said money in her bank, which made her in turn take it with her to the beach house to be placed in a carefully hidden compartment. In it, she had all the things that she would need were she ever able to leave Finn: She had money, a bag with clothes that Finn thought she had donated to the Salvation Army, a wig that had been part of a costume she had put on while Finn and her were dating, and a wallet with extra documentation and paperwork that she had done while she was in Iowa. It was all prepared and yet she still hadn't had her chance to leave this man that terrified her to no end.

With the passing of years things had gotten worse, Finn developing an extreme case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a need to keep her watched at every moment of the day. It was Clarke's duty to keep everything in the house in check, to keep all the cans in the same position and in the same amount each day, to have the towels of the kitchen placed in the exact same level and to refrain herself from decorating or placing any thing that was not part of Finn's design. Each morning she cooked for him the same breakfast, bread and eggs, with the same amount of coffee heated up at the same temperature in the same cup and with the same brand he liked. She placed the food in front of him and went to the kitchen to continue her cleaning regime because he had gotten used to her being in there while he ate. After Finn finished his breakfast, he asked for the newspaper, which he read while sitting on the sofa and Clarke started to dust the carpets and clean the floors of the living room. While all of this happened they did not speak to each other, Clarke too terrified to disrupt him from his routine and he oblivious to the fear he imparted on her. After Finn finished reading the newspaper he asked Clarke for his suit, which she had already left ready the previous night. While carefully putting it on him, she allowed Finn to place his hands on her hips and to re-brand the bruises he had left the night before because he liked to have sex every night after finishing dinner. It never lasted long, the sole focus of it being for Finn to climax and immediately hold her close, which meant that Clarke never had the opportunity to shower or to clean herself from what they had just done. It always made her feel disgusted at herself and at him, but while he looked down at her in clear arousal, she had to pretend that everything was alright, that she was enjoying what he was doing to her and that she experienced extreme pleasure from him.

She had become so good at pretending to be ok that it made her question if this life was the sole thing that would remain for her. Was she destined to live in this state of mind? Was this loveless and abusive marriage her destiny? It made her feel scared each time she thought of this because she could not lose hope of escaping. Hope was all she had left and losing that meant that she accepted her situation and the idea of remaining with Finn until one of them died or he killed her in one of his jealous attacks. They had become more common after a man moved right next to them and Finn had suspected that the two of them experienced an affair. In fact, the culmination of said rage was yesterday afternoon when Finn came back from work and found Clarke talking with the man because he needed directions to the nearest convenience store. While Clarke tried to explain to him that nothing happened and that he was simply asking for directions, Finn immediately accused her of cheating and promised to teach her a lesson. And a lesson he taught her because right now she could barely place her hands on her body without feeling pain or open her legs much because of the way he had sex with her. It had been more painful than usual, and while Finn usually just focused on experiencing his own pleasure, this time he wanted to make Clarke scream, which made him be more brutal and desperate in his thrusts. Clarke had never experienced something so painful, and it was obvious that the man had done more than just have sex with her because she could see traces of blood on the inside of her tights. This made her start crying again. She knew what was going to happen today: Finn was going to apologize to her, he was going to kiss her and bring her flowers after coming back from work and they were going to go to the boat for the weekend as a way to make amends because Finn still believed that Clarke loved going to the boat. While the first time she had been on it she had experienced true joy, it now terrified her to get on it because it reminded her of her incapacity of leaving Finn and the horrible life she had. Finn still believed that she incapable of swimming, and while a couple of years ago she learned by having some lessons at their local YMCA, Clarke refused to tell him this because changing their routine would mean more abuse and mistrust from him towards her.

Clarke had to finish her shower in a haste after hearing some movement coming from the bedroom. Berating herself for getting distracted, she tried to run out of the bath so Finn would not see her but her legs were not cooperating with her because of the abuse she experienced yesterday. Hissing in pain, Clarke chose some loose clothes that would allow her body to relax and in a quick walk she left the bathroom before Finn got up from the bed. She quietly went down the stairs and entered the kitchen, going through each cupboard and checking every single can and thing was in order and in the same position it had been the day before. Moving the necessary things, Clarke took out eggs, salt, pepper and ham and immediately started to prepare Finn his usual scrambled eggs and placed the bread on the toaster. At the same time she placed the eggs on the stove she took out the milk and also placed it on Finn's cup of coffee, which went straight to the microwave for 3 minutes and 22 seconds. She had once allowed the milk to be heated for 3 minutes and 30 seconds and Finn taught her to never make that happen again after pouring it on her skin and leaving her with a burnt tight that she had to take care of with some medication Finn got her the next day. Moving in a haste after hearing the shower being turned on, Clarke placed the cooked eggs on a dish and the coffee right in the middle of the main seat of their table. She went to get a fork, a knife, a spoon and the coffee mix Finn liked to pour on his milk. After putting everything in place, Clarke started to clean the stove and all the things she used to cook his breakfast. She had finished cleaning the pan when she heard Finn coming down the stairs and she immediately lowered herself to the floor and started to clean the invisible stains that were on it. Without saying anything to her, Finn sat on his chair and quietly chewed on his breakfast, the only noises sounding in the room coming from his forks or from him drinking his coffee. Closing her eyes and hoping that Finn forgot about her, she almost shrieked when she heard him asking for her. It made her heart start beating erratically, it made her question herself and what she had done because she was sure everything was done just the way Finn liked it and she was already in so much pain that she knew she would not be able to take another beating.

"I wanted to apologize to you." Finn started crying and Clarke refused to look at him because this was what he expected to be done. "I lost my temper and I mistreated you. You just have to understand that I did it because I love you so much and it scares me to think that I could lose you. The idea of my life without you in it terrifies me and there is nothing I would not do for you, Clarke. You are aware of how much I love you, right?" he repeated to her the same thing he said after each time he hit her.

"I do." Clarke answered back, the same answer he expected to hear after his heartfelt apology. "It was my fault and not yours. I did not do what you told me to and it was your right to remind me of what I had to do."

"No, what I did was wrong and there is no way for you to justify my actions Clarke." Finn argued back. "You have to forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive." she said. "I love you." she choked out. "And because of that I cannot remain angry at you."

Finn stood up from his chair and hugged her tightly to himself, making Clarke hold her hiss of pain at the way he was placing his hands on top of her still sore bruises.

"I promise I will make it up to you." he smiled warmly and while many years ago that smile made her swoon, it now made Clarke's heart beat in fear. "I will take you tonight on the boat since I know you love it so and we can spend the weekend in the sea. How does that sound?"

Clarke smiled softly. "It sounds wonderful." she said while submissively looking down in acceptance.

"Good." he replied while tilting his chin up so that she could look at him. "I will now go to work, you should pack everything that we will need and make sure to be ready so we can leave as soon as I get back from work. There were mentions of a storm coming but I'm sure if we are fast we will be able to pass it."

"I understand." Clarke replied while leaving the room so she could get his suit. After grabbing and preparing it for him, she reentered the living room and waited for Finn to get up from the sofa.

"Thank you." he smiled happily at her and placed a kiss on her lips. "I will see you later." he nodded while opening the door and leaving an exhausted Clarke pretending to happily wave at him.

The moment the door closed and she could no longer see Finn, Clarke collapsed on the floor and felt herself enter a hysteric attack. All of the fear she had felt and yet kept hidden from Finn was now coming in full force and there was nothing for her to do than simply let it pass. She had expected Finn to propose a weekend boat trip, she had told herself to be ready for such a reaction and here she was now crying and scared about it. It scared her because Finn used this weekend trips to have sex with her as many times as possible, and while he cooked for them and fished with the steward, Clarke was meant to be kept hidden at their room so that only Finn could see her body. Many times it made Clarke wonder whether the steward thought this behavior was weird, and yet not once had the man asked her something about her situation. This made her believe that Finn was paying him an immense amount of money in exchange for his cooperation and silence. Flinching at the idea of the man being an accomplice to Finn's abusive behavior, Clarke focused on her daily routine and on the extra task of preparing clothes and the things they would need for their trip. She checked the mail and placed all corresponding letters and documentation to Finn, the only one allowed to open and manage all their accounts. She went to the back of the house and contemplated the sea, thinking about what would happen tonight and what she would experience during the weekend. She told herself to remain strong, to believe that this was not going to be her forever and that a change was going to come soon. She tried to go out of the porch into the warm sand, but the moment she was almost out she saw her neighbor looking at her and give her a warm and friendly hand gesture. Smiling in contempt, Clarke acknowledged him and quickly reentered her prison, making sure that there were no footprints that could alert Finn of her short time on the porch or the fact that she almost left the house.