In her white gown and white shoes, Dani was prepared to say “I do.” She thought I do, but she never actually said “I do.” She thought of all the times she felt like she was going to die without him, and then of all the times she felt that she would die with him. All those moments she felt powerless, whenever he struck her with his hand, over and over, and over and over -

        “Your turn dear,” he said, after knowing what he did was wrong in so many ways. He didn’t know if he had done it sober.

         “No.” Though she barely spoke, he heard it

        “What do you mean, ‘no’? I love you. I promise I'll never hurt you again, please. I know what I did was wrong but it’s nothing. This fear of more to come is all in your head, I promise.”

        “No.” She ran out of the church and into the car. With little hesitation, she started its engine and drove home. 

        I can't believe I'm doing this, she thought to herself. She packed everything she could think of in her suitcases and left. 

        Kaden had tried his best to love her unconditionally, even though her schizophrenia had grown worse throughout their marriage. Dani had the same sleep-talking nightmares where she married him all over again, but instead of saying “I do,” she said “no” every time. He heard everything every time. One night, he had awakened to get a glass of water, and Dani was gone. All her stuff had disappeared. He pinched himself - his worst fear has come true. His wife was really gone this time.

        Kaden searched the entire house until, when he walked down the stairs, he found her stabbing herself in the stomach. She manically repeated, “ The bugs. They're inside of me and won't get out.”

        “No, no.” He ran up to her, but it was too late. She had already done so much damage to herself, that her intestines were spilling out and, oh god, the blood. So much blood was on the floor. How was she still talking?

        He felt the thick, burgundy pool with his fingers.

        Still warm, he thought. I can save her. There's still time.

        He saw a small blob of flesh pulsating abnormally.

        What the fuck is that?

        Dani didn't know that she was four months pregnant at the time; she just thought she had the flu or a common cold. It was always her dream to have kids with Kaden, but the voices were penetrating her head with lies, telling her that something was inside of her, and whatever it was bad. 

        When he checked her pulse, he realized she was gone. He should have seen the warning signs. The last time she had an episode this bad, she had slit her wrists and stayed in the hospital for three months. 

        Upon reflection, he cried and held her in his arms. 

        When he woke up, he saw that Dani was not sleeping next to him anymore.