Description
"Pretty When Kept" unearths a raw, haunting tale of love's distortion, where sunshine fades into shadows, and the warmth of affection is replaced by cold control. At nineteen, she left the safety of home, drawn to California's golden promise, to a man who seemed like a guardian angel, offering the world in his smile. It was a perfect beginning-a whirlwind of magic, whispered secrets, and stolen kisses under the starry sky. But love is not always what it seems. As the days bled into nights, the cracks began to show. What she once believed to be love transformed into something darker-possessive, manipulative, and all-consuming. The house that should have been her sanctuary became a suffocating cage. She fought to remain the girl he first adored, but the pressure to be perfect, to shrink herself into something he could control, wore her down. Each gesture of tenderness hid a deeper wound, each moment of affection laced with silent threats. Her identity, once vivid, was slowly erased. The world outside, once so full of possibility, became a blur of cold, lifeless days. She began to wonder-had it always been this way? Was this love or the haunting of her own fragility? Through this visceral journey, "Pretty When Kept" uncovers the dark truth behind a love story gone wrong, where manipulation thrives beneath a seemingly perfect exterior. It is a painful yet poignant reckoning with the fragility of trust, the weight of self-doubt, and the journey from illusion to liberation. In the end, the bloom withers, but what remains is the strength to rise from the ashes.
Chapter One: Cradle
