Prologue: Trapped

"Nobody believes me when I tell them that you're out of your mind.

Nobody believes me when I tell them that there's so much you hide.

You treat me like a queen when we go out, wanna show everyone what our love's about.

All wrapped up in me whenever there is a crowd, But when no ones around …"

Life was a bore for the 28-year-old mother of four. To outsiders she had everything a woman could dream of. So much so that she often felt selfish for even feeling bad about her life. She lived in a decent-sized condo with a seemingly-caring, loving, faithful husband who worked hard enough to buy and pay rent for the large condo in the Upper East Side and to keep all of them financially stable. She had beautiful sons and a seemingly fantastic relatonship etc. But deep down Adrian was empty, sad and eternally regretful about her life choices ...

Far from the "picture perfect" image she liked to display to the public, her marriage was in turmoil - filled with secrets, regrets, and lies. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, it was doomed long before it even began. It was a series of arguments, backstabs, and backhands. She wished so much that she could tell the world just what kind of man Omar Moore was. But instead she ushered out her frustration on the tread mill at the Public-Gym.

She had been trying to exercise off her body fat, since her last baby was born two years ago. Four pregnancies within a ten year span had never been good and kind to her once head-turning physique. Formally the "sexiest girl at Grant High" she was now a size nine and a mere shadow of her "glory days". Premature wrinkles had formed on her once young face, and her former radiant light brown skin no longer had its glow. She was so use to constantly hearing cat-calls and wolf-whistles as she walked down the street that when they stopped … she felt sort of empty inside.

She started running faster – staring across the room at a man she presumed to be about 5 years younger. He was tall – really tall – about six feet even or more. Always wearing nothing but a pair of navy blue shorts and white socks with Jordan Sneakers, with his muscular physique and gorgeous Mediterranean features – he looked like an Adonis, a god even. Though she thought it was cheesy, she often liken his shades to make him look at least like a movie star – at least she thought so. He was a regular at the gym even though she just knew he didn't need to be there. Looking at him brought about a series of fantasies and unfulfilled sexual desires. Omar was almost never home - constantly away on "business trips" – and when he was home there was almost no time for any "fun" due to the kids. Adrian loved her sons – she loved them dearly – but she also missed sex. The touching. The thrusting. The hair-grabbing. The panting. The moans. The look of awe and surrender in man's eyes at that special moment. She bitterly looked across the Gym at the attractive younger man – thinking of a time when she could have easily made him hers, if only for one night. Looking at how he easily lifted those weights, it made her think about him lifting her up and taking her into his warm embrace, and making love to her. Now … Now she be lucky if a man that attractive ever tossed a smile her way. Existing the Gym she smiled at him, hoping that he'd return the gesture, but it was a lost cause – surrounded by circle of blushing women she was sure he wouldn't. "Mr. Adonis" had equally gorgeous, younger women flushing around just to feel his pecks and grab his muscles. She was sure he was the type to take a few home with him as well. Not the kind of guy she needed anymore.

Omar used to have a body similar to "Mr. Adonis". Omar now graying with male-patterned baldness was weirdly enough also a shadow of his former self. His muscular-physique and boyish looks fading, as he took packed on a few pounds – but never nearly as much as she had.

Omar had never been dynamite in bed. He was "old fashioned", she always guessed. They only had sex in the missionary position, always late at night, with the lights off. But it was "good enough" … she supposed. He was very reserved with her and at first she respected it – admired it even. But it soon got boring very fast – apparently for both of them. And after their third child was born they barely even had sex. She could count the last few times since then on her fingers. Seven.

She could hear the crying before she entered the door.

"Mommy!"

Curly black hair running towards her? She knew it was Tyler.

"Hi, baby", she said rocking him back and forth in her arms, after lifting him up.

"Mom, do you know what this means?" Leo stomped up to her.

She regretted that she hadn't spoken any Spanish to her older three kids. Leo, her oldest, was an 8-year-old 3rd-Grader. His eldest younger brother Travis – a 7-year-old 2nd-Grader, and her other son Junior – a Pre-Schooler, all spoke a few words and barely at that. Tyler was going to learn Spanish if it killed her. "You know what? Just give me a few minutes and I'll write it myself."

"That's cheating", Junior interrupted.

"No, it's helping, sweetheart", she responded, grinning at Junior.

"Oh, you're finally home", Omar said, almost grimacing at her as she walked past him.

"I was at the Gym", Adrian responded going up the stairs to put Tyler in his play-pin.

"Yeah, I'm sure that helped", Omar mumbled under his breath as Adrian reached the top of the stairs.

Taking off her clothes and stepping into the shower, Adrian felt soothed as the cold water touched her skin. Taking a swab of shampoo to thoroughly wash the sweat out of her hair - scrubbing hard hoping to get the smell out. Using dove's soap she carefully washed her face smoothing the creases of her skin.

There was some thought about whether or whether not to ask him for sex, but she knew it was a lost cause.

Getting out of the shower, she look took time to put moisturizer on her face. Taking a robe she swiftly walked into the master bedroom and discovered Omar was already there watching TV. They had separate beds and haven't slept in the same bed since Leo was born.

"I'm hungry! There's no food." Junior whined.

"Aren't you going to cook?" Omar said frowning. "The kids are hungry, for God's sakes! You can cook food for yourself, but not for the kids?"

"You were home for hours and you didn't make anything for them!" Adrian exclaimed, ignoring his insult, more concerned for the children. "I assumed you cooked!"

"That's your job remember! I work. I pay the bills. I relax. You take care of the house and the kids, remember?" Omar said easing himself on his bed and smiling at woman on the TV screen. "Gosh, you are so lazy."

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Junior cried.

"Omar, I do a lot around here. I'm so sick of you acting like I do nothing. I cook, I clean, I do the laundry -"

"And that's what you're supposed to do", he replied, almost insulted.

"I just want some time for myself!"

"Do you not want to be around your kids? Do you not love them?"

"Of course I love my kids, Omar! You know that more than anyone else!"

"Then you should be happy just taking caring of them! That's the deal we made! That's the deal we made before we had Leo! That you wouldn't go to school or work! That I'd take care of you!"

"I wanted to go to school! I wanted to work! I told you I wanted to go to graduate Law School when we started dating! You're the one didn't want me doing any of that. I stopped going to John-Jay because I loved you! Not because that was our deal!" , Adrian scream confused. "Why can't I go back to school?"

Silence befell the room before Omar calmly stated, "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because you made it that way!", she screamed inside her head.

"Why do you hate me?", the words came out before she could think it over. "Huh? … Why do you hate me? What the did I ever do to you to deserve the way you treat me?"

Almost like lightening he was off the bed and before she knew it he had lunged at her - pressing her against the wall into submission. "What did you do to deserve the way I treat you? What about the way you treat me? You're the one that started this argument. I'm the one that puts a roof over your head. I pay for all that fucking jewelry you wear. I pay for all that name-brand clothes and bags you carry around. I pay for that fucking car you drive. I pay all the credit cards you max out. [Scoffs] You don't do shit for yourself! You should be fucking grateful. You should be down on your knees thanking me. I owe you nothing - absolutely nothing! In fact, I own you. Now you're going to do whatever the fuck I say and whatever the fuck I want. I'm the man in this relationship, not you!" He said, holding her neck and staring her down. "Now don't make me hit you. I thought we stopped this foolishness years ago."

"I'm going to fucking kill you!", Leo yelled, with a voice that sounded like it was calling for blood.

"Get the fuck off me, Leo!", Travis bellowed out. "Mom!"

Omar look at her with dead eyes, "Now go get your kids."

"There's no kindness in your eyes,

The way you look at me, it's just not right.

I can tell whats going on this time,

Theres a stranger in my life

You're not the person that I once knew.

Are you scared to let them know it's you?

If they could only see you like I do,

Then they would see a stranger too …"

Adrian often thought she ate a lot to keep up with Omar's constant abuse. In front of open crowds Omar was the perfect husband – "the supreme gentleman". Behind closed doors, he was a complete nightmare. An arrogant man that liked to show off his power and prestige on the one person it didn't matter to. He thought because he worked, he not only owned the house but that he owned her. That she owed him constant loyalty, submission, and sex whenever he wanted. He even wanted her to love him. Sure she did spend a lot and after Omar won the money he quickly lost an overwhelming majority of it due to her co-dependence on him. But this couldn't explain his hatred of her.

And she couldn't tell anyone. Not only would no one – not even Cindy and Reuben – would believe her about Omar. At first they could never support Omar moving her to New York City nor Adrian's pregnancy with Leo which coincidently began a bit before the move - when she didn't want to move to New York. Her loneliness may have been the motivation to move to New York, but her pregnancy with Leo was the only reason she stayed in the relationship in the first place. After meeting their first grandson, her parents fell in love with Omar all over again, when he showed he could provide everything they would need. At first, they didn't like that she didn't finish College, but hey …. Omar was that good with words. Though they were divorced now, she knew if she did leave Omar, she would have no support from neither one of them. She hadn't even spoke to either of them in years, anyways.

She feared he would financially "cut her off" - worse yet he would cut her sons off. In Adrian's view, Omar never loved Leo, Travis, Junior, or baby Tyler. Not like how she did, anyhow. He loved them so long as they were leverage – objects he could hold over her to control her and make sure she couldn't leave him. She didn't have a College Degree so she couldn't get a decent job to work in New York to support her sons on her own. Heck, she couldn't even leave the house alone without Omar excessively calling her, or hovering down her throat about it and accusing her of cheating on him – much less to go to a job interview. Or even just to look one up on the internet or her phone without clearing the "search history". She would be breaking their "deal".

If she did leave, she was sure that Omar would use his father's position in the F.B.I. to make her life a living hell. Whenever she left him, he always able to track her exact locations and find her down to the state, city, and street address. He surely would make her pay forever for even thinking about leaving him again.

"Did I ever do anything that was this cruel to you?

Did I ever make you wonder who was standing in the room?

You made yourself look perfect in every way, So when this goes down, I'm the one that will be blamed.

Your plan is working so you can just walk away, Baby your secret's safe."

Unlike Omar, she knew she wasn't perfect. She used to think all their fights were her solely her fault - for pushing Omar too hard, for not appreciating him, for undermining him in his own household, or even slapping him when she was angry at him. She use to feel sorry for Omar, due to his childhood – witnessing arguments and fights between his parents but having to stay together due to his parents' good reputation with others. She used to think she pushed Omar into being a man he never was. That her personality had pushed him too far.

As proof for this she'd look at Dante. Dante wasn't anything like his older brother. Dante was so much of the loving, kind man - that neither she nor Omar had never pegged him to be – to his all of his ex-girlfriends and his now-Finance, so much that sometimes looking at the brothers she would often wonder if she made the wrong choice. Sure, he wasn't the most faithful guy, but Dante would never even swat a fly. Dante, who knew of his brother's abuse of not only Adrian - but all of his women - would even call and check up on her to see if she was alright, every now and then. She knew in her heart that even if she had hit Dante, no matter the circumstances, he would've never struck her back like Omar use to, and continued to do even after she stopped. So, no she could never chalk it up to just that – to just his childhood. Dante was almost like the second coming of the Messiah, comparing to Omar who seemed all too much like the Anti-Christ. Omar, unlike his brother, but so much like his father, had invested in a certain image. An image he needed to hide who he really was. Adrian was the only one that could see beyond that image because she really knew "the man behind the mask".

"Such a long way back, from this place that we are at.

When I think of all the time I've wasted, I could cry …

There's no kindness in your eyes,
The way you look at me, it's just not right.
I can tell whats going on this time,
Theres a stranger in my life.
You're not the person that I once knew.
*Are you scared to let them know it's you?
If they could only see you like I do,
Then they would see a stranger too.."

She no longer believe his "I love yous" after they had followed verbal assault after verbal assault - even if the hitting had stopped. She wanted to leave but she couldn't leave. There was no way out of this relationship. She was trapped.

Song: "Stranger" By Hilary Duff

A/N:

** Adrian ate a lot after she and Ben lost Mercy. I honestly didn't remember that when I wrote this. I was just shooting off the top of my head.

** A College-Educated grown-man dating an emotionally-immature 17-year-old High School student who suffered through a stillbirth and who isn't even divorced yet is a RED FLAG!

** A grown-man "proposing" less than two months into a relationship with said-teenage Divorcee who is grieving both the loss of her stillborn and the demise of her past relationship - without a ring - just so she won't be with any other man ... and telling her that eventually she'll have to say "yes", is a RED FLAG!

** A man using his father's job to track the exact location and address of a teenage girl's parents, after he just dumped her and she insists she doesn't want a relationship and just want to focus on school is a definite RED-FLAG!

** A man being angry with a teen girl because a Pimp sexually harassed her is a another definite RED-FLAG!

** If any boy/man attempts to "trap" a girl/woman with an unplanned pregnancy - especially less than a year after she suffered a stillbirth and divorce - just so she would do what he wanted irrespective of her feelings on the topic of which they disagreed upon, that is a hugmonous RED-FLAG!

** Any man that keeps breaking-up with and with-drawling his affection/love from his on-off girlfriend so that he can later come back with full-control is another hugmonous RED-FLAG!