Author's Note: I got some reviews that asked me to better divide the story, which made me decide to split it in two chapters. So the content here is not new. Kudos and thanks for reading.

Clarke cleaned her feet in the shower of the guest bathroom and cleaned the sand particles after making sure that there no stains or spots on the floors of the house. She went upstairs to their room and took out the same clothes she used for this trip. It was a dark blue shirt with white shorts and a black one piece suit that Finn bought her for their wedding anniversary in Hawaii. She had thought at the time that the swimsuit was too conservative, but because it was a gift from Finn she told him instead that she liked it. That was her first mistake, assuming that Finn bought her a swimsuit like that because he believed it looked good on her. It took her some time to realize that the reason Finn only bought her one piece swimsuits was so that no else could look at her body and so the bruises he imparted on her could be left hidden from the sight of the steward or Finn's friends when they had to go to a social gathering. To them, they had the perfect relationship and marriage. Finn always made a big deal of looking happy at these meetings and in love, usually keeping her close to him and pecking her lips in loving and romantic ways. The men in the room laughed at him and told him that he was a softie, which made Finn laugh back at them and wink at Clarke after telling her that he was one only for the woman he loved. Clarke then had to laugh back at him and nuzzle him on the nose so that then the room could laugh at the way the two played with each other. At first this had been easy because she really loved the man and cared about him, believing with her whole heart and soul that he loved and cared about her in the same way. Nevertheless, after being usually beaten and assaulted almost every day, now the smiles and laughs that Clarke gave them were shadows of the ones she had 4 years ago. Yet no one ever questioned her about their married life, or the fact that she always refused to show her body in front of them or of the way she sometimes had to put all her weight on one leg because to put it on both was uncomfortable. In fact, once Finn had lost so much control that he hit her in the eye and she had been forced to go to a gathering with a swollen eye, fact that made many friends question her about it. Before she had the chance to answer, Finn smiled sadly at them and told the story of how Clarke had been trying to place some things from her parents' home on the attic and instead of placing the box correctly on the roof it had slipped and the content fallen on top of Clarke, leaving her with a bruised eye. Laughing at the blonde's misfortune and lack of luck, everyone failed to see the way Clarke paled at the way Finn easily manipulated the people around her and her incapacity to tell someone the truth about their life.

"Clarke, are you ready?" she heard Finn ask her and this made Clarke realize that it was time for them to leave. Luckily she had finished everything earlier.

"Yes, everything is good to go." she answered back and immediately went down the stairs to meet him.

"Hi sweety." Finn smiled and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "How was your day?"

"It was good." she answered back while taking his suit and already placing it on the laundry room. "How was yours?"

"The same as usual, having to take care of some investors and showing some of them a group of properties. But that is not something you have to worry about." he smiled warmly at her. "I told my secretary to keep all calls and people away from me so I could spend my weekend with my lovely wife on our beautiful boat."

"I am glad to hear that." she managed to smile and kiss him on the lips. "I can't wait for our trip."

"Neither can I." he said suggestively while placing his hands on her hips. "They say that the weekend will be a wonderful time to bathe in the sun and to catch some fish." Finn said excitedly. "And I already talked with Wells and he is waiting for us at the Marine."

"Wonderful!" Clarke said while going to the kitchen to make some snacks while Finn moved upstairs to quickly change his clothes.

When he came back Clarke saw that he was carrying the two bags she had left done and he was now waiting for her to finish their snacks.

"All done?" he questioned her while placing their luggage down.

"Almost." she replied while cutting some avocados and putting them on a container. "The supermarket had their avocados for sale and I thought you would like to eat some."

"You know me so well." he gushed in happiness.

"I'm your wife." she attempted to joke and it seemed as if he believed her. "It's my duty and joy to know everything about you. Now I'm ready." she finished cutting and cleaning everything.

"Good, let's go milady." Finn exaggerated while opening the door to their house and letting Clarke get out of her prison to quickly enter another one.

The ride to the Marine was a fast one that had Finn babbling in excitement at the opportunity of the two being together and Clarke having to agree with him. She saw from her window the sights of children smiling while playing on the park, of young couples smiling and kissing each other and it made her crave to have such freedom and happiness. It made her wish to go back and change the way things had occurred. It made her wish to stop herself from meeting Finn all those years ago and accepting his invitation to go on a date. It made her want to prevent herself from marrying him and to tell herself to leave the first time he had hit her. All things that were impossible to change and yet she couldn't stop herself from dreaming of another chance to make things right and to take her life back.

"We are here." she heard Finn say while parking the car in front of the Ark.

Clarke opened her door and quickly got out of the car, looking around her and breathing the salty air that seemed to concentrate on the port of the Marine. Although she always felt scared of leaving with Finn on the boat, she still appreciated the small and limited freedom that she experienced the moment she got out of the car and Finn went to talk with Wells about the Ark and all the things it needed in order to sail away. It almost made her believe that she was far away from Finn and the mere idea of it made her have happy tears in her eyes. The illusion of course dimmed to nothing when Finn approached her and placed his hands on top of her shoulders, wanting to get her attention on preparing the boat with all the goods that they would need to buy from the market and that Wells would transport to the boat. The list was already done, and after giving it to Wells who shrugged in boredom, Finn took Clarke to the boat and softly pushed her inside, gushing about the beauty of the boat and the way Wells took good care of her. Clarke half-listened to him because this was the same thing he said every time they came to the boat and it always led to him give some extra money to Wells who would place it in his hidden pocket.

"Are we ready to leave?" Finn asked Wells. "I don't want to be in the middle of the storm."

"I already suggested you to leave tomorrow morning because of this storm." Wells said back and this surprised Clarke. "The port issued an alert of high tides and it is a risk to any boat to leave."

"I pay you enough money to not ask questions and just do what you are told." Finn angrily answered back. "So instead of discussing this with me and hence risking our chances of reaching the sea before the storm hits the shore, I suggest you start this boat." he threatened the steward who gulped and nodded in acceptance.

"The Ark will be leaving the port." Wells promised him.

"Good." he then looked at Clarke. "How about you go to our room and prepare everything for tonight?" he winked at her and she nodded in acceptance.

Clarke went down the shallow stairs in a haste and she almost fell because of said mistake. She had hoped Wells to prevent them from leaving and again money had been enough to make the steward forget about his morality. Still, Finn was an experienced sailor and if he was certain of them making it to the sea before the storm hit them then it was most probably that this would occur. In fact, the sole reason Finn needed a steward was because of the size of the ship and the Marine regulations that demanded each ship to have a steward on them in case of an emergency. Shaking in fear at the thought of Finn in this room later she went to the bathroom and threw up the small amount of food she had managed to eat before this trip. Cleaning everything and making sure that Finn would not notice this, she changed into her swimsuit and blue shirt and white pants. Now that she was ready she had to wait until Finn called her to go upstairs to have her usual time in the sun before he locked her inside their room and prevented her from leaving until the next morning. The short amount of time that she had to herself in this boat was what had kept her somehow sane during these trips and now that she was here, trembling and throwing up at the idea of Finn coming to get her, she was craving and begging the man to finally call her. Standing up and walking inside the room from side to side, Clarke almost fell to the floor when she felt the boat move under her. Surprised at the event, Clarke kept still and again felt the boat move. This was strange because the two men that were driving the boat were good at what they did and usually the trip was a steady and calm one. Nevertheless, after the boat moved yet again and harder than before, Clarke could not contain her curiosity and although she knew Finn was going to reprimand her for leaving the room she went up the stairs and into the main floor of the boat. What she saw made her open her eyes in fear and shock: they were right in the middle of the storm and although it was raining heavily she could see the bodies of Wells and Finn holding the steering wheel with all of their strength. Going up, Clarke's shoes made her slip and she grabbed herself on a rope that was hanging on the edge of the boat.

"Clarke!" she heard Finn scream from afar.

Looking up she saw Finn motioning for Wells to take full control of the wheel while he was obviously attempting to make his way towards her. Taking a deep breath, Clarke looked down and saw the deep black sea trying to take her body inside. Perhaps it was her time, Clarke thought while loosening her hold on the rope. Perhaps this was the way Fate had decided to let her free of this sad life she was experiencing and she was not going to hesitate on taking this opportunity. Not again.

"Clarke, hold on!" Finn yelled and now his voice was closer than before.

Knowing that she had not much time, Clarke closed her eyes and let loose of the rope that was keeping her rooted to the boat and Finn. Opening her eyes one last time before feeling the water on her back, she saw Finn's crazed eyes watching her descend towards the sea and Wells holding him, preventing him to go after her because it was too dangerous and he needed him on the boat. Closing her eyes again at the pain she felt on her back from impacting with the water, Clarke felt her body being sucked down. It was hard to keep her legs moving, the water too cold and making her muscles feel pain each time she stroked and attempted to move forward. She had one clear objective in mind, and that was making her way back to the shore. All the years she had been on this boat with Finn and Wells she had become aware of the route they took, and confident that she knew it well, she was now only hoping the storm prevented the men from taking the boat too far from the shore.

Keep moving, keep swimming Clarke, she continued chanting to herself after each stroke she did. The only thing on her mind apart from swimming was surviving, was making it out of that house and this life. She had been given a chance and she was not going to waste it, not again. She continued moving her arms, the pain and burning feeling she felt on them making her movements be slower and yet she refused to stop for she knew that stopping would mean giving up. She had taken a large amount of water inside of her and her throat was hurting because of this, making her breathing pattern became erratic and problematic. She tried to remember her lessons at the YMCA and what her instructor Bellamy had told her to do. He always mentioned to her that fear made her body produce adrenaline, which in turn made her oxygen levels lower and her need for energy become higher. She had to remain calm if she wanted to survive, and she had to do it fast if she didn't want to drown.

Concentrating on her father's face and her mother's gentle lullabies, Clarke found a pattern and swam non-stop for what seemed like forever. The pain had now become unbearable and the sorrow at not seeing the shore was slowly making her lose hope. Perhaps the storm made her drift away from her route and now she was in the middle of the sea. Crying in pain and stubbornness, Clarke decided to continue swimming until her body lost all strength or she became unconscious. She was not going to die without a fight, not after everything she had lived under Finn. Looking up one more time in pain, Clarke saw some lights in the horizon and she felt her heart soar. She was close to the shore! She was near Finn's beach house and this made her use the last of her energy to move closer and faster. She is not sure of how long it took her because she lost consciousness, but when Clarke opened her eyes she felt sand under her and in a haste she stood up, quickly regretting the action because her body was exhausted. Nevertheless, she knew there was no time to lose for Finn and Wells would make it back to the shore soon.

Carefully standing up and seeing how her body would react to the action, Clarke walked towards the house and entered from the back window, one that she had decided to keep open were she once ever able to leave. Now that she was inside the house she ran towards the hidden compartment she had previously stocked and she opened her, taking the clothes, the bag with her money and documents so she could take a shower and change. The shower was a fast one, only necessary to clean the salt away from her body and to refresh her from the gruesome swim she had just had. Looking at herself in the mirror with the wig placed on her head, she took from scissors from the cabinet and cut the hair, that way making herself look completely different to her usual self. While she did not expect to find someone on her way out, she had to be extremely careful about being recognized. Clarke then cleaned the bathroom from all traces of sand or hair from the wig, making sure that there were no signs of her presence in the room. Taking a look at her hand, she took off her wedding ring and flushed it down the toilet, immediately feeling a heavy burden raise from her shoulders. Smiling softly, she grabbed the bag and a dirty towel she had left on the garbage earlier, she cleaned all traces of sand from the floors of the house and left the house through the same window she had entered it, making sure to burn the clothes she had just taken off and the towel she had just used to clean everything. After seeing this done, Clarke left through the back porch, again cleaning her prints from the sand while checking her surroundings. Once she was satisfied and sure that no one was out there, Clarke walked from the beach house to the nearest bus station, already having decided where was going to go. The walk was a short one that had kept Clarke on the edge because each time a car passed right next to her she was afraid of seeing Finn coming out and dragging her back to the house. Nevertheless, that did not happen and she released a relieved breath once she found herself at the front of the line of Greyhound.

"Hi, could I have one ticket, one way to Des Moines, Iowa?" Clarke asked while looking around, still not confident about her surroundings.

"Sure." the old receptionist told her while taking her money. "When would you want it?"

"The soonest one you have." Clarke said and got a confirmation nod from the seller.

"There is a bus leaving in 20 minutes, is that ok?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any bags with you?"

"Only the one I'm carrying." she answered and saw the receptionist give her a non-caring look while the computer printed her ticket.

"Here is your ticket and the bus will be leaving from exit number 6."

"Thank you." Clarke said and made way for where the bus was. She did not feel safe outside of it, and after a couple of minutes she saw some people entering a big grey with red and blue bus.

"Hello, this is the bus that leaves at 8pm for Des Moines, correct?" she asked the driver.

"Yes ma'am." he answered her while getting her ticket. "Do you have any luggage that you would like for me to carry?"

"No, that's fine." she managed to smile despite her nervousness and sat at the back of the bus.

Clarke started to slowly count the minutes, hoping that nothing would happen. She saw that a small group of people also entered the bus, most of them quickly falling to sleep once they made sure everything was in order for the trip. Clarke would have been one of them were it not for the fear of Finn coming to find her and taking her back to the prison he called home. She had come too far, almost tasting the freedom she had dreamed of having and she was not going to lose it because she fell asleep before making sure she was safe. The minutes continued to go by and it was almost time to leave, which made Clarke's heart sore in happiness. She exhaled in relief when the driver entered the bus and turned it on, the doors closing once he made sure all the people that bought a ticket were inside of it. After that, it was a couple of more minutes until the driver started to set the car in motion, making sure to leave the station at 8pm. Once Clarke saw that they were leaving the city of Cape Cod she exhaled and started to cry because of the happiness she was feeling. She had actually done it! She had gotten away from Finn and she was on her way to start her life again. She had no regrets about leaving Cape Cod because everything there reminded her of Finn and the abuse she experienced with the man. Perhaps the only person she would miss there was Bellamy, the kind instructor from the YMCA that had been the closest thing she had had to a friend. Nevertheless, the mere thought of being able to live the life she wanted was enough for her and this made her smile again. This time she was going to make things right, she was going to be there for her mother and that was the reason why she chose Des Moines as her destination. This time she was going to be the kind of daughters her parents would be proud of and the kind of woman she could be proud of. This was her chance to be happy and she was not going to waste it, not again.