He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 1

Ottilie Sewell had been treated at St. Dymphna's Psychiatric Facility for three years before her attending physician unilaterally declared her cured and discharged her.

She stood at the entrance of the hospital, facing the blank brick wall.

In her mind, she reached into her chest, ripped out her own heart, and smeared it against the concrete. From this moment on, she was a woman without a heart.

During Ottilie's first meal back home, not a single dish on the dining table was something she liked.

Her brother, Shawn Sewell, gorged himself, grease gleaming on his mouth as he devoured the food.

Her father, James Sewell, asked, "Are you still in touch with Yorath Fordham?"

"No," Ottilie replied without even lifting her head.

James let out a disappointed grunt. "Your mother and I set up a blind date for you with a public school teacher. We've negotiated a two hundred-thousand-dollar settlement to help pay for Shawn's wedding. You're meeting him at the restaurant tomorrow. Don't screw this up, or else..."

Ottilie's birth had been an accident, one that ended up costing James his cushy corporate job. Coupled with a family dynamic that heavily favored sons, she had always been the household's burden and punching bag. A minor offense meant a severe beating; a major one meant being locked out of the house for a month, forced to dig through trash just to survive.

"Okay," Ottilie agreed obediently, instantly drawing suspicious glares from the rest of the table.

She was notoriously stubborn; if she didn't want to do something, she wouldn't bend even if it killed her. James had been fully prepared to drag her to City Hall in zip ties.

For the rest of the meal, the family ate in total silence.

No one cared why she had been convicted of attempted murder three years ago.

No one asked why she was later deemed legally insane, or whether she had suffered during her time at St. Dymphna's Psychiatric Facility.

Then again, she didn't need anyone's pity.

...

The next day.

Ottilie carried a basket of organic farm-fresh eggs to the restaurant entrance, waiting for her blind date. Her mother had forcefully shoved the eggs into her hands, insisting she give them to her date to take home to his mother.

She hadn't been waiting long when a fleet of luxury cars pulled up to the curb.

The valets jogged over immediately to assist.

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