With Poe's concerned voice in her ears and his slightly tired face in front of her, twenty years of living together and now only a year since she'd seen him, Elaine felt like a lifetime ago. Twenty minutes had passed since the other man had walked through the door, and the closeness that had once been there was only gradually awakening in her mind.
At the same time it was like a hammer, hitting her head hard in the next second, snapping her out of her almost lost senses.
What had she been doing all this time?
How could she have numbed herself, not thinking about fighting back and escaping, but instead giving herself up to stay with Jeff, the devil, and indulging in the tenderness she'd exchanged for meekness? How could she really act like a tamed pet, staying at home unchained, waiting for the man to come home from work every day to soothe her? How could she begin to forget herself, become accustomed to being imprisoned and organized, and become a slave to her master's wishes?