Please, Derek

The wind howled at the rooftop, cold and relentless. Rachel stumbled, her shoes slipping on the gritty concrete, as her husband, Derek, dragged her by the back of her head.

"Derek, what are you doing? Stop it! Stop it!" she cried, her voice breaking with fear.

"Shut up and follow me," he snarled, his grip tightening painfully. "Watch me."

He shoved her forward and she nearly fell, catching herself just in time. Her hands flew to his, trying to pry his fingers from her hair. 

"Please you're hurting me," she gasped, but he didn't relent. He pushed her closer to the edge, the city lights sprawling out beneath them like a dizzying, sparkling carpet.

"Look here," he commanded, forcing her head down. The edge of the roof loomed perilously close, and Rachel's hearts pounded as she gave down at the street far below.

"What are you trying to do?" she whispered, terror sipping into her voice. "Derek, What are you doing?"

"Just watch," he hissed. "Watch How I end whatever happiness you think you have."  His words were laced with venom. "And then I'll end your life making sure nobody cares about you even after you're dead."

Rachel's breath caught in her throat. "What? No, Derek, please_" she called his name trying to reach him through the madness.

"See that car over there?" he said, a sinister smile spreading across his face as he pointed to a black sedan packed across the street.

Her eyes widened in recognition. "No, that's Uncle Richard's car! Isn't that your uncle's car?"

"Exactly," Derek snared "The man you're having an affair with behind my back."

Rachel's knees buckled. "No! I swear I'm not having an affair with him. Stop this, please!"  she begged, her voice rising in desperation. "He just cares about me, especially as I am your wife. That's all, listen to me, Derek!"

Derek's grip on her head tightened forcing her to look down at the street below. "Just watch," he repeated his eyes, gleaming with a cruel light.

Rachel's eyes were fixed on the car and suddenly it began to move, pulling out onto the main road. Her pulse quickened as a truck barrel down the street heading straight for the sedan.

"No! Please, make it stop! Make it stop, Derek, please! I'm not having an affair," she screamed, her voice echoing off the buildings around them.

Time seemed to slow as the truck collided with the black sedan car. The sound of the impact was deafening, glass shattered, metal crumpled and blood stained the pavement.

"No!" Rachel cried, struggling in Derek's grasp. "Please, no, Richard!"

People began to gather around the crash shouting and trying to help. "The car is going to explode if we don't get them out," someone yelled.

Rachel fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face like fountain rush. Derek let go of her, stepping back with his arms folded, watching impassively.

"He's your uncle for Christ sake! How could you do this?" she sobbed, her body shaking with grief and horror.

She watched helplessly as bystanders pulled Richard's bloodied body from the wreckage. His suit was stained, his eyeglasses shattered. They dragged him into an ambulance along with his driver, working frantically to save them both.

"No! Richard, No!" Rachel screamed, her voice raw and broken, echoing into the night as the ambulance sped away.

Derek watched Rachel crumble on the rooftop, her sobs echoing into the night. He tightened his fist, his knuckles white with tension. His sneer deepened and he reached down grabbing her roughly by the arm.

"Get up," he commanded, dragging her to her feet. 

Rachel stumbled, her legs weak from shock and grief but he didn't care. He put her back towards the stairwell, his grip on yielding.

"No, Derek, please," she pleaded. Her voice hoarse "Richard was the only one who cared about me, please just let me go."

Derek didn't respond. He yanked her through the doorway and down the stairs, each step a jarring, painful descent. 

Rachel continued to cry, her heart shattered by the horror she had witnessed. Definitely nobody was going to survive that crash. No one could. With the forceful hit by the truck... 

"Maybe you should shut up," Derek growled, his voice cold and devoid of empathy.

Rachel's cries only grew louder, her tears blurring her vision. "Why are you doing this? He was your uncle! How could you?"

Derek ignored her, his focus unwavering. He dragged her through the dimly lit corridors of the building, the echoes of their footsteps merging with her sobs.

As Derek dragged Rachel through the building, she couldn't help but reflect on how she had gotten so close to Richard after marrying Derek. 

Derek wasn't a good man at all. She had loved him, given him her all, but he had betrayed her by sleeping with her best friend. 

When she threatened to tell his family, Derek had killed her mother and threatened to kill her father if she didn't stay silent. Out of fear and despair, she let it all slide because Derek's family was prestigious and powerful.

It was then that she met Uncle Richard. Despite being just eight years older than Derek, he was distant and focused on business, determined to keep the family's legacy away from Derek. 

Richard, aloof to everyone else, showed an unexpected tenderness toward Rachel. She didn't know why, but she cherished those moments, finding solace in his kindness.

But Derek's cruelty knew no bounds. He killed her father, took away his legacy which she was supposed to inherit and ordered her to stay away from Uncle Richard. She complied, living in fear, but just yesterday, Richard had called her with unexpected news. 

He wanted to make her the assistant CEO of the family business, a position Derek coveted but was never allowed to have. This act of generosity sealed Richard's fate. His cruel fate, all because of her.

As they reached their apartment, Derek shoved her inside slamming the door behind them. Rachel fell to the floor curling into herself, her body wracked with sobs.

Derek stood over her, his face a mask of fury and disdain. "Maybe now you learn your place," he said, his voice dripping with Malice. "Richard is gone and so is any hope you had of happiness."

Rachel looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen. "Please, Derek," she whispered, barely able to speak through her tears. "Just stop all this already and free me from this thing you call marriage. I can't take this anymore."

He laughed, a cruel, hollow sound. "You think this is over? This is just the beginning."

With that he turned and walked away, leaving Rachel on the floor shattered and alone. 

She closed her arms around herself, her mind a storm of grief and despair. Richard was gone and with him, any semblance of safety or love she had known. Now she was truly alone at the mercy of a man who seemed determined to destroy her.

Suddenly the door burst open, jolting Rachel from her memories and fantasies. Lucinda, her former best friend and Derek's mistress, strolled in, dressed provocatively and with a cruel smile on her face. 

Rachel's grief turned to rage as she struggled to her feet.