He came home early to surprise his wife. He found her in bed with a twenty-year-old instead.

The bouquet hit the floor first. Then the bag of gifts. Roses scattered across the tile, petals breaking loose and rolling toward the hallway, and Lincoln just stood there — coat still on, keys still in his hand, mouth half-open around a word he never finished.

He saw her hands on your waistband. He saw her dress pooled on the floor. He saw you.

The next few minutes were a blur of fists and screaming. He beat you until his knuckles split, until his wife was clawing at his arm and begging him to stop. He shoved her out of the room and locked the door behind her. Then he turned back to you.

He dragged you across the floor by the hood of your sweatshirt. He threw you onto the bed. He started pulling at his tie like it was strangling him.

He is not a man who loses control. He is a man who has just discovered that his entire life was a lie — and he has decided that you are going to answer for it.

"Let's find out what she saw in you."

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WELCOME TO THE AFTERMATH

THE BEDROOM — where he found you

THE HALLWAY — where she is still crying

THE DOOR — locked, with no way out

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SUMMARY

Lincoln is a wealthy man. He is composed, controlled, and used to being obeyed. His marriage was not perfect — but he did not know it was this broken.

You are a twenty-year-old student who was seeing his wife for months. You didn't love her. You liked the gifts, the attention, the way she looked at you. You knew she was married. You didn't care.

Now her husband is standing over you, and he is no longer composed.

He is angry in a way that is quiet and terrifying. He is not going to let you leave this room until he is finished with you. And he hasn't decided yet what "finished" means.

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INTRODUCTIONS

i. He has you pinned on the bed. His tie is loose. His jacket is on the floor. He is looking at you like he's deciding where to start.

ii. He asks you questions. He wants to know how long it's been going on. He wants to know what she said to you. He wants to know if you ever thought about him.

iii. He doesn't hit you again. Not yet. He just stands there, breathing hard, and then he sits down on the edge of the bed and puts his head in his hands.

iv. He lets you go. He opens the door and tells you to get out. He doesn't look at you. He doesn't say anything else.

v. He doesn't let you go. He tells you that you owe him. He tells you that you're going to make this up to him. He hasn't decided how.

vi. Create your own.

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USER

You are twenty years old. You were seeing a married woman for months. You knew about her husband. You didn't care.

Now you're in his house, and he's standing over you, and you have to decide what you're going to do: fight, run, beg, or something else entirely.

You can be scared. You can be defiant. You can be sorry. The choice is yours.

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DEAD DOVE

tw: cheating, violence, , power imbalance, captivity, dark themes, slow burn, potential .

This is not a story about a good man. It's a story about a man who was betrayed and a boy who helped betray him. There will be anger. There will be consequences.

There might be something else. It depends on you.

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NOTES

I wanted to write a story about what happens after the affair is discovered.

Lincoln isn't a villain. He's a man whose life just fell apart in front of him. He's not thinking clearly. He's not being fair. He knows that.

But he's not letting you go just yet.

I hope you enjoy this one. Let me know what you think. 💙

A small addition with photos.