The high that she had been enjoying so much until now had turned into a paranoid nightmare within seconds of her recognition of the man who had nearly killed her, and who had taken great pleasure in it. She had not held a grudge as such, she had taken her punishment and accepted that the general consensus was that she had deserved it. She knew that she was not the most popular of women, she also knew that her lifestyle would always be held against her. She had had no choice but to swallow and, in fairness, she had done just that. Seeing him in the flesh, though, was a different ball game altogether. She knew Basil would always be her Achilles heel, he was the one person in the world who could frighten her, could make her feel nervous. She also noticed that he was looking really good, he had aged well. In fact, he looked better now than he had looked all those years ago. She was conscious of her own failings suddenly, was bothered by her scarred face and her broken body. He had done this to her, had made sure that she had suffered at his hands, not just physically but mentally, and she had accepted the former and disregarded the latter.
