The woman described by Serbian tabloids as the mistress of Radovan Karadzic has denied the claims.
She said her world collapsed when she discovered the man she befriended and respected was the war crimes fugitive.
"It was a terrifying shock," said Mila Cicak. "I'm the one in prison now, except there are no bars on my cell."
The 53-year-old single mother recounted what she called the "personal hell" she has been going through since Serbian authorities announced they captured Karadzic on Monday and made public his cover as a self-styled healer named Dr Dragan Dabic.
Soon after the capture, a photo of the white-haired and bearded Dabic in the company of Ms Cicak surfaced on front pages in local Serbian newspapers and tabloids - and prompted a frenzied media hunt for the woman dubbed his mistress.
Since then, Ms Cicak has been hounded by cameras, her apartment in the suburb of Zemun under constant media siege.
Until Saturday, she could not think, sleep, eat or leave her home except to briefly walk her dog in the garden, she said. But then, exhaustion finally gave way to anger, and she says she now plans to sue the media for libel.
"Some have even alleged that I hid Karadzic in my apartment, that I'm an accomplice to a war criminal," said chain-smoking Ms Cicak.
"I am a sacrificial lamb, marked probably for the rest of my life. But I'm an innocent victim, being used to discredit this man, sever his links with his family."
Ms Cicak stressed she was a "serious person" who could never put her 26-year-old son in harm's way through a voluntary association with a war crimes suspect. (Press Association)