==Olivia==
My head was light, almost as if it didn’t exist. I wanted to speak, but couldn’t bring that to happen. Tried to turn my neck, that also was a failed mission. I was completely useless.
Then, miraculously, my eyes began to obey me. It opened, slowly first before becoming fully active. I was in some form of room. The lighting was pretty dim, but I could still see. I tried to speak, to say hello, but cut myself shut. What happened? Where am I?
Then, I saw a figure…no, someone. It was actually a person sitting few feet across from where I was. To say I was startled was an understatement. I literally had the scare of my life. Sitting before me was a guy. Now, although I couldn’t see much, I could tell that he was huge. He wore a black long sleeved shirt with its first two buttons undone, together with black pants.
“You’re finally awake.” It would sound like he had been patiently waiting for me to rise, but it didn’t seem like it. He sounded indifferent, like he would rather be anywhere but here.
What was a tough looking guy doing alone with me in my room? I couldn’t help but ask. Then, I caught myself. Was I even in my room? Was…
I looked around, but the lighting didn’t work in my favour.
Where am I? I didn’t intend for him to hear it. Nonetheless, he did.
“At the atrium.”
“What?” I didn’t like the fact that that sounded creepy.
“That’s a fancy word for a dungeon.”
Unwittingly, I gulped down saliva. What I’d feared was actually coming to reality. I made to leave the bed, but was restrained. My arms couldn’t move. Not wanting to believe my fears, I glanced at my arm only to find out I was bound.
I was freaking bound!
“Let me go! Let me—” He cut me off by raising his palm.
“Miss, miss. I don’t appreciate you razing my roof with your voice. I appeal to your sensible side to communicate properly.”
What the hell? The amount of fury that had built up in me could as well incinerate his goddamn body. Who did he think he was?
“What the awful fuck are you talking about? Did you know this is kidnapping? You can spend the rest of your miserable life in jail.”
It appeared that he smiled. The jerk was actually smiling!
“Not true. You know so. You’re right though. About kidnapping. It's a heinous crime; I don’t encourage one to get involved in it. But you know what isn’t right? Me being charged with kidnapping.”
By this time, my chest was heaving. This was a nightmare. No, seriously, this should be one of those nights I reluctantly joined Leah to see a Saw movie and then had to deal with terrifying dreams.
Thinking about Leah brought tears to my eyes. But no, I’d rather die than cry in front of this psychopath.
To add fuel into my raging fire, he said, “What would you like for dinner? Pasta? Fajitas? Nachos? Nachos should be fine.”
He rose and disappeared into some form of oblivion. I didn’t care. I didn’t look.
Then, I heared him call in a maid. He went ahead to request for the nachos.
“Oh and what’s your drink preference?”
I remained silent. Boiling in silence. Soon, the maid returned with the meal and placed it on the bed. I wouldn’t have a look. I recounted what had led up to my arrival here.
It was clear now. This dud choreographed this! He was the brain behind this. But why? What did he want? What was he going to gain?
“You're the boss, aren’t you? You sent those psychos to abduct me!”
“And what if I did? Huh? Eat.”
No, he didn’t just say that. “Fuck you.”
I grabbed a can on the tray and pitched it at him. To my utmost surprise, he dodged it. Effectively.
I couldn’t hide my surprise because I knew I didn’t make a bad throw.
Next thing I knew, he dashed for me, taking hold of my shoulders and glaring at me. I hadn’t seen such anger in a person’s eyes before. It was like I was staring at the devil.
“Listen up, young lady. If you think I'm okay with the fact that you’re here, then you’re wrong. Dead wrong.” I trembled under his hold. “Clearly, you can’t be of any use to me, so consider yourself as being lucky!”
When he left me, I stumbled backwards. His words seared me. It cut deep into my chest.
“Since I'm useless, what the hell am I doing here? What do you want?”
“I thought you would have connected the dots. Your father. He sold you to me. So, now, you’re at my mercy.”
I widened my eyes. It couldn’t be? No, the only guy I knew that had an unfinished business with my dad was Lyons. L.Y.O.N.S not Mr Freddy Krueger here. There was no way my Dad would let me go off with a monster like this, let alone sell me off to him.
“Liar! You fucking asshole.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me right. My father would never do that to me. You are mistaken, I know it.”
He was silent for some time.
“Well, I’m afraid you don’t know your father. He was in a hurry to let go of you. Obviously, he couldn’t put up with your whining ass.
“Have a nice night, Miss Haynes.” As he left the room, I shook my head. No, I couldn’t believe it. Dad could not, would never do that to me. He just wouldn’t.
But a part of me knew the truth. In no time, my vision became blurry with tears.
==Olivia==I didn’t sleep at all. Not with grieve nibbling at me and my stomach making the growl of the century. Right now, I’m crawled in a fetal position, my eyes dreary from long hours of crying. I was done wondering why fate was so cruel with me. I was done wondering why my life felt useless. Why I had to endure all these. I was done.I didn’t know what the time was, but I believed it should be sometime close to noon. This place was as dark as hell. Anyone who endured more than a day here could as well become a bat.I turned the other way, making sure that I didn’t disturb my left arm much. It was almost numb now from hours of staying fixed to the bed post.Sitting up, my legs made contact with the tray of nachos. At that instant,
==Olivia==I was rational; I knew that. As a child, I didn’t buy the idea that Santa Claus existed. It was just pure nonsense, I’d thought. There was no way in the world that an old heavily bearded man would ride through the skies with his reindeer and go on to distribute presents to kids. It was just too good to be true.As a tween, I didn’t see the truth in a fairy-tale romance, such that there were little to no problems at all. It sounded ridiculous. However, here was I, having the firm belief that my tear ducts had been emptied. I’d so much that it couldn’t be possible I’d be able to produce tears ever again.I was still on the bed. Hadn’t brushed, hadn’t showered, hadn’t eaten. I wanted to end it all. To sleep and never wake up again. And if starving w
Leah listened with a bored expression as the professor concluded his lecture. Her eyes glazed over, appearing to look at the projector, when in fact she was anywhere but here“That’s all for today. Make sure you come to get your individual topic for the seminar.” That being said, the entire class was free to leave. Leah stood up and silently packed her bag. A satchel that really needed to be changed. Olivia would have countered, which made Leah frown.Olivia. She hadn’t called since five days ago when she'd slept over at her place. Leah was sure she still hadn’t gotten over the news, well, who could? The poor girl had had the shock of her life. But then, Olivia had assured her she was okay.“I’m fine, “ she said while offering that smile she offered whenever she
==Matteo==Friday night meant a lot of things for different people. It was a time workers breathed a sigh, eager to head home and laze around. Teenagers saw that as an opportunity to throw parties, have sleepovers and do other silly things they did whenever they had the chance.For me, it was… It meant different things depending on my mood. It could be a cue for me to get to the woods and do what I did best, or it could mean I needed a me time—just me in my chambers. But not today. No, no. I knew right from when I woke up this morning that I wanted to fuck. I had to fuck.Well, I deserved to. I bore no hard feelings for my hormones. They were aware of how stressed I’d been lately. That girl. Olivia or whatever was a pain. Literally a mule. Frankly, I was going to have her thrown in the
==Olivia==I'd been in the bathroom for close to an hour now, doing nothing but stand while the shower rained on me. My eyes remained open, even with the sting I felt.Purge. That was what was on my mind. To strip my body of the past and the memories that came with it. Minutes later, when I was sure the warm shower had done its job, I stepped from the stall. Cold frigid air hit me There was a towel hanging on the rack close by. I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around me.My hair was dripping wet, plastered firm on my scalp. I walked into the room, immediately catching sight of the dress on the bed. It was a long robe. Yes, robe. Not dress. Burgundy with some embroidery around the V-neckline.I blinked. O
==Matteo==I was there. Again. Surrounded by nothing but darkness. Just like the previous time, I couldn’t move. No matter how hard I tried. No matter how much effort I put in doing so. My lips were sealed, only opening up moments later and just in time for me to say, “Anyone here?”I got no response. Again. I cursed. What a fool I was. Of course, I'd been stuck in this limbo to know what the drill was. So, I waited.It wasn’t long before she appeared.Angela De La Crux, as she had told me. Donning a dazzling white gown, she drew close to me till it was just a foot that separated us.“Could this stop?” I said before she speak. I knew just what she wanted to say. &ldq
==Matteo==I was almost done eating when my butler returned. He didn’t come with Olivia, but rather had a look of concern on his face.“There’s a problem, sir.”“What is it? I asked.“She’s unconscious.” I didn’t know why I had thought he was going to say that she escaped. But this news about her unconsciousness rattled me. I left the dining and stormed into the atrium. There she was, face up. I walked up to her and felt her pulse, my chest pounding, fearing the worst. I could feel a pulse at her neck. That was a relief.Her entire brow was covered in sweat. I carried her out of the atrium and got into a room. I laid her on the bed, instruct
Chapter 20.“How long did you say she’s been missing for?”Leah made a mental note. “About five days.”The officer listened with bored expression as she recounted the events leading to Olivia’s disappearance.“Miss, from the look of things, she went on her own accord. She’s 21. A lot of youngsters do that.”Leah couldn’t believe her ears. Was this a joke? “I’m afraid, that’s can’t be right. Olivia has never run away from home, even though she’s been sad lately because of…”Leah didn’t know why she cut herself shut. Or maybe she did. She widened her