Chapter-3 "The Torture"

Amara's pov

*splash*

Tears brimmed my eyes as I clenched onto the chains which were tied to my either hands just to bear the burning sensation of the salt water gracing over the cuts on my body.

Blood, all I could see was blood everywhere in my radar. My vision was blurry not because of the defect in my eye sight but the cut that I've got on my left eye. I cried harder, called for help, but all my yelps went unheard.

*Whip*

Clenching onto the chains harder than before I tried to take the strong whip lash on my back.

*Whip* *Whip* *Whip* *Whip*

Even before I could handle the pain, I was gifted with numerous strikes which made my throat to get hurt from the amount of cries that I'm holding down.

My blurry vision caught his neatly polished shoes which were right in front of me. His strong cologne which I used to love made me sick to the core. I felt nauseous, not because of the reek of blood but his cologne.

It disgusts me. I don't even want to be here within his sight but look at me being all tied up, like I deserved to endure and tolerate the torture he's gifting me.

"W-Why are y-you doing this?" even though my voice was mere a whisper, it was clear that he heard it, as his vicious laugh echoed through the walls which implied that it was just a beginning.

"Don't you know what you did? Well, I will not waste my time asking you for reasons. You have a very long hair! And I know you love it! Right?" he caressed my long hair smoothly and I know what he wanted to do. No! He can't do it! He knew that it means a lot to me.

"P-please! N-Ahh" I yelped in pain as he grabbed me by my hair making my scalp to burn.

Closing my eyes tightly due to the impact of his strong grip I begged him to spare me. My hands and legs felt numb, I don't know how many hours I have been tied up like this! I wiggled with all my strength left in my body.

"You took away something precious from me, Now it's my turn." He gritted through his teeth furiously by grabbing my jaw and I could feel his nails digging into my skin. He used his full strength as I can feel blood on my skin due to his nails.

"T-Tristan! Please I promised my father! And you know it!" I said between my sobs as I tried to wiggle hard when I saw one of his men handing him a pair of scissors.

If he would do that, that would be my worst day ever. He clearly knows how to get me hurt. I shouldn't have even met him.

"N-No! Please! It means a lot to me. Don't do this! I will do whatever y-" A sudden gasp left my lips as soon as I heard it. He cut my hair. I forgot how to breath as I saw the picture of my dad smiling at me fading away eventually.

It's been 10 years since my dad died of cancer. I've been a spoilt brat as he never said anything against my choices. I never did anything which he wanted for me to do. That's because I did what I like without considering anyone's choice.

I never grew up my hair long until I'm 13. Whenever I get a haircut I noticed my dad's smile. He used to say one word when I asked about how I look, "Pretty!" he used to say that along with a peck on the crown of my head.

When he got diagnosed with cancer we all cried for days. I cried a river and my mom cried an ocean. My dad?! He never cried. I haven't seen a single tear rolling out of his eyes.

I was so angry, he just behaved like he didn't have any disease. He laughed smiled and ate everything without considering his health. I don't want him to cry, I want him to let out all the feelings he had been stuffing inside his heart.

When I tried to talk to him I happened to hear his words by mistake. It was him, letting out his feelings all alone inside the empty room.

He sobbed quietly clutching onto our family Photo to his heart. His eyes were wet and red. His small sniffles broke me apart.

Tears flew out of my eyes when I heard him crying his heart out. I tried to control myself but I couldn't. That's when I realized, my father never cried  in front of us just because we would panic even more by watching him breaking down.

He hid his feelings so that we could be at ease. A sad chuckle left my lips as I saw him trying hard to make me and my mom happy even though he's at his death bed.

The next day I saw him smiling with my mom in the living room. His smile! It was genuine. A genuine smile which came from his heart.

I thought he was smiling because of the movie. But no, his genuine smile was because of my mom who kept laughing her heart out by watching the movie.

I wondered how did he even manage to smile when knew the fact that he would die soon. I totally forgot about the little smile that was plastered on my lips by watching him smiling. Maybe he smiled because of the same reason as me.

Love. If you love someone, then you will smile when they laugh and you will break when they cry. Maybe that's why my father never cried in front of us.

He knew that he would get hurt even more when we cry. That's why he always tried to be strong in front of us, just to make us stronger. That's his way of loving us and I know he will never regret it.

When he was on his weak moments, I made a promise to him. A promise that I would never cut my hair. I happened to see his letters before he left us alone. He wrote that I just look like his mother! My grandma who died giving birth to my father. He just saw her in photos. I never knew that he missed her. He used to say that the only difference between me and my grandma is hair. She has a long black hair unlike me.

My father used to write letters every year to his mom on her death anniversary. It's his habit that he picked up since he was a child. Every year he used to write letters to his mom and bury it in the backyard near the tree which my grandma planted, he believes that his mom would read them.

That year he didn't bury it. Maybe he thought he would soon reach his mom. I cried when I saw the letter he wrote for his mother.

"You know mom! She looks exactly like you expect for your long hair. I wanted to watch her growing up tall , I want to see her growing up into a woman and I want to see how pretty she will be looking with a long hair. But I guess I will have to watch her together with you up in the heavens."

His message made me cry harder than ever.

I made a promise to my father that I would never cut my hair and the reaction I got from him is priceless. A smile. A genuine smile smeared upon his lips followed by a laughter.

Maybe he laughed because of my stupid decision but I could never forget his smile that got stamped in my heart. Caressing my hair and placing kiss on the crown of my head, he died with the same smile.

I did not grow my hair long to look like my grandma, it's just because.................the little promise made my father to smile even on his death bed. I feel like he's watching me from up there whenever I see myself in the mirror with a long hair.

Everytime I visit his grave I would just smile being proud that I kept my promise. Even though it's silly I wanted to do that with sincerity. Because I didn't get to do anything for my father when he's alive.

But now I feel like I betrayed him. I broke the promise which is most important thing in my life and my heart.

And it's because of Tristan Sanchez. Just because of him.

He hurt me physically and now mentally. It hurts me more when I think about him doing all this deliberately. I hate him. I hate that I loved him once.