16FABIANO***Fabiano looked down at his wrist watch, checking the time for the fourth time. He was getting frustrated now.His little blonde beauty was still not there.She sometimes reminded him of the dolls little girls played with.Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Fair skin.But what made her so special and different from those lifeless things?The fire in her eyes and the fight in her soul.When he heard the footsteps approaching, his head jerked up. Excitement hummed through him. He wanted to see her in the red dress he had personally bought for her while he was in Naples.When his eyes fell on the figure, his mouth turned down. His excitement deflated like a balloon. Anger took a course through his veins as he stared at the blonde woman.She wasn’t wearing the dress he wanted her to.She was in some pajamas.‘Was it difficult not to look like a god damn beggar every day?’He was seriously regretting giving her the clothes. Maybe he should let her wander around naked, without a piece of
17ARIAHumiliation.Mortification.Embarrassment.Heat travelled up my neck and my face, coloring my cheeks as I stared at the man sitting in the head chair.I had no doubt that my face was as red as the sauce that was lying on the table. Inside, I was seething. I was enraged and mortified.When Lina came to my room and told me that the Big Master had demanded my presence, I had nearly told her to tell her Big Master to fuck the hell off.But luckily my mind was working.My actions were met with consequences.I had hesitated but my mind was stubborn. The moments of agony I had spent in that ugly cage were in front of my eyes, I had cursed myself to hell for being weak.After the breakdown I had, I vowed not to bow to his feet.And now I was here, burning and seething with dark anger, hoping that he’d just leave me the fuck alone. But I wasn’t lucky.“Come on, doll.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to the floor where his feet rested, “Sit.”He made it sound like he was talking to s
18ARIAStrong, cruel fingers held my jaw, making my lips pucker. My eyes connected with those dark ones. I saw my own reflection in them. His pupils were dilated, the black in them so prominent that only a thin ring of gray was visible.Anything.I would bear anything but this.I had seen people in my life who would look at a rape victim and roll their eyes. They would say that the rape victim was over reacting, trying to get attention.But they didn’t know.They never knew.The pain. The suffering. The denial. The shame. The self-hatred. The desire to kill your own self.The people who talked didn’t have the slightest of the idea about what really was happening to a rape victim.All they could do was talk.Humans.Human beings are like that. They fake sympathy when someone shares their pain with other.Why?Because the only person who knows true pain is the one who suffered it.It is in human nature.We don’t understand someone’s pain unless we feel it ourselves.I knew what pain me
19ARIATHE PASTSENSITIVE CONTENT AHEAD.“Aria!”“Aria!”The floor squeaked as haste steps sounded in the hallway. The knocking on the door came a moment later.“Aria!” A voice shouted, “Come play with me.”“Aria?”Knock. Knock. Knock. “Why is your door closed, Aria?”When the girl on the other side of the door got no reply, she ran back.A ten-year-old ran back, her footsteps sounded as she hurried down the stairs. She turned towards the living room; her footsteps came to a halt when she found her parents sitting there, cuddled against each other.“Aria’s not opening her door.” She huffed out, moving towards her mother. Her mother’s gaze flicked towards the man that sat beside him.Alara jumped on her mother’s lap, snuggling against her as her mother tightened her arms around her daughter.“I called out for her so many times,” Alara looked up at her mother, “She didn’t reply neither did she came out.”Her mother’s arms tensed around her; a shuddering breath escaped her as her haunt
20ARIATHE PASTMATURE CONTENT AHEADSixteen years oldA cool, gentle breeze swept past the lone figure sitting on the bench, fluttering the rogue strands of hair.The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground. The slanting rays gave a warm, orange hue to the sky.The park was almost empty except a few kids who were now leaving as the sun had began to set.“It’s peaceful here, isn’t it?”Aria’s head snapped up, eyes widening to see a familiar face staring back at her.Blue eyes stared back at her, raven hair fluttered by the wind, the rays of sun cast a sharp shadow of him on the ground.“Gideon.”A smile tugged at his lips, his eyes soft as he stared at her.“You remember my name.” His tone held slight surprise.Aria swallowed. How could she forget the person who saved her? If he hadn’t come there that night, God knows what would’ve happened to her.Maybe something worse.“Hey.” She shook her head and focused on the man, “Can I sit here?”Aria averted her gaze, still doubtful of
21ARIAI couldn’t sleep the whole night.I was tense as I sat on the chair, facing the window, thinking about it.Did Fabiano come to know about my plan?Did Lina tell him?Did I make a mistake trusting Lina?A sigh left me.I didn’t know what was happening with me. I was becoming stupid idiot.I couldn’t begin to think of the ways that monster was going to torture me if he found out what I was doing.He had caged me on this island so I wouldn’t escape him but now if he came to know that his own servant had told me the only way to escape…I shuddered only thinking about it.“What are you thinking about?”With a shriek, I jumped in my chair at the sudden intrusion in my thoughts. With my heart in my throat, I whirled around, knowing who the person was.Fabiano.“Fuck you, you dung!” I blurted out before thinking, trying to calm my racing heart.It came as a shock when he didn’t hurt me for cursing at him.I rubbed my fist on my chest while glaring at him. His eyes were stuck to my fac
22ARIAHe didn’t shout or growl. He just spoke so calmly yet I recognized the wickedness and the truth underlining those words.Seething at him for being a monster and angry at myself for being a coward, I let my hand drop to my side, glaring at him silently as he moved towards the waves.His pants were rolled up, so were his sleeves. His hair fluttered in the wind as he walked without any worry.“Come on.” He barked, without looking back.Sighing, I made my way towards the beautiful waves and him.My mind went back to the day two years ago. The last time I had been on a beach.My eyes darted to the man who kept me in a cage now.Two years back, on an unfortunate night, I had encountered him for the first time.Cruel. Evil. Cold. Psychopath.He stood in front of me, staring at the horizon.When I stepped beside him, his head snapped in my direction.His piercing grey orbs sent a stab of fear through my heart. I steeled myself and matched his gaze with one of my own.I wasn’t going to
ARIA‘I’ll break your legs, I’ll tear your limbs apart. I’ve been treating you like a queen. Try to escape. Even if you succeed, I’ll make you crawl back to me and I’ll treat you no better than a slave.’“Shut up! For fuck’s sake, shut up!” I hissed at my reflection in the mirror.Fabiano’s words circulated in my mind, instilling a fear in me.It felt like he was warning.Like he knew something.Did Lina betray me?She owes you no loyalty. You owe her.“You’re going to escape. You’re going to leave this cage, Aria.” I spoke to myself, trying to lessen the fear thar kept elevating inside me.No matter how much my senses told me not to act on my plan, I couldn’t afford stepping back right now.Fabiano had made his intentions more than clear today. And I had no desire to act like a doll. I had no intentions of handling my reigns to him so he could rule over me.I wouldn’t become a puppet in his hands.Tapping my cheeks, I sighed before stepping away from the restroom mirror and left the