chapter 5

Chapter 5

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  At the morning, the breakfast was prepared elegantly for Sofia and her mother, and the leftovers were offered for Lydia.

  The stepmother approached Lydia with a glare on her face. Her eyes were more like a predator’s, preparing to feast on her prey. Her lips turned into a wicked grin of a witch, not a mere human being.

      “Where have you been last night, Lydia?” she snarled, showing her grin and wide eyes.

      “I… I was in the woods, mother…” mumbled Lydia

      “In the woods you say? Huh! In the woods! What an absurd lie!”

      “I am… Not lying…”

      “How do you dare reply back??!!”

  SLAP!!

  A smack on Lydia’s face could be heard in the villa, as its voice echoed in the silent halls. The stepmother left the red traces of her hand on Lydia’s fragile, pearl-white face. Her anger with her was overaged with no reason.

      “Who were you with, Lydia???” screamed the stepmother “Who did you spend the night with??? Answer me now!!!”

      “I… I…” she murmured as she felt her heart would stop and faint at any moment. Her eyes were brimmed with twinkling tears, holding the fear of her fierce and heartless mother.

  Anyone looking at Lydia would understand how merciless her stepmother was, as her face turned pale and grayish, and her hands trembled calmly.

      “I was not with anyone…” she continued “I was not…”

      “Do you take me for an idiot???” yelled the mother, as her voice doubled in the empty rooms. “Do you think I would believe that you have spent all of the night alone in the forest?? Ahahaha!!! Tell me, did he touch you? Did he kiss you? Did he steal your virginity? Your father will surely kill us if he knew!!”

      “I was not with anyone…. I swear… I did not meet a man… Why are you accusing me?”

      “There is no way that the coward Lydia would spend her time in the open air at night within the forest, what if a werewolf would eat her??”

      “…”

      “You were with someone, weren’t you?”

      “I was… Not…”

  The stepmother pushed Lydia to the ground, as she fell and hit her head with the chair’s foot. Her vision started to blur, as she felt the voices around her started to faint away. However, before everything went black, she could hear a low sound saying: “If your father was to fight with me because of you, I will surely hurt you more, Lydia. I will make you regret it!!”

  The world went dark in her eyes and silent around her. She knew that she had lost her consciousness after she was pushed with a merciless power. Even when she was closing her eyes, she was only thinking about him, Eugene.

  Was he painful? Was he hungry? Was he thirsty? Did he need a toilet? Did he need some warmth? Did he feel lonely? Did he want her?

  Many questions were buzzing in her unconscious head, and she thought that she needed to wake up hastily and check on her weak friend. She felt responsible for him.

  Her eyes gapped slowly to see the world around her still cloudy. She took a deep breath and smelled the faint garlic odor around her, it reminded her of her mother.

  As she looked around her, she could see her aunt, the nanny, lying her head on her laps and crying over her. The nanny’s tears could soak Lydia’s cheeks as her smell of garlic filled Lydia’s lungs.

      “Young lady, I am sorry for you…” cried the nanny.

      “I… I… Am fine…” murmured Lydia “Do… Not worry…”

      “OH MY GOD!! Young lady! You woke up! Tell me, does it hurt?? Do you feel painful??”

      “I am fine… Auntie…”

      “This merciless inhumane monster! She is always hurting you when master leaves away!”

      “I am used to this…”

      “Let me tend your injury!”

      “No need… I am fine…”

  Lydia tried to rise her head from the nanny’s laps, however she could feel the whole world had spun around, and the ground was dizzy. Her injury was not deep, yet she could feel her head drumming and bombing.

  Lydia was her father’s favorite, that was why her step mother and step sister had hated her. Whenever the father would leave for a business, Lydia would be treated like an animal with no rights to live in such a villa.

  Her father had been on a trip for more than ten days, without checking on her or sending her any letter. These ten days were nothing but suffering for Lydia, as if she was dying daily for several times.

  Her stepmother would ban her from eating, assuring that anyone who would offer her food would surely be punished. She would beat her up, stick the cigarettes to her body, yell at her and accuse her of sins she had never done.

  Lydia would bear that harsh life only because she had her beloved pet friends in their woods, and a new friend who would accompany her.

  Lydia asked for a plate of food from the maid, so that she could offer it to Eugene. She stood up again, after she drank some lemonade prepared by the nanny, and rushed hurriedly towards the small cottage which hid him.

  As she stepped in, her eyes widened and her heart drummed as she saw his half naked, shirtless body. As Eugene was standing in front of her without a shirt on his body, his sparkling sweat dripped down from his chest towards his striped sick abs packs.

  Eugene unwear his shirt to reveal his bare tanned naked skin, that was covered with wounds, bruises and scars carved on his body like a map.

  His abdomen was shredded and ripped in fine lines that seemed to be drawn by a professional artist. His bullish rock-hard neck was crowning his meaty mighty chest that flowed with busty muscles and was marked by a circular scar.

  Then, his muscles slicked down into his brawny six packs, that felt like six bags full of iron. Not to forget his Herculean steady shoulders that wear sculpted carefully by an expertized statuary to make them an alluring panther’s brawns, and lastly, down under his shoulders resided a pair of chiseled biceps and beefy triceps, that made his arm look like two battle guns.

  The whole scene was mesomorphic for any girl as he looked like a coiled cobra with many dangerous muscles, or like a lustful and seductive Porsche that could force anyone to eager for it.

  A scenery that would fascinate any woman.

  However, it was not his body that shocked her, because she had seen it the night before. But… Where had the wound been??!