Chapter Three

The car drove us to an apartment complex and Ethan got out. He came to my side and flung the door open, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the car. 

His grip was so tight, I knew it'd leave a mark but I didn't dare utter a word. He kept his tight grip on me as we entered the elevator. He still didn't loosen it even when we were now in his penthouse. 

"Your stepbrother thought he could punch me and get away with it right?" He snarled at me and continued pulling me up the stairs. 

When we arrived at a door, he opened it and pushed me inside harshly. I stumbled and fell to the floor, I scrapped my hands and my knees in the process. 

"Well he's getting away with it, but you, not so much. You're going to pay for what he did." Ethan growled out and before I knew what was going on, he closed the door and locked it. 

There was nothing but darkness in the room and I started to panic. "Please, open the door. I'm sorry for what Jake did. He'll never do it again." I pleaded with him, choking on a sob in the process. 

I heard another door slam shut and I jumped in fright. "Who's there?" I called out into the darkness but I got no answer. 

As if locking me in this dark room wasn't enough, I started hearing soft moans and pants and that's when I fully registered what was going on. 

The noise was coming from the room beside me and because the walls were so thin, I could hear clearly what was going on in the other room. Ethan was having sex with another woman. 

"I promised you I would make your life hell. So this is how your life is going to be henceforth, you will spend the day locked in that room and you'll listen to my pleasure a different woman every night." Ethan grunted out.

Their grunts and moans filled the room and I tried my best to block out the noise but there was no way I could block it out, so I sat there, crying my eyes out and listening to everything that was going on beside me. 

I wondered what I had done to deserve this harsh treatment from everyone. I had been nothing but a good person all my life. I treated everyone with respect, even those that didn't deserve it.

I put up with Dad's cruel treatment, Stephanie's, and Sofia's too. So why was this the hand that I was dealt? Why?

I didn't know how long I cried, but I cried till I was exhausted and I fell asleep. 

It was later in the morning that the door of the room I was in opened and Ethan walked in with a tray of food in his hands. My stomach growled at the sight of food and Ethan dropped it in front of me. 

"Eat!" He commanded me and I did as he said. 

"I have to feed you so people won't think I'm mistreating you, but if they see you glowing and well-fed, do you think they'll believe you if you told them I was treating you horribly?" He cackled at his question and I stopped eating immediately, the food losing its taste in my mouth. 

"Don't stop now. I'm not going anywhere till you finish eating." I had no choice but to force myself to continue eating.

"Did you enjoy last night's performance?" He asked me, stroking my hair alongside. I didn't say anything, but he continued. 

"Don't worry, the show will continue tonight." He declared proudly and I choked on my food. 

He wanted to say something again, but the ringing of his phone cut him off, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered the call. 

"What visitor?" He asked the person calling him. 

"Oh Jake Miller, you say?" I perked up at the mention of Jake's name. Ethan saw the hopeful look in my eyes and smiled. 

"Tell him she's not receiving visitors." He said and he ended the call. My face fell and I went back to eating. 

"Don't worry, you'll start receiving visitors when I allow you to start receiving visitors." He told me and left the room, locking it behind him again. 

This cycle continued for two more nights. I was being treated like a prisoner, in what was supposed to be my husband's house. 

On Monday morning, I knew Ethan would have to go to work, so I got dressed and prepared to do the same. When he came to my room that morning, he was surprised to see me dressed. 

"Why are you all dressed up?" He asked me. 

"I want to go to work today," I mumbled quietly. I know he heard me because the next thing he did was laugh. 

He laughed heartily like I had just cracked the funniest joke ever and I slowly backed away from him, he was scaring me.

Thank God I moved away from him because the next thing he did was slam the tray in his hands on the floor. The contents of the tray spilled out the plates were broken. 

He pulled me out of the room and dragged me to the living room. 

"You want to go to work huh?" He asked me again and I shook my head, silently crying. 

He was about to say something again but the ringing of his phone cut him off, he retrieved his phone from his suit coat and picked it up without looking at the caller ID, "What???" He roared into the phone.

"Tell him she's not receiving visitors." He said and hung up again. I knew immediately that it was Jake, he had come again to see me.

"I need to find a permanent solution to that asshole," Ethan growled and scrolled through his phone. 

My heart sank as I began to imagine what he could be planning to do. 

He scrolled through his phone and stopped when he found what he was looking for, he placed the phone by his right ear, and the first thing he said was, "Mr. Miller." 

I looked at him wide-eyed as he spoke to Dad, "I've got a problem that needs taking care of." He continued. 

"I can take care of him but I want her to do it." I could only hear what he was saying. 

"She's here." He answered and he looked at me before walking to me and handing over the phone to me, "He wants to talk to you." He smirked at me before going to sit in one of the chairs in the living room. 

"Yes, da," I whispered into the phone. 

"Jake is going to come upstairs now and when he does, tell him you don't want to see him again. Tell him never to come to visit you again and threaten to call the cops on him if he ever shows up at your doorstep again. And say it like you mean it, do I make myself clear?" 

"Yes, Dad," I responded quietly and he hung up the call. 

I stood up and went to give Ethan the phone, he took it from him and dialed the security downstairs again, "Let him in." That was all he said. 

"I suggest you take a seat for this." He said and chuckled deviously. 

I couldn't believe they were going to make me do this, this was nothing more than cruelty. I sat down and cried quietly. 

The moment the elevator doors opened, Jake ran in, yelling my name, "Kate!" He yelled and when he finally appeared in the living room where Ethan and I were, I stood up and he immediately came to engulf me in a hug. 

"Kate! Jesus Christ! Why haven't you been taking my calls? I've been worried sick." He mumbled.

When he saw that I wasn't responding to his questions or returning his hug, he pulled back from me and looked at me, "Kate what's wrong?" 

"You have to stop coming here. I don't want you to come here or reach out to me ever again." 

"Where is all this coming from Kate? Did he put you up to this?" Jake staggered backward, not believing the words that were coming out of my mouth. 

"No one put me up to anything Jake. I just want you to stop coming here. All you ever do is hover around me and suffocate me and I'm tired of it. I don't love you and I can't love you so stop looking out for me." I told him 

I knew my final comment was a big slap to his face because he put a huge distance between us and said, "I hope you continue to be miserable, you deserve it, Kate." 

He walked out after then and the moment I heard the elevator doors close, my legs gave out and I fell to my knees, crying my eyes out. 

"That was a brilliant performance," Ethan applauded beside me, "but now's not the time to cry, I'm just getting started with you." He had that sinister smile on his face again.

The only question dancing around in my mind was, what were they going to ask me to do next?