The Punishment Room

Emily sat in the dark, cold room, her back pressed against the rough wall.

She felt nothing.

No anger.

No fear.

No tears.

Just a hollow silence inside her chest, as if her heart had given up beating long ago.

She had spent days in this room, days that blurred into one endless stretch of darkness.

This room was just like her bedroom. The only difference between her room and this punishment room is thin mattress on the floor and the window in her room

This was her punishment room.

A place meant to break her.

She had said yes to marrying Ghost.

She had given them exactly what they wanted.

And still, they locked her here.

Because they did not trust her, they did not believe her.

Her lips curved into a faint, bitter smile.

Was she walking to her death by marrying Ghost?

Maybe.

But Emily would rather die in the hands of a stranger than spend another day living under the cruelty of the monsters who killed her parents.

Her fingers curled slowly into fists.

She will live.

She will try.

She had been given a second chance…. a miracle she did not deserve, a life returned to her when death had already claimed her once.

Millions of people die every year without another chance to fix their mistakes.

She would not waste hers.

The sudden creak of the door shattered the silence.

Emily did not move.

The door swung open, and light spilled into the room, blinding her for a brief second. A familiar figure stepped inside.

Esther.

A woman she once saw as a second mother.

“I brought you food,” Esther said softly, holding a tray in both hands. A gentle smile rested on her lips, the same smile that used to comfort her on sleepless nights.

Emily stared at her.

That smile used to feel warm and safe.

Now it looks like poison.

“I’m not hungry,” she said flatly.

Esther frowned slightly, confusion flickering across her face.

“Honey, you have to eat something.”

Emily almost laughed.

The sound bubbled in her throat, dry and bitter.

There was a time when she would run into Esther’s arms after every punishment. When she would bury her face into her shoulder and cry until her chest ached.

Esther would hum softly, stroking her hair, whispering gentle prayers over her wounds.

She used to clean her cuts.

Dress her bruises.

Stay awake beside her when fever burned through her body.

Emily used to pray for her.

She used to thank God everyday for having her in her life.

She used to pray for protection for the woman who poisoned her parents for months.

A sad chuckle slipped past her lips before she could stop it. A single tear rolled down her cheek

She wiped it away immediately.

Esther lowered herself into a squat in front of her, just like she always did.

She looked like she cared.

She looked like she was hurting too.

Emily’s gaze dropped to Esther’s hands.

Those hands.

The same hands that once wiped her tears…

had mixed poison into her parents’ food.

For months.

Without mercy.

Emily inhaled sharply, her chest trembling.

She had been a fool all her adult life.

“Esther,” she called softly.

Esther looked up at her immediately.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

Emily’s voice came out quiet, almost gentle.

“Do you take care of me out of guilt?”

Esther froze.

Her eyes widened, panic flash across her face. She shot to her feet so suddenly that her leg hit the tray. The metal clattered loudly as it crashed to the floor, food spilling everywhere.

She did not even notice.

“W-why would you say that?” she stammered, her voice shaking.

Emily watched her carefully.

That reaction was her answer.

A faint chuckle escaped her lips.

“Nothing,” she said calmly, wiping the last trace of tears from her face.

Before Esther could speak again, a harsh voice cut through the air.

“Okay, time to come out.”

Henry stood at the doorway, his tall frame blocking the light. His eyes flicked toward the mess on the floor, then back to Esther with open disgust.

“You useless woman,” he spat, pointing a finger at her. “Still sneaking food to her when we told you not to.”

Esther lowered her head immediately, shrinking under his glare.

Emily stared at both of them, her face blank.

Once, she would have felt sorry for Esther. She would have begged Henry not to punish her.

Not anymore.

She pushed herself to her feet slowly, ignoring the stiffness in her legs.

Without waiting to be dragged, she walked toward the door on her own.

___

They were already waiting for her in the living room.

Everyone was here.

Elena stood in the center of the room, holding a long white gown in her hands.

That must be her wedding gown.

Emily stopped a few feet away from them.

“You are really agreeing to marry Ghost?” Collins asked, his voice dripping with suspicion.

Emily lifted her gaze to meet his.

“Yes,” she said simply. “I want to.”

Joy snorted.

“Yeah, right,” she said, crossing her arms. “She must be planning something. Why would she agree so easily?”

Emily closed her eyes briefly, forcing her expression to soften.

“I’m not planning anything,” she said in a small, pitiful voice. “Mom… Dad… I just want to make you happy.”

The words tasted like poison in her mouth.

She wanted to scrub her tongue clean.

Wash her mouth with bleach.

Slowly, she watched their suspicion melt away, replaced by disgust

They saw her as a weak desperate pathetic weak fool that will do anything for their acceptance.

Exactly what she wanted.

Collins let out a satisfied laugh.

“This is good,” he said. “Very good. Marrying Ghost is not a death sentence. You could survive… if you manage to please him. If you win his favor, I will finally be proud of you.”

Emily lowered her head obediently.

“I’ll do everything I can, Dad.”

The lie came easily.

They all believed she had no chance of surviving in that dark world.

But Emily will survive.

No matter what it took.

She will endure.

She will learn and she will rise.

And one day, she would collect every drop of blood the Collins family owed her.

___

They dragged her into another room and forced the wedding gown over her body.

The fabric scratched against her skin as they pulled it down roughly.

The dress was ugly.

It was too big for her.

It swallowed her whole, making her look smaller than she already was.

“Beautiful,” they said in unison.

Emily stared at her reflection in the mirror.

She looked like a ghost.

Not a bride.

The dress was wearing her instead of the other way around.

Her hands trembled slightly at her sides, but she kept her face blank.

Then they dragged her into yet another room.

Elena stepped forward, holding a banana in her hand.

Emily’s stomach twisted immediately.

“Pay attention,” Elena said sharply. “You might get the opportunity to see ghost. Make sure you cease it and make it memorable that he will remember you after that”

The room felt smaller.

Emily swallowed hard, forcing her expression to remain empty.

She obeyed every instruction on how to suck a dick.

Every command.

Her jaw ached.

Her throat burned.

Her dignity shattered piece by piece.

Joy entered shortly after, her eyes scanning her like she was nothing more than an object.

“Stand up,” Joy ordered.

Emily rose slowly.

“Walk.”

She walked.

“Slower.”

She slowed down.

“Move your hips.”

A sharp slap landed against her thigh.

Pain shot through her body, but she did not react.

“Smile.”

Another slap.

“Look seductive.”

Another.

The humiliation was endless.

They taught her how to sit.

How to stand.

How to breathe.

How to please a man.

Every mistake earned a slap.

Every hesitation earned an insult.

Emily gritted her teeth, swallowing the pain as it crawled under her skin.

They believed they were breaking her.

They had no idea they were forging something stronger.

They kept talking about sex.

Emily almost laughed.

They really believed she was a virgin.

Her mind drifted back to that fateful day.

The injured stranger.

The blood.

The desperation in his voice as he begged her to help him reach his car.

She had only wanted to save him.

Nothing more.

But one moment of weakness had stolen her innocence forever.

She remembered the confusion.

The fear.

The shock.

The way her body had betrayed her.

She wondered what these women would say if they knew.

If they discovered that the quiet, obedient girl standing before them had already lost her innocence in the backseat of a stranger’s car.

“It’s going to hurt at first,” Joy said casually. “But once your body adjusts, you’ll enjoy it.”

Emily stared at her silently.

“Sometimes it depends on the size,” Elena added with a smirk.

Emily looked at their shameless faces, disgust swell inside her chest.

“Did you even understand anything we just said?” Joy demanded.

Emily nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

Joy rolled her eyes.

“You know what? Live or die, I don’t care.”

She turned and walked out of the room.

Elena followed behind her without another word.

The door slammed shut.

Silence filled the space once more.

Emily stood there alone, her chest rising and falling slowly.

Then a very slow small cold smile appeared on her lips.

She would make them bleed.

She would take everything from them.

Everything they love.

Everything they cherished.

Everything they believed belonged to them.

She turned toward the window. All she can see is…

Freedom…..Power

All waiting on the other side.

All she has to do is survive

Tomorrow is her wedding.

To everyone else, she is walking to her death.

But to Emily…

She is walking to a new chapter of her life.