[Erin]
What?
Everything stops. I’m not even sure if I hear it right.
Does he mean that he’s not going to kill me?
The cold gun was still pressed on the side of my head, and he was holding the trigger. If anything, he could be jesting me and would blow my head into bits. While Akim stood there motionless as if what this man said astounds him as well.
I could feel the sweat trickling down at the column of my neck as the jugular hollow of my throat drummed with tension. My lungs constricted, my knees blaring with pain. Hence my body froze at the moment.
Nobody spoke. A pair of mossy green eyes pierced into my brown ones. He removes the gun away from my head and steps back, tucking the weapon to his belt. Just then, I began to breathe again.
It’s as if the last ounce of strength I had in my body had vanished. The pain in my injured knee finally gave way, and I collapsed to the ground.
My body became so numb that I didn’t even feel the impact. I just heard Akim calling out to me with his long strides in hopes that he could catch me, but it was too late as my head hit the floor.
“Take her out of my sight, and clean this mess.”
That was the only thing I could hear, followed by the sound of the door slamming shut.
Does this mean I am alive? That he wasn’t going to kill me?
“Looks like you’re going to see another day, sweet cake.”
Akim whispered as he picked me up. My head became lightheaded as I swayed in his arms.
“What was his name?” I mumbled, not sure if Akim understood my question since my voice was barely even audible with my own ears, while my gaze was fixed on the door where the terrifying man went.
“That man? His name is Nikolai.” He replied, walking towards the exit.
Nikolai. His name alone made my lower belly churned up in fear. The image of his face, his handsome yet terrifying face that would haunt me in my sleep.
I wanted to close my eyes, but I was scared that I would never wake up again if I fell asleep. Instead, I leaned my head to Akim’s broad chest, feeling his body heat seeped through the fabric of his shirt.
The last time I lost consciousness, I awoke in a truck with a slew of other women who had been bound and placed in a display cage with me.
I was scared that it would happen again. Or worse.
“He didn’t kill me.” I took a shaky breath, my thoughts still racing through my head as I tried to process everything that had transpired in just a span of a day.
I almost lost died twice.
Akim halted on his steps for a moment, I felt him lowered his head to look at my tear-stained face, but I refused to meet his gaze. I focused my attention on the portraits hanging on the cream-colored wall.
“Something that you should be thankful for.” He continued walking, and after a couple of turns. Akim came into a complete stop in front of a white door.
It may seem strange, but I had not seen a single housemaid in this palace, despite the fact that it encompassed a large domain, except for the butler that greeted us when we arrived in this place. What is even more dreadful is the fact that I have been transported from one hellhole to another. I haven’t even completely recovered from my father’s death. The way those syndicates shot him in the head still haunts the edges of my memory.
After my mother passed away, he may or may not have been a good father to me. He went so far as to sell me in order to save himself. Nonetheless, the fact that he was still my flesh and blood, with his DNA still coursing through my veins, that I remained to be his daughter. I just can’t simply get over it. The fact that the ones who did it to him are still free, roaming around, terrorizing someone’s life again. Just like what they did to me.
Akim held me using only his one arm while he twisted the knob open and used his feet to swing the door widely. My eyes automatically sweep over the room.
I haven’t got any luxury to be in a hotel room, but I have seen many through advertisements popping out on my social media accounts, and this place where Akim had brought me is by far the most luxurious room I have seen yet in my entire life.
Akim put me down on the black single-armed sofa set placed next to the large glass floor-to-ceiling windowsill. A spacious veranda connected to it, providing everyone with access to the expansive view outside the window. The white wall was accented with black and gold to create a striking visual effect. The crystalline chandelier hung from the ceiling like a hundred teardrops, illuminating the entire room with its rainbow halo. I buried my toes into the plush red carpet that had been laid across the floor, the softness of the synthetic fur, tickling my soles in a subtle way.
I was too busy sweeping my gaze over the sumptuous room that even just for a split moment, I had almost forgotten about the pain on my knee. If I haven’t seen Akim carrying a medicine kit coming from what I believe was the bathroom. He kneeled down in front of me and took my injured knee, placing my foot on top of his lap and start examining the wound.
Tingles began to spread from where he was holding my bare skin. His warm and calloused hands grazing over my knee. I don’t even know why I am feeling this way. I should be mad at him. But I could see it in Akim’s eyes that he wasn’t a bad person. That he was only following Nikkolai’s orders. That man is the devil himself.
Those mossy green eyes. Something about those colors couldn't get out of my head for some reason. They were like swallowing me into its depths, consuming my whole being. I have no idea what caused him to change his mind, or why he decided not to kill me. I was convinced that he was going to pull the trigger and blow my head off, but he didn't do it. He just looked at me in the eyes and decided to lock me up in this dreadful excuse of a guest room for the rest of the night, or maybe my life.
Probably this will be my new prison.
“Ouch!” I yelp, jerking my legs as the searing pain erupted on my knee. Bursting me out from my reverie and glare at the culprit who had knitted his brows deeply.
“Stay still. I’m just cleaning your wound.” He continued putting some betadine around the swollen part of the wound and unrolled a good amount of gauze, cut off some plaster, then set it aside for a moment.
“Be gentle.” I gritted out, my face wincing from the stinging effect of the ointment he put on my wound before the plaster.
He didn’t say anything. He just took the plaster he prepared a while ago and put it on my injured knee. He then stood up, clearing all the mess he made, and went back towards the bathroom. Just at the same time, the room door suddenly opened.
My attention solely goes to the girl roughly the same age as me, wearing a blue skirted dress topped with a white apron and a red ribbon on her head, complementing her black hair. She had this soft amber chinky eyes, small pouty lips, and ashen skin.
An Asian. I don’t know if she belongs to a Chinese ethnicity or if she is Japanese or a Korean. What I am only sure of is that she’s an Asian.
She was carrying a bunch of folded clothes in her arms, and her gaze swept over the vicinity and immediately smiled the moment she saw me. She put down the clothes on top of the queen size bed and moved closer to me, extending her hand as she introduced herself.
“Hi, I am Micha. I’ll be your handmaid from now on.”
My eyes went wide at what she said. Not really getting what she just said.
Handmaid?
I do get a handmaid?
[Erin]The girl smiled at my reaction. My mouth literally dropped when she said that she was going to be my personal maid.I expected to be treated as a slave or something, but I never imagined that Nikolai would appoint someone to look after my personal needs.But on second thought, was this his initiative?My head turned towards the bathroom door where Akim emerged, he was hold
[Erin]A piercing, petrified shriek penetrates the depths of my eardrums, jolting me out of my brief slumber. In the background, the sound of running water slapping against the marbled floor resounded. The bleach white wall blurred in my vision as my lids fluttered open. My nose immediately stings as I try to take a deep breath, but instead of air, water rushes into my nasal passages, instantly wheezing as I gasp for air.“Oh, goodness, Erin! Are you alright? I thought you were dead!” A woman’s voice shouted on my side. I whipped my head, blowing the excess water off my nose as I fully came to my senses. Only to be greeted by Micah's concerned expression hovering above me.I look at her with a baffled expression, my brows furrowed deeply.
[Erin]I didn’t say anything after that and finished off the remaining food, which was only a few pieces of grapes. Both of them waited patiently as I emptied everything on my plate. I stood up, Micah went to usher me, assisting me towards Akim, who is now holding the wheelchair steady as I ease myself in it.I keep my silence. Though my stomach is now happy, my heart fell heavy upon thinking about how my fate twirls around a man’s palm. Playing with its strings and then cutting them whenever he gets sick of me or decides that I am no longer of use to himI felt Akim start pushing the wheelchair while Micah followed on our trail. We weaved through the labyrinth of corners. Navigating from there to here until I lost count of how many turns we took, my attention focused solely focused on the abstract portraits
[Erin]Tears flowed right through the corners of my eyes as I kept my mouth clamped shut, denying him access. Nikolai didn’t just stop there assaulting me with his punishing kiss. One of his hands moved down, rough palms trailing flatly on my stomach until it found the lacy strings of my underwear, and in one swift motion, he ripped it.The fabric bites on my skin. Surely that would leave an imprint. I writhed underneath him, my knees trying to push him, but it was to no avail. He’s too strong for me to even twist my wrist in attempt to twist my wrist and break free.I let out a whimper when he bit my lower lip so hard, gasping as he did so. He took it as an opportunity and plunged his assaulting tongue without permission. I could feel my lips seared and become swoll
[Erin]I hadn’t realized that I had fallen asleep on the bathroom floor, crying. I just woke up having Micah screaming like a banshee when she saw me lying on the cold tiles. I jolted up and stared at her, bewildered, and my brain was still fuzzy from standing up straight in a rush. It was like all the blood on my body left on the floor.“Goodness! Erin, what happened to you?” Her shocked expression greeted me at the bathroom door.I looked down on myself and saw my disheveled state. My torn nightdress, bruised, swollen lips, red bite marks on my collar down to my cleavage, and purple hand imprint on my wrists. I could also feel that my eyes looked like they were stung by a bee from being so puffed up.The memory
[Third Person’s Point of View] — NikolaiThe sound of rushing water slapping against the granite floor resounded on the corners of his bathroom floor. Nikolai stood under the intense pressure of his shower, letting the freezing water cascade on him, cooling down the hotness spreading on his veins like a contagious disease.He was drunk. He didn’t know how he managed to slip into her room. He just came to his senses when he heard her crying.He wanted to kill her. She wasn’t as flawless as he deemed when he saw her in person. He was watching the entire auction process through Akim’s live feed. The moment he set his eyes on her, he knew he wanted her so bad even only through the monitor.She was like a
[Erin]In the wide expanse of the estate, I got lost for a couple of turns. Fortunately, I saw a woman dressed just like Micah dragging a vacuum cleaner and one large box of empty garbage bins. She was cleaning the portrait with a feather duster, wiping them with a clean rag.I gingerly look around to see if there is anyone aside from here cleaning in this part of the hallway. Only to find out that she was alone. I kept my gaze fixed on the woman, hoping for a moment when she would leave the bin unattended, and I prayed to God that the bin was completely empty.She then took the vacuum cleaner, turning it on. Loud noise suddenly reverberated on the hallway walls. I patiently waited. She dragged the nozzle towards the nook in the wall, squeezing it to remove the almost nonexisten
[Erin]It has been a while since I was trailing down the weedy path. I could no longer see the way I came into this forest, and the mud began to accumulate on the pad of my feet, creating soles of thick mud.The low temperature makes the tiny hairs on my arms stand upright, wee bumps appearing on my skin. The sheer, thin fabric of my dress provides no less than a smidgeon of warmth in this chilly weather.For a fleeting moment, I regret going in here. I could still be in my bed, warm and cozy. However, on the second thought, the prospect of spending the rest of my life in that grandeur place like a pampered bird in a cage is something I could not bear.I just can’t.The forest