Chapter 2

Roseline POV.

I woke up in a large bed. It was so soft and fluffy that I didn't want to get up, but I had to, mainly because I remembered I didn't own a bed this comfortable. So where the hell was I? Was I in a monastery? I opened my eyes and found I was in a large room, and the curtains blocked out any form of light. The room wasn't brightly lit enough but lit enough to see. There were dark shadows in every corner, and the only source of light was the fire burning in the fireplace. The room was richly decorated. I hurried off the bed to the window. I pulled back the curtain, intending to let in light because I assumed it was bright out, but instead, I was met with darkness and void.

'Where the hell was I?' I asked. No one in particular, as the memory of what I last remembered flashed through my mind.

Twelve hours ago.

I woke up in the morning in a good mood, and I just knew today would be a good day. I was up earlier than everyone, a natural sign of a good day. Mom was up next, as usual. She seemed satisfied with my cleaning. There was no smoking, smacking, or slapping, but that's not what surprised me the most. Oh no, it was the fact that my sister Stacy tried to be nifty with me as usual, and she stopped her. What? My mom stopped and scolded her golden child, and Davis said nothing. That was when I started to suspect that maybe it wouldn't be such a good day after all, but I said nothing and acted as usual. Mom's a nurse at the only hospital in town, while Davis works as a contractor. Stacy's not allowed to work since she was in college, while I work as a secretary at The Mitch's.

The Mitch's are the richest in the town.

They own a ranch and run the town. Connor Mitch is our town mayor, so they are the VVIP in town. I work as the Ranch secretary. When I got the job five years ago, my sister started a rumor that I had slept with Derek Mitch, Connor's oldest son, but my best friend, Sarah Mitch, who I went to high school with, stopped the rumor. Mom allowed me to leave home early for work that morning, and that was when I got even more suspicious than I already was. I knew something wasn't right; I just didn't know what it was. When I got to work, I was so disorganized I didn't even notice Dylan Mitch, Connor's youngest son, in high school. He's the biggest, cutest flirt I've ever met. He likes to hit on me.

"Hello, Earth to Rose," he called, snapping his finger in front of my face. "Are you okay? You look far away," he asked, looking a bit concerned.

‘’Yes…um… yeah, I..ugh…….I’m fine’’, I answered.

"Are you sure? "He asked again, not believing me.

"Yes, Dylan, I'm okay," I said more firmly this time as I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Okay, I didn't want anything to bother my future wife," he said.

"And for the first time, for the last Dylan, I can't marry you," I said.

"You keep saying that, but I know that one of these days you're gonna see things my way, and I'm gonna be here to give you all that TLC," he said as he gyrated his hips and wiggled his eyes with a flirty smirk that if I was just 4 or 5 years younger would have had me swooning.

"Yeah, well, whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess," I said, rolling my eyes as I chuckled.

"Anyhow, where's your sister? I haven't seen her at all today, I asked.

"Oh, and you might not because she's preparing for some significant family thing, so she's unavailable for the whole day, or at least that's what my dad said," he replied.

"Okay, cool. Well, see you later. I have work to do", I said as I was already seated and headed to his dad's office, so I opened my drawer and pulled out a stack of paperwork waiting for me.

Work ends by 6pm, but for some reason that day, Mr. Connor released me by lunchtime, which was a good 4 hours before I usually get off work,

"We have an important family business event today, so I need the whole house free and available for my family coming to town from the city," he explained.

"Oh, it's okay, Mr. Mitch; there's no need to explain yourself, sir. I understand", I said as I packed my stuff up and exited the office space.

‘’Thanks for understanding,’’, he said with a smile.

‘’Say hi to Sarah for me’’, I said, returning the smile.

‘’I will,’’, he called after me.

Connor Mitch is one of the most admirable men on the planet; he is calm and collected. He loved all his four children unquestionably.

He was a big man, rocking at a height of 5 feet 6 inches. He has well-defined muscles that were probably earned from his years of hard work on the ranch. He lost his wife when Dylan was 2. Sarah and I were 5, and I remember how long and hard she cried when she heard Mommy was never coming back. But Connor did a good job managing the ranch and single parenting for the four kids, much better than you'd expect from a rich man.

As I stepped on the last step, exiting the Mitch manor, a car drove and stopped directly in front of me. I instinctively looked up and found Derek in the driver's seat. "Need a lift," he asked with a sly grin.

‘’No thanks, I’m okay’’, I replied with a smile.

"Oh, come on now, don't be like that; get in, and I'll drive you home," he insisted.

"I'm okay on my own; I don't wanna be a bother," I hesitated.

"Don't worry, and you're not; besides, I insist," he pestered.

"Alright, since you insist," I said, then got in the front seat with him.

Here is a funny story about me and Derek. He was my senior in high school. He was popular and well-known for his reputation as a ladies' man. People dubbed him Casanova. Sarah hates it, but it suits him just fine. Sure, he was a gentleman and always treated the fairer sex with respect. Women of all ages just shamelessly threw themselves at him, but that wasn't his fault. He was too fine to be real, and he knew his effect on women. That just helped him build up his charm. He looked almost just like his father, with a height of 6 feet 4 inches, an athlete's body, and the face of a Greek god accompanied by a ginormous ego.

"You know, you're the only woman in town who has ever told me no," he suddenly said, breaking the silence. That was physically true, but on the inside, like every other girl in town, I also used to have a massive crush on him but soon got over it as I grew older.

"Yeah, well, I just happen to have self-respect and don't shamelessly throw myself at strange men," I replied casually with a shrug of my shoulders while he gave a hearty laugh.

"You know, that's not my fault, right?" he said.

"I know, and even though women behave shamelessly sometimes, you can't say you are completely innocent either," I said.

"If I didn't know better, I would say you had a crush on me." He grinned.

"That is what you got from that?" I said as it was my turn to laugh. "No way! I replied, "You have more than enough crushes to last you a lifetime." I would have probably melted into a nervous mush if he had said that a few years back. We continued to chat and banter back and forth, and he soon parked in front of my house.

Well, there we are," he said as he pulled over.

"You know, you didn't have to do this besides. Your dad told me you had an important family thing," I said with a smile.

"Well, to me, nothing is more important than giving a nice lady a ride," he said, leaning over his seat as he used the back of his hand to tuck my hair behind my ear.

And for a second, I returned to being a high schooler with a crush. It felt like I was enchanted and trapped by his lovely blue eyes that seemed to darken. I noticed he was moving closer and knew what he wanted to do, but hell no, was I that cheap? And in broad daylight? In front of my mom's house?

'No way!' I thought, snapping myself out of whatever spell he tried casting on me, "I should really get going," I said, clearing my throat and inching away from him just as his lips were inches from mine. He snapped back to reality and backed off, immediately clearing his throat.

‘’Oh, Yeah… um… .sorri… I.. I… mm… yeah, you …… you should totally… uh… get going," he stuttered, and I nodded in sync with his words.

‘’Yeah, well, see you later’’, I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. I opened the door and then stepped out. "Thanks for the lift; I really appreciated it, I said with a smile, which he returned.

‘’Don’t mention it; it was nothing’’ he replied.

"See you tomorrow," I said and gave him a wave as I headed towards my front door, which he returned.

"Yeah, you too," he called out and drove out of our yard.

I made my way to the front door and opened it. Only Grandma was home. Mom was at the hospital, and Davis was probably at work. Stacy was definitely not at home. I made my way over to Grandma's room. I knocked and then went in. I noticed she had not taken her drugs, and I chuckled.

"Hey, Grandma." I greeted her and shut the door behind me.

"What do you want, brat?" She snapped from the bed where she sat.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that I noticed you haven't taken your drugs." I sighed dramatically. "Just imagine what Mom would do to you if she were to find out."

"oh, just pass the damn thing." She scoffed. "And just so you know, I'm not doing this because you threatened me. She can't do anything to me." She said, and I helped her to pick out the drug. Then I poured her a glass of water from her jug.

"of course, she can't do nothing except send you to an elderly's home, and then you have no choice but to use your drugs. But then, if that happened, who would be my Grandma?" I said as I handed her her drugs. She quickly downed them and sighed. I knew she would fall asleep soon, so I helped tuck her in. I pulled her curtains to block out the light, adjusted her room's air conditioner to the right temperature, and left her room, shutting the door quietly behind me.

I went to my room, shut the door behind me, checked the time, and saw it was almost 3 o'clock, which meant I had so much free time but no friends to spend it with, since Sarah was busy with family things, so I decided to nap. I laid down on my futon and soon slept off. I woke up at 6pm on the dot, and I couldn't believe I had slept for that long. I got off my bed and changed into comfortable clothes. Then I made my way to the kitchen. It was just as clean as I left it, and so was the whole house, and that made me happy since it meant no one was home yet, so I got to work with the rest of the small chores I had left to finish up before I began preparing dinner.

I had just finished distributing the laundry I washed to their usual places. When the front door opened, I put the basket back in the laundry room and quickly went downstairs to find Mom struggling to pull off her shoes and hold up the groceries simultaneously. I went over to her and helped her with the groceries while she took off her coat and hung it on the hanger by the door.

‘’Thanks’’, she whispered.

"Welcome home, Mom," I greeted her though she had told me time without number not to call her that; I never listened, so she just gave up.

"You know where those should be," she said, and I nodded.

‘’Good, how’s grandma’’, she asked.

"Last time I checked, she was asleep. "I replied from the kitchen as I was sorting through the groceries.

"Okay," she said, heading towards the stairs, but stopped and turned to me.

"Is everything okay, Mom?" I asked.

"No, everything is fine. I'm just curious as to why you are home early", she asked. "You didn't get yourself fired, did you?"

‘’Oh no… no. Nothing like that. It's just that The Mitch's had an important family thing, so they sent everyone home early. I explained, and she nodded, then went upstairs to her room while I continued organizing the groceries. A few minutes later, Mom came downstairs and began making dinner, which she hadn't done since I learned how to cook. Grandma came down to the kitchen shortly after, and Stacy came home and simply sat with Grandma at the dinner table, which was a good thing since I'm almost certain she had no idea what Mom and I were doing. Davis got home, and just as dinner was made, like he timed it just right, he kissed Mom, hugged Stacy, acknowledged Grandma, and simply ignored me. And that was okay with me. He went to freshen up while Mom and I, surprisingly Stacy, set up the table together. Once it was set, the food was served. I took my food and headed to my room as usual, but Mom stopped me and insisted I sit at the table with everyone else, which she had never let me do before, because the sight of me made her want to vomit.

"I have something vital to say, and everyone has to be present," she said, and I gave in. I sat beside Grandma, far away from Mom, Stacy, and especially Davis. We were halfway through dinner when Mom made the important announcement.

"Roseline, you're getting married to Derek Mitch," she said and continued eating like she didn't just drop a bomb on me, and I stood up so fast from the chair I sat on that it crashed to the ground.

‘’WHAT?!!!!’’ I exclaimed.

"You heard me. Now sit down and finish your meal," she commanded, but I wasn't having any of that.

"No, I'm okay standing, but please explain to me what you mean by I am to marry Derek Mitch?" I asked angrily.

"It's just as I said you'll marry Derek Mitch by the end of next month. Connor Mitch came to me with the idea. Derek is getting older, and so are you. Plus, Derek is a good boy, and he will make a great husband", she said.

"Really, if he was that great, why don't you have Stacy marry him then?" I asked.

"I would never give up my daughter," she said quickly.

So I'm not your daughter?" I retorted, and she couldn't speak. Not waiting for a reply, I continued, "You know, it's bad enough that you wouldn't tell me who my dad is, but can't you tell me why you hate him? Even if you hate him, why do you hate me because of him or whatever he has done?" I asked but stopped when I choked. I was so sad, evident in my eyes and voice. I tried to blink back the tears, but they came pouring out.

"Stop being so dramatic. Besides, It's for the Family's benefit," Davis said patronizingly.

"What Family?!! You don't get to treat me like crap all my life and then turn around and call yourself my Family. YOU DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT!!!!!" I yelled at him

"Hey, you don't get to speak to your dad like that," Mom snapped, but I was on a roll.

"He is not my Dad," I replied, tears rolling down my eyes as I angrily wiped them off, "you are barely my mother. I know you want me out of your life, and I will be soon enough, but I am not, and I mean NOT going to marry Derek Mitch or any Mitch for that matter." I said, then stormed away from the table to my room, slamming the door shut behind me, and closed my eyes, which were now so blurry with tears that I couldn't see fell on my knees as I let out sob after sob with only one thought on my mind 'why does no one love me?' as I cried myself to a dreamless sleep.

I suddenly jerked awake sometime around midnight and instantly knew I wasn't alone. The room was so dark, and I couldn't determine who was there, but I knew someone was there. A cold shiver of dread crawled up my spine. 'Please don't let it be him,' I thought desperately.

"Who's there?" I called out, hoping to God my suspicion was wrong.

"Oh, it's just me, sweetheart, no need to panic." the voice I dreaded to hear answered. I knew the voice too well, Davis.

'Shit, I forgot to lock the door.' I thought I was panicking but tried to remain level-headed and find a way out of the situation. "What do you want?" I asked as I pulled my blanket up to my chin with my eyes trained on his figure in the dark. Since my eyes have adjusted enough to see him.

"Oh, but you know exactly what I want." He replied in a sick menacing voice that was slowly getting closer, much to my terror.

"Go away, Davis, leave me alone. Whatever sick delusions you have won't be fulfilled with me." I said, brushing him off and trying to squash my fear.

"Delusions? You hurt me," he said, feigning hurt. "I'm not even slightly deluded, my sweet. You escaped for me long enough, but not anymore because I always get what I want, and right that is you." He said and advanced towards me as I started scooting backward.

"Please, Davis, don't do this," I said, even as I continued to move backward, my heart beating loudly in my chest. I began to hyperventilate. Suddenly he launched towards me where I was just as I bolted off the futon. I tried to run, but he grabbed me by the leg and pulled me to the floor. I hit the floor with a thud as breath left my longs from the impact, and before I could catch my breath, he pulled me under him while he hovered over me. I was terrified at what he was planning to do to me, which is precisely what I had always feared, but I wouldn't let him without a fight.

I began to fight him and struggle with him. He slapped me severally across the face, punching me so hard I saw stars, and tears sprang from my eyes, but I refused to back down. However, he was stronger. He managed to pin both my arms above my head with one of his hands while the other began to grope my breast.

"You fucking bitch I got you now. Prancing all over the place making me so fucking hard." he spat angrily as he ground his hard-on on me. "I'm gonna fuck you so fucking good, and since we're in the basement, no one will hear you, so you scream all you want. I'm going to make you my fucking bitch’’ He said, salivating so much, getting some on my face and moaning disgustingly as he ground against me.

I struggled until suddenly as if inspired, I remembered something I had read somewhere, so I decided to practice it, hoping desperately that it would work. I brought my left knee to hit him close the groin hard, and immediately he let go of me with a loud shout. I hurriedly pushed him off and got up from under him, then kicked him directly on the groin a couple more times for good measure.

He gripped his groin in pain on the floor while I used that opportunity to bolt out of the room in fear. I was crying, sobbing quietly as I made my way upstairs, and I wasn't watching where I was going and bumped into Mom, who was apparently heading to the kitchen.

‘’ What’s going on?’’, she said.

‘’Davis tries to rape me that what’’, I replied. ‘’ with a sob.

"That's impossible," she whispered, looking betrayed, then frowned. ‘’ You seduced him’’, she accused.

"WHAT???" I was shocked. 'Oh my god, I can't believe she's trying to blame me for this.' I thought, bewildered.

"Yes, you must have tried seducing to avoid the marriage with Derek," She yelled. "And since he refused you, you are trying to blame it all on him. You, this ungrateful slut. How could you?"

"Are you listening to yourself right now, Mom? My so-called 'Dad almost raped me, and this is what you have to say to me?" I angrily wiped the tears from my eyes as I went for the door, just as David came running out of my room in the basement while cupping his crotch. "You're just unbelievable, Mom," I said as I turned around, yanked the door open, and ran into the night with my Mom's voice calling out to me as I ran with no destination in mind. I ended up in a secluded town park and lay on the bench. I cried so hard for so long that I soon fell into an exhausted sleep. 'Here I was thinking the day was a good day.' Was the last thing I thought of before I slept.

Back To Present Time

So that's how I ended up in God knows where. I bolted away from the window and went across the room to the door. I yanked it with much force, assuming it was locked, but to my surprise, it was open. "Some kidnappers, they are. Oh well, that's good for me, I thought as I ran out of the room and down the dark hallway.