Chapter 5: The Gilded Cage

Ahh! I woke up and yawned, stretching my arms above my head. I opened my eyes slowly scratching my head.

I felt a massive headache that felt like someone was hammering nails into my skull. I grabbed my head with both hands and groaned in pain.ahhh i looked around scamming everywhere.

Wait. Where am I?

My eyes open fully and I looked around . Wait This isn’t my room.I stood up quickly ,I was too fast the room spun a little. I scanned everything around me, my heart starting to beat faster and faster oh good lords.

What am I doing in a rich room? I thought, staring at the fancy furniture and the huge windows have never see a room or entered a room like this before.

Then it all came rushing back. The alley. Walking home after my shift. That guy. Those cold blue eyes. The van. The cloth over my face. Everything going black.

Wait. Now I remember. The guy from yesterday.

Oh my god. Wait, am I kidnapped?

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. I'm doomed. I'm so doomed.

I jumped out of the bed and ran straight to the door. I started banging on it hard with both fists, over and over.

"Please! I didn't do anything wrong! Let me out of here! Please!" I screamed, hitting the door until my hands hurt. "Somebody help me! Please!" Am a no body I don’t cause trouble am a good girl so please let me out of here!!

No response.

I stopped and pressed my ear against the door, listening for any sound. Nothing at all. My breathing was getting faster. I looked down at myself and that's when I finally realized something.

I wasn't wearing my clothes anymore the hell.

Instead, I had on this silky red robe that probably cost more than my rent. It felt smooth and expensive against my skin.

Oh no.

My hands started shaking. I touched my body quickly, checking everywhere. My chest, my legs, my arms. Everything felt normal. Nothing hurt down there. I let out a huge breath.

"Phew. I wasn't touched," I whispered to myself. "But who changed my clothes?"

The thought made my skin crawl.

Wait maybe I can escape through the widow i ran to the window hoping maybe I could open it or break it or something. I grabbed the frame and tried to pull it up.

Locked. Of course it was locked.

"Yeah, right," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Like they'd make it that easy for me to escape what was I thinking I laughed at myself silly me.

I was about to try the door again when I heard footsteps outside. I froze. The door handle turned and the door swung open.

A woman walked in. She was older, maybe in her fifties, wearing a plain black and white maid uniform. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun. She bowed her head at me.

"Miss, I am here to take care of you," she said in this weird flat voice, like she was reading from a script. "Firstly, I need to bathe you."

She turned and walked toward the bathroom door like this was totally normal. She stood there waiting for me to follow.

I stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

"The fuck? You want to bathe me? Like, seriously? Am I a kid or something?" I asked, my voice getting higher. "Where am I? What is this place? Who are you?"

The maid just stood there. She didn't answer any of my questions. She was like a robot or something.

"Ma, please come," she said again, still waiting by the bathroom door.

"No! Answer me! Where am I?!" I shouted at her.

She didn't say anything. She was just staring at me with those empty eyes.

I couldn't take it anymore. I pushed her out of the way and ran into the bathroom myself. Maybe there was a window in there. Maybe I could escape.

The bathroom was huge. All white marble and shiny fixtures. There was a window! A small one up high near the shower area.

I ran over to it. It was one of those windows that opens outward. I grabbed the latch and pulled as hard as I could. It opened! Finally, something that worked!

I pulled a stool over and climbed up. The window was open now but it was small. Really small. Could I fit through it?

I had to try.

I stuck my head through first, trying to see how far down the ground was. But my head went through and then.

I was stuck.

My head was outside but my shoulders were too wide. I tried to pull back but I couldn't. I was completely stuck.

"Ahh! My head!" I screamed, panicking. "Help! My head is stuck! Somebody help me!"

I heard footsteps and then the maid was there. She grabbed my waist and pulled gently but firmly. After a few tries, my head popped back through and I fell backward onto the floor, hitting my butt hard.

"Ow," I groaned, rubbing my head. There were red marks on both sides from where the window frame had squeezed me.

I got up, frustrated and angry and scared all at once. I pushed past the maid and ran back to the bedroom door. I started banging on it again with both fists.

"Let me out! Let me out right now!" I screamed. "You can't keep me here! This is illegal! This is kidnapping!"

I raised my fist to bang again but the door suddenly swung open. I stumbled forward, almost falling.

And there he was.

Standing in the doorway like he owned the place. Which I guess he did.

The man from the alley. Tall, probably over six feet. Dark hair that was perfectly styled. Sharp jawline. Expensive dark gray suit that fit him perfectly. And those eyes. Those cold, ice-blue eyes that had been the last thing I saw before everything went black.

"Hello, Elara," he said. His voice was smooth and deep.

"You!" I pointed at him with a shaking finger. "It was you! You kidnapped me!"

He stepped into the room slowly, like we were meeting for coffee or something casual. He closed the door behind him.

"Kidnapped is such an ugly word," he said, tilting his head slightly. "I prefer to think of it as relocation."

"Relocation?" I repeated, my voice getting louder. "Are you insane? You drugged me! You took me from the street! You locked me in here! That's kidnapping!"

He walked over to a chair and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. He looked completely relaxed, like this was just a normal Tuesday for him.

"Please, sit," he said, gesturing to another chair across from him.

"I'm not sitting! I'm not doing anything you say! Let me go right now!" I was shaking, partly from fear and partly from anger.

"If you insist on standing, that's your choice," he said calmly. "But we are going to talk regardless."

"I don't want to talk to you! I want to go home!" I shouted.

You are going nowhere this is your home now you belong to me now Elara his voice were cold as ice.

I didn’t know when I fell flat on my butt oh god I think I’ve been kidnapped by a stalker great my life is over.