Chapter 10

Rossa had just closed her eyes when she felt a gentle touch on her wrist.

Someone shook her lightly while calling her name.

“Rossa…”

The woman immediately woke up. Her heavy eyes opened quickly.

In front of her stood a man she knew very well—Robert’s trusted assistant.

“Rossa, Mr. Robert is calling you.”

The sentence was short. Calm. Yet enough to make Rossa’s heart beat uncomfortably fast.

She knew exactly what that call meant.

Even though her body still hurt badly from the beating earlier that afternoon, and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, Rossa never dared to refuse.

She had always been like that.

Obedient.

Too obedient.

Slowly, she turned to look at Livia, who was still asleep beside her. The girl was holding her tightly, as if she were afraid of losing her mother.

Rossa’s heart ached.

Very carefully, she tried to free herself from Livia’s embrace so the girl would not wake up.

It took a moment before she finally managed to release herself.

Rossa slowly rose from the thin mattress. Every small movement made the wounds on her back feel as if they were being sliced open again.

But she made no sound.

She was far too used to enduring pain.

Without saying a word, she followed the assistant out of the room.

The corridor of the large house was quiet.

Only the sound of their footsteps could be heard softly in the middle of the night.

Everyone was already asleep.

No one would see her.

Rossa walked toward a room at the end of the hallway.

As soon as the door opened, she immediately saw Robert standing inside the room.

The man had already been waiting for her.

His face was cold. Calm. As if there were no emotions at all.

“Come in.”

Robert’s voice sounded low and flat.

Rossa obeyed.

She stepped inside and stood a few steps away from him.

“Take off your clothes.”

The command came just like that, without any hesitation.

Rossa did not ask anything.

She never asked.

With slightly trembling hands, the woman began to remove her clothes.

The thin fabric slowly fell to the floor.

The wounds on her body immediately became visible.

Whip marks.

Bruises.

Torn skin.

All of them still looked fresh.

Robert looked at her in silence.

His face remained calm.

But deep inside his eyes, something trembled—something he had never allowed anyone to see.

Pain.

Guilt.

Yet the man said nothing.

“Lie down.”

Once again, Rossa simply obeyed.

She walked toward the bed and lay down face down.

Her wounded back was clearly exposed before Robert.

The man took a bottle of antiseptic from the small table beside the bed.

He poured the clear liquid onto a piece of cotton.

Then he began to apply it slowly to the wounds on Rossa’s back.

The antiseptic should have stung terribly.

But Rossa did not make a single sound.

No groan.

No complaint.

She simply remained silent.

Like a doll that had lost its soul.

Robert paused for a moment.

His hand holding the cotton tightened slightly.

“Rossa…”

He let out a slow breath.

“I always remind you to know your limits.”

His hand moved again, treating another wound.

“You know it yourself… when I get angry, I cannot control my emotions.”

But Rossa did not answer.

Not a single word.

Her heart had been frozen for far too long.

The way this man had treated her for years had eroded almost all of her feelings.

“You should be grateful,” Robert continued flatly. “Mr. Adrian is willing to marry Livia.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“Otherwise… that man could destroy this family.”

Rossa closed her eyes.

Then finally, she spoke.

“Why do you never learn from your mistakes?”

Robert’s voice turned cold.

But Rossa only smiled bitterly.

“Even if I explained it a thousand times… would it make any difference?”

Her voice trembled.

Yet there was deep exhaustion within it.

“Livia is your daughter.”

She spoke slowly.

“Even though her status is illegitimate… how can you treat her like this?”

The room suddenly felt very quiet.

Robert fell silent.

For several seconds, the man said nothing.

“I cannot help her.”

The answer came out in a low voice.

But those words only made Rossa’s heart feel even more shattered.

“To you, I am nothing but a poor woman,” she whispered softly.

“My dignity means nothing. Even my life has no value.”

Tears began to flow from the corners of her eyes.

“How long must I continue to be your doll like this?”

She turned her head slightly.

Her eyes looked at Robert for the first time that night.

“I just want to know… what freedom feels like.”

The sentence had not even fully finished when Robert’s hand suddenly grabbed her neck.

The movement was fast.

Hard.

Making Rossa’s breath immediately choke.

“I already told you…”

Robert’s voice turned low and dangerous.

“You will never be able to leave me.”

His grip tightened.

“Never dream of leaving.”

His eyes stared sharply at Rossa.

“Wherever you go… I will always find you.”

The voice was cold.

But there was something much darker within it.

Obsession.

“And you should know one more thing…”

He leaned his body closer.

“If you deliberately cause trouble…”

His voice was almost like a whisper.

“Livia will bear the consequences.”

Rossa’s body trembled instantly.

The tears she had been holding back finally fell uncontrollably.

She no longer tried to stop them.

Those tears mixed with the blood that was still flowing from her wounds.

Rossa closed her eyes.

In front of this man…

she always lost.

Yet Robert himself stood there in silence afterward.

His hand was still on Rossa’s neck, but his grip slowly loosened.

He looked at the woman.

The woman he had never been able to let go of for years.

The woman he had destroyed with his own hands.

And perhaps…

the woman he secretly loved more than anything.

But for Robert, love had never meant setting someone free.

Love meant possession.

Forever.