Chapter 50

Her bruised bottom lip quivered in both pain and the cold atmosphere. She wasn't wearing any warm clothes nor did she bring any warm clothes with her. It was not cold outside but in the place, she was in. She was wearing the same red top.

She was sitting on the cold hard floor of the darkened room. Her bare half bottom was feeling the coldness of the floor which made her shiver even more. She scrunched her eyes and tried to figure out where she was. But there was little or no light in the whole room. Her heart was beating fast as if the thudding of her pounding heart could be heard by anyone if they were with her. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single soul there.

She was never a people person, her shy, introverted and timorous nature had always been a hindrance in any communication she wanted to initiate.

At that moment, she loathed being alone in the darkness, and it made her crave some amity and fellowship.

She swallowed her fear and strain and placed her palms on the floor, putting a little pressure on them. She lowered her body more so that she could put more pressure on her hand to get up. Her body felt weak and bruised. But it was too dark to see her sore and wounded flesh. She finally stood up with all of her effort and energy but she immediately began to feel lightheaded. Her heart pounding hard in her chest as if she had run a hundred miles.

What's happening?

She bravely stepped forward and hoped that she would find a door or a window so that she could at least get a little light to see her surroundings. The darkness was viciously suffocating her. It is not a surprise if the majority of the people despise darkness. It is indeed a powerful weapon as it can control anyone and anywhere. It is a loophole, a loophole of pure black vision and low ringing sound as the hearing. It swallows up people and carries them with it, deep somewhere away from the universe.

And there she was standing in all tenebrosity, in half of her clothes which only included her red top and white panty. But, that was not what she was worried about. She had to get out of there. Her fragile hands were floating in the air as she took little careful steps towards nowhere. She moved her fingers involuntarily slowly from side to side to sense something in her hand, and so that she could get a hint of where she was. She stopped abruptly when her hand touched a door. She wanted to cry out in victory. She connected her spy hands to everywhere on the old wooden sloppy door.

Emma's hand trailed down till she found the knob of the door. Her hand gripped it tightly and she took a sharp deep breath and turned the knob on the right side.

It was locked.

She turned it on the left side and it was locked. All of her hopes were shattered right there and she did not even know when she began to bang on the door like a lunatic. Her palm was getting red from the banging and her mouth began to feel dry. Her shrieking scream and yells for help would have warned the entire area where she was. She continued it for the whole ten minutes when the door finally opened revealing a tall muscular figure. A little light pierced through the ajar door making her eyelids squinch against one another. Her hands immediately covered the sudden burning sensation in her eyes. She was relieved that the room was not dark anymore, but it was gone when the silhouette figure spoke up.

"Now, now, butterfly. I wouldn't like you to dry your throat from screaming unless it is me who is making you scream."

***

At Alexander's house.

"Going somewhere, butterfly?"

Alexander's words came out as deride. Like he ridiculed her in that condition. She gulped down the blatant lump in her throat that kept coming up there and clutched her bag tightly as if her life depended on it.

Surely, it didn't depend on the bag but on the pen that was lying on the little study table. She could grab it swiftly and hurt him somewhere which would make him move away and she could run. She stared at it for a while then looked back at Alexander who was following her gaze. He smirked when he figured out what she was thinking.

Does she think she can hurt me with a stupid pen?

It amused him. She was indeed a fighter and he liked it so much.

"You're very eager to go to my penthouse with me as I can see. It surely is an amazing place with a big garden full of all kinds of plants you love. You will love it there," he said and smiled at her.

She felt as if she was going to throw up right there. How could he think she would be happy there? She could never be happy anywhere near him.

Her plan of grabbing the pen and jabbing her owner in his eyes seemed to have a big failure when Emma began to tear up. Her confidence and strength were shattered. Her bag slipped from her hand and landed plainly on the floor.

Alexander sighed at the scene and went to grab her small hand, but she swiftly pulled it back like he was about to electrify her. He furrowed his eyebrow and his fierce eyes dared her to repeat it. "Behave, Emma," he stated and went to grab her arm but she stepped back. His teeth clenched together and he told her again.

"I am not going to repeat myself, Emma. Come with me. Right NOW," her fists clenched together, she was afraid but she refused to go with him. She struggled and fought. But he held her beneath him, holding her hands behind her. Her dry throat felt like torture every time she opened her mouth to scream.

She tried everything to fight him. She tried to kick him between his legs. She tried to snatch him anywhere her delicate hands could reach. She tried to push him off of her.

But could she really stop him?

His well-built massive body was pressed on her, suffocating her underneath him, she had no clue how she ended up on the bed. It did not take him long to get between her legs and he held her in-motion hands tightly with one hand and her jaw with the other hand.

"Stop, Emma. What the fuck do you think you are doing?"

His words were fading away as he took out the sharp needle from his pocket and stabbed her delicate neck with it. Her screams eventually came to a stop and soon she lied on the bed, under him, with her hands above her head but this time they were not in motion and the entire room fell into deep silence since the unconsciousness muted her tired screams of agony.

***

How long does it take a person to faint from the fit of terror? Five minutes? Ten minutes?

For her, it was only a few seconds, but the terror did not stun her, instead, it kept her wide awake. She wished she would just fall into a deep sleep and never wake up again. But it did not matter how long she wanted to stay in her dreamland. The devil would find her and keep her with him forever.

Beads of teardrops glided down her eyes to her cheeks then to her jaw and dropped on her red top making themselves dissolve into the cloth. She did what she had always done, she took a few steps back and stood away from him. His face wasn't visible due to the darkness and his massive body covered the illumination from reaching the room. The salty taste of the mixture of the tears and her sweat warned her how anxious she was.

Why? Why so much terror? Why was she so scared?

The answer was simple. The Devil stood before her in all his glory. Without any regrets. But if the situation could be seen from his outlook it would be staggering. The Devil brought a girl to a place where he never brought any other women before. When Adrian found out about it, he was fumed and astounded. His friend was bringing a girl to his penthouse whom he had claimed was his.

But Adrian was not aware of the girl's consent. He didn't dare question Alexander anymore, when the world said he was known for his ruthlessness, they weren't lying. He would spare no one who would meddle between him and Emma.

His Emma.

When he brought her into his penthouse, he thought of giving her the punishment she deserved for acting like a brat. She was kept in a dark cold basement room. The penthouse had several deserted basements but the one Emma was kept in was the smallest and darkest. Alexander knew Emma was afraid of darkness, so he perceived that punishment would teach her a lesson. But he loathed it when she backed away from him. Why did she always find a way to get away from him? He asked himself, deep down he knew the answer but his capability of comprehending the response was still very far.

He marched towards her and grabbed her arm. His warm massive hand was connected with her petite cold arm. Emma almost hissed in pain. He pulled on her arm and walked to step out of the room. She gasped and immediately stopped walking behind him and tugged on his shirt to stop him. Alexander gritted his teeth and turned around to yell at her when his eyes fell on her half-naked body with several bruise marks.

Shit. I forgot I had taken her pants off when I brought her.

Although her half-baked state was arousing his beast, he swallowed down the lust and told her to wait there. After that, he disappeared outside with the door slightly open, open enough to lighten up a certain area of the room. He ran back to where his room was situated and went through her stuff until he found suitable pants for her to wear. He was not going to let her out in that state, there were guards in the house and there would be nonsensical bloodshed if she walked out of that room like that and any of the guards looked in her direction.

Fuck no. I will kill anyone who will look at her naked body.

He claimed her body after all. It was only fair that he would protect what was his like he always did. On the other hand, Emma was standing there, still shivering from the cold. The outside of the room seemed so much warmer than the basement.

Why couldn't I just stand outside? My hands and feet are freezing from the cold.

"Here. Wear this," her thoughts were seized by Alexander. He handed her blue sweatpants and she timidly took them from him with her trembling hands. She stood there for a few minutes patiently waiting for him to give her some privacy.

"What?" He cocked his eyebrow. "Don't tell me you cannot wear this in front of me when I'm the one who took off your pants and left you here."

His forthright answer sent shivers down to her spine. She perceived he was not going to leave. Her eyes closed as she slid into her warm sweatpants, one leg after another. The warmness of the cloth was filling her up with great comfort. She finally felt a little bit relieved.

"Come. Let's go," he said and held her hand again, stepping out of the basement room. Her eyes squinched as the crystal clear marble mosaic decorations reflected the sunlight and connected with every belonging of the room. She adjusted her eyes and looked around, trying not to let out a gasp but she failed. The house looked marvelous. It looked as if it was made out of crystals and marbles. Surely it wasn't as big as Alexander's previous house but it was decorated much more beautifully than that. The floor was polished and she observed some maids scrubbing the floor with rugs. The walls were crystal and made out of pure pearly marbles. The interior designs seemed modern. The spiral staircase stood at the edge of the living room. She flinched when her feet touched the crystal clear staircase, it was transparent but yet so majestic.

She didn't know when she was brought into a huge bedroom with a double queen-sized bed in the middle. It didn't take her long to realize she was with Alexander inside his room.

Oh my god. What am I doing here?