“Ma’am? Ma’am?” A voice awoke me, and I jolted up from my bed.
Rubbing the sleepiness out of my eyes, I saw the same maid from before, standing near my bedpost and holding a tray.
She must be in her late fifties, and it was astonishing to see a woman that age not show any emotions.
“I am sorry to wake you, but you need to eat your food.” She placed the tray before me and bowed before leaving.
My stomach rumbled at the sight of food.
Opening the lid of the dish, I inhaled a strong aroma of coffee and scrambled eggs. Without wasting any more time, I took the fork and started to eat like a maniac, savoring each bite and sip.
When I was done, I put the tray down on the floor and unwrapped the towel around my hair.
My hair was still damp. I went to the wardrobe and took out a comb. After struggling to detangle my hair, I combed it to the side and tied it using a rubber band.
“What should I do now?” I asked myself as I began to pace around the room.
I decided to do the one thing that might help.
Bang on the door till someone lets me out.
“Let me out!” I banged on the door, shouting like a maniac.
“Open the door! Anybody there? Let me out!”
“Hey! Is anyone listening to me? Let me out, please!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.
I banged continuously. If anyone were out there, they would have gotten irritated and let me out.
“Open the d—”
I was cut off when I found the doorknob turning, so I took a step back for the person to open the door.
There stood the murderer himself with an angry expression on his face, looking ready to kill me.
“Why in the world are you banging the door like a maniac?” He took menacing steps toward me.
I decided not to show him that I was afraid of him. He didn’t need to know that.
“Well, that’s because someone locked me inside this room with no windows, and I felt suffocated,” I spoke confidently as I glared back at him.
He was wearing the same clothes from earlier, minus the jacket.
“Suffocated, right? You were not going to die. You don’t need to bark like a dog to get your point.” He insulted me.
He narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
“Well, then.” I laughed sarcastically. “Look who’s talking.”
This made him raise his eyebrows.
“The dog himself is calling others a dog.”
Anger flared up in his eyes.
“What did you just say?” he asked, threatening me.
“Are you deaf?” I questioned, mocking him.
“Enough!”
The next instant, I collided with his chest as he took hold of my arms and angrily pulled me to him.
“You will not talk to me like that. Do you understand?” He tightened his hold as he yelled at me.
“Or what?” I retorted. I knew I was playing with fire.
“Don’t forget that your family is still at my gunpoint. All I need to do is to give a simple order, and they will be finished.” He sneered as he shoved me backward.
Tears pooled in my eyes, and my hatred for him grew even more.
“You wouldn’t.” I managed to speak.
“Try me.” He threatened me with a neutral expression, seeing my tears.
“Why are you doing this to me? What did I do that I had to go through all this?” I asked as tears began to roll down my cheeks.
I hated feeling vulnerable in front of him. I had never felt like this in my entire life. However, this man had an influence on me, causing all these peculiar emotions to flow out of me.
“Please at least let me know what my mistake is?” I sobbed as I leaned against the wall for support.
“It is better if you keep your mouth shut and do as you are told,” he spoke nonchalantly.
“What do you think I am? Huh?” I was back to being spitfire.
“Who do you think I am? Do you think I am a maid or servant that you can just boss around, huh?” I snapped as I angrily wiped the tears with my palms.
“You are here because of me,” he spoke, enunciating each word.
“So don’t forget what I can do to you. You should be happy that you are still alive and have been given room to stay. Unless you want me to get my men and lock you in the basement without any food.”
His words made me tremble with fear.
“W-Who are you?” I managed to ask.
“I am nobody for your concern, but I can be your worst nightmare if you don’t behave,” he told me icily.
“I just don’t get your point of marrying me. Didn’t you get your revenge? You killed him. Emmett! Before my eyes. It is over. I want to go back to my family.” I tried to reason.
“Go back to your room and just sleep.” He turned his back toward me and left, behaving as if he didn’t hear what I just said.
“No! Stop!” I yelled when I saw him locking me inside the room again.
He stopped midway from closing the door as he eyed me with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t lock me in here,” I begged.
He sighed as he closed his eyes and shook his head, muttering something under his breath.
“See. You behave well, and I will not lock you anymore.” He began to close the door again, but I stopped him by running to him and holding his hand.
“No! No! Please! Don’t close it. I am feeling suffocated.” I begged as I held his hand on the doorknob to stop him from closing the door.
He stared at me for a few seconds when his eyes traveled to our hands. I realized what I had just done and immediately jerked my hands away from his.
He looked around while I pushed back some loose locks of my hair behind my ear.
“Fine! I am not locking it, but I will if I get any unwanted or silly behavior from you,” he told me, and I nodded silently. Then, he turned around and left without glancing back at me.
I exhaled the air I didn’t know I was holding in and slowly closed the door. I was satisfied that at least I wasn’t locked inside. It was not that I was planning to escape, but I had always felt claustrophobic in a locked room.
Moreover, I didn’t plan on escaping soon. I would one day, but not now. Not until I got what I want.
“Answers and revenge,” I spoke determinedly to get what I truly wanted.
With that, I closed the door and went back to bed.
However, the first thing I wanted to do was contact my family. I needed to know what had happened there after I was taken away, especially about Emmett.
My heart ached as I realized what might have happened to him. I took deep breaths to calm myself down.
I didn’t want my tears to be worthless any longer. If anything, I wanted to take revenge for all my sufferings and tears, bit by bit.
“You will have it, Zachary. I don’t care why you did what you did, but you are going to pay for it.
“This is my promise,” I swore as I lay down on the bed and tried to sleep.
