Chapter 118 A year
Because you had been stupid enough to believe in something better. I had asked myself so many times…
Why me?
Why did it have to be me?
Why couldn’t it be someone else?
But I already knew the answer. It was because of him. Because no matter how far I ran… No matter where I went… i could never escape him.
He was my shadow. No, he was worse than that, he was part of me.
My demon, my curse, my fate.
To belong to him, to be nothing more than his prisoner. The screech of metal against metal ripped through the silence. The heavy door creaked open, the sound so sharp and high-pitched it felt like it pierced straight through my skull.
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.
The noise made my ears ring. For a brief, pathetic moment, I wished whoever it was would just leave. Leave me alone, let me rot in this misery.
Or better yet… End it.
Put me out of my misery.
Let me go, let me finally rest. Let me see my mother again, let me tell her I was sorry.
Sorry for everything. Sorry for not being strong enough. Sorry for letting it all happen. “I’m sorry…” I whispered faintly, though no one heard me.
Footsteps approached.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
I felt hands grab me.
Rough.
Unforgiving.
My body was lifted off the ground like I weighed nothing. Pain flared across my wounds where their grip pressed against torn skin, but I didn’t react.
Didn’t flinch.
Didn’t fight.
I just… hung there.
Limp.
Lifeless. My head lolled to the side as I was thrown over someone’s shoulder. The world shifted upside down. The floor blurred beneath me. I stared at it blankly, didn’t ask where they were taking me, didn’t care.
What was the point? I just wanted it to end.
The sooner the better.
I was dropped onto the ground.
Hard. A dull thud echoed as my body hit the surface, paiin shot through me.
Sharp, explosive. But I barely reacted. “Graceful,” I muttered weakly under my breath, the sarcasm dry and hollow.
A foot slammed into my ribs. Air rushed out of my lungs in a strangled gasp. I winced despite myself, my body curling slightly..That hurt, more than usual. Something cracked. Or maybe it had already been broken before. "Sit up,” a voice snapped.
I forced myself upright slowly, every movement sending waves of pain through my body. My muscles trembled from the effort. I leaned back against the wall for support, my head spinning slightly. “Now, my love,” his voice came.
Smooth.
Mocking. I didn’t need to look up to know it was him. "Don’t give me that look.”
Strong fingers gripped my cheeks suddenly, forcing my face upward. His face came into view.
That sickening smile, gold teeth gleaming. "I have great news for you,” he said cheerfully.
My stomach turned. He squeezed my cheeks tighter, his eyes scanning my face. “You look so much like her… it’s repulsive.”
His voice darkened, making me flinched slightly.
“Such a big surprise,” he added, his smile widening.
“Come in, sir,” he called out.
Another man entered.
Older, grey hair, dirty skin.
A cigarette hanging lazily from his lips. The smell hit me instantly.
Alcohol.
Smoke.
Decay.
I scrunched my nose in disgust. His eyes dragged slowly over my body, evaluating, calculating.
Like I wasn’t human, like I was something to be bought. “Mr. Vince,” my dear father said, gesturing toward me. “This is her.”
The man’s lips curled into a smirk.
“She’ll go in one bidding,” he said casually. “No matter the price.”
My blood ran cold.
Bidding. My stomach dropped violently, they were going to sell me. Just like that, “So there’s no problem then,” my father said lightly. “Take her off my hands.”
Panic flickered faintly in my chest, but it didn’t grow. Didn’t consume me. Because what was there left to fight for? A bag was suddenly thrown over my head. Darkness swallowed me instantly. Rough hands grabbed me again.
Lifted me, my ribs screamed in protest, pain radiating sharply through my side.
A weak grunt escaped me.
Then— I was thrown again. This time onto something hard and enclosed.
Metal, the trunk of a car I presumed.
I lay there, still. My body aching, every muscle screaming. The engine roared to life beneath me.
We were moving, taking me somewhere else.
To another hell, another devil. A faint, bitter thought crossed my mind.
Just like my mother.
Sold, broken, used. A sex slave. I almost gagged.
But then again… Maybe this would end it, maybe I could poison myself. Find a way, anything, just to make it stop. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye.
Traitorous, unwanted. I wondered what Damien would think if he knew. If he was looking for me, if he had given up. “Good morning,” a voice suddenly crackled through a radio.
My eyes widened beneath the blindfold. "…the 14th of December, 2020…”
My breath hitched, over a year. I had been gone for over a year. My stomach clenched painfully, all that time all that suffering, allthose missed moments. I squeezed my eyes shut, the car stopped.
Hands grabbed me again, lifted me.
My body protested violently. Pain shot through my abdomen, i nearly gagged from the pressure but nothing came out. I had nothing left. I was thrown down again.
The impact rattled through my bones.
A door slammed, metal, another cellar.
Of course. With what little strength I had left, I reached up and pulled the bag off my head.
Air rushed into my lungs.
Too fast.
I choked on it, gasping, coughing. My vision blurred. Slowly, my eyes adjusted. Darkness, complete darkness. I couldn’t see anything, not the walls, not the floor, nothing. My chest tightened instantly.
I hated the dark, always had. Panic surged, m breathing became erratic. Shallow, fast.
Tears burned at my eyes. “I can’t…” I whispered, my voice breaking.
My heart pounded violently.
Too fast.
Too hard.
The darkness pressed in around me, suffocating.
Consuming, I tried to calm down, tried to breathe.
But it didn’t work. My chest felt like it was collapsing. Air wouldn’t come, my vision blurred completely. Spots filled my sight, my body swayed.
And then— Everything went black again.