Chapter 125: Up to you

NANCY’S POV

My cheeks were still stinging with the force of his slap, and my hands were still held against it, cradling it to lessen the pain somewhat, which I discovered later on was futile.

His words had barely registered when he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, yanking me upright while popping open another button.

I lifted my hand to tug my shirt close again, but before I could do that, I was shoved hard against the wall.

The air was knocked out of my lungs, and I gasped at the force of my back hitting the wall. Pain wracked through my spine.

He let go of my shirt, only for his hands to curl around my throat, tightening in a way that made it difficult for me to breathe

“Are you sure you still want to fight me?” He asked coldly, digging his nails into my skin.

I coughed violently, struggling to get air through my nostrils, but my anger hadn’t eased.

The pain I was in wasn't enough to dampen the anger I felt. It was the exact classical situation of someone being blinded by rage, who held no regard for anything else.

“Go to hell,” I rasped.

I didn’t think his orbs could darken more than they already did, but they did. Before his hands even came down, I already braced myself for the impact.

The sound echoed before I even registered the pain, and my head snapped to the side with a sharp burst of fresh pain exploding across my cheeks.

For a second, everything buzzed.

When the buzzing finally stopped, his voice reached me, low and dangerous.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that.”

Even though I knew it could earn me another slap, and even though I could taste the metallic tinge of blood in the corner of my mouth, I laughed.

It came out weak and breathless, but it was a mocking laughter nonetheless.

“How else should I talk to a swine?”

His eyes narrowed immediately, and he spat out through clenched teeth, “You really don’t know what’s good for you.”

“Better than someone who doesn’t know when to die.”

That did it.

His expression shifted completely to fury like never before. He shoved me back again, and before I could steady myself, he grabbed my arm, twisting it back, hard enough for me to cry out in pain.

While being manhandled like that, I could only attribute my inability to fight back the way I wanted to the drug that had to still be coursing through my system and the feverish weakness that only food and sleep deprivation could cause.

Factually, women usually were weaker than men, and I was in an even more disadvantageous position, and given my bodily condition, the odds were against me in all ways.

I gasped as pain shot up my arm.

“Say it,” he demanded. “Say that you’ll fucking listen.”

“No.”

My response was reflexive, gritted out through the pain that threatened to blind me.

His grip tightened, and I sucked in a sharp breath. The burn in my shoulder joint hinted at dislocation, and my knees buckled, but I’ll be damned if I gave up so easily.

“Never.”

His grip turned vice-like, and for a moment, it fet like he might actually break something, but then he let go.

The release of his grip was so sudden that I stumbled forward, barely steadying myself before I could fall to the ground again.

I turned, breathing heavily while grabbing at my hurting arm as the pain throbbed through me.

It dangled next to me, hurting with even the smallest move.

“Fine.” He said coldly.

“Keep refusing to listen, and continue being stubborn,” he added, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt one after the other.

His gaze swept over me as he did so.

“Stay as stubborn as you want, but don’t expect mercy anymore. I’m done being patient with you.”

I tucked my tongue into the corner of my mouth, tasting the blood there as his words fell with a note of finality.

From now on, Nancy…. You either learn, or you suffer.”

“The choice is up to you.”

He stared penetratingly at me for a long minute, then turned around and marched out the door. It slammed shut behind him, and the room plunged into silence.

For a couple of minutes, I stood in one spot, unmoving, dragging deep breaths through my nostrils, but then, my knees gave in, and I fell to the ground.

It felt like all the strength had been sapped out of me, and I couldn’t hold myself upright any longer. Coupled with the fact that my arm hurt like hell.

Tears built up behind my eyes, but I clenched my teeth hard, refusing to cry. I could cry for any other reason, I could cry because I’d lost my best friend, and I could cry because I was worried for the man I loved, but one thing I promised myself I would never do was cry because of Mr Hudson.

He could slap me as many times as he wanted, beat me, torture me, but I would never shed a single tear for him.

Many people had betrayed me enough already; I wasn’t about to betray myself, too.

For a long while, I sat on the cold, hard floor, staring blankly into space until the burn in my eyes went away. Then, I dragged myself off the ground and walked slowly towards the bed.

Carefully, I lowered myself onto it and pulled a pillow closer to myself, hugging it while I threw the bed covers around myself.

Even though I didn’t know what the next second could bring or if I would ever be able to get out of here, and even though it felt like the world was caving in on me, I didn’t let my thoughts overwhelm me in that instant.

Stripping my mind as bare as I could, I shut my eyes and forced myself to sleep.