Chapter 116 Chapter 116: Confinement and Conditions
\[Lilia\]
My stomach began to feel like it was filled with a whirling sensation of butterfly wings flapping. Indulging in this minuscule form of pleasure he provided made my heart sing with joy every time he touched me. Yet, my head screamed, warning me not to fall into this falseness, knowing all too well how it would end, hurting me all over again.
After cleaning my wound and ensuring no more shards were embedded, Kael applied a mild antiseptic. He moved chronologically, an expert as though he had done it many times before. Though that wasn’t much of a surprise, knowing the kind of world he lived in.
He let my foot dry for a moment and then proceeded to my finger, but I had my wounded hand crossed at my waist, away from him.
“May I?” he asked, casting a lingering stare and holding his palm out as if waiting for me to give him my hand. I didn’t hesitate. He started cleaning it with another clean cotton cloth.
While watching him work, I couldn’t help but blurt out the question that had been on my mind. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?” He stopped for a moment but continued rubbing the dried blood from my fingers.
“This,” I pointed out, my chest constricting as I forced out the words. “Treating me like this as if you really cared. As if we hadn’t argued last night. Then the next moment, you’re treating me like random trash from a garbage bin. As if it all meant nothing to you.”
“I told you, I have my reasons,” he briefly replied to my lengthy sentiments. Just like that, a shot of anger flooded through my veins.
“You always say that, and yet you never let me understand,” I groused in frustration, leveling my breathing. I knew if I got too furious, my wounds might start bleeding again.
I took a deep breath and turned my attention toward the ceiling, praying I could keep my temper at bay. My mind drifted back to the time he swore not to hurt me and to the fight we had last night.
There were too many things he wasn’t telling me to help me understand our situation, and I didn’t even know where to put myself.
“What about the promise you made me back in Italy?” I prompted, leaning my head on the couch. I couldn’t look at him, not without breaking into tears. “Was it all just a joke?”
I had cried enough last night and didn’t want it to happen again.
A moment passed, and Kael stayed quiet while tending to my wounds. I turned my head toward him and saw his lips zipped tight, his jaw clenching.
“You’re not really going to tell me, are you?” I hissed in annoyance, sighing in frustration. I changed the subject as another thought entered my mind. “Seriously, out of all the women in the world, you chose Sabina?”
This time, I finally caught his attention as his hand halted while applying cream to prevent swelling.
“It’s complicated, doll,” he replied, taking a roll of bandage and wrapping it gently around my left foot first, adjusting the tightness before securing it.
The corners of my eyes stung, and I knew where this conversation was going. Just like last night, I didn’t know what to do anymore.
The tension that Val had alleviated earlier began to build up once more, growing thicker with each passing minute.
Kael finished bandaging my fingers and then started cleaning the mess scattered on the floor. I watched him closely, staring at his void expression as he put the antiseptics back into the kit.
I blinked back tears threatening to fall and looked up as thousands of thoughts ran through my mind, but one emerged above them all.
“If this is to continue, just let me go,” I whispered, my voice almost inaudible as the words choked in my throat.
“Never,” he snapped in retort. What I did not expect was for him to suddenly smash the bottle of alcohol onto the floor, causing it to explode.
It caught me off guard, and I sank farther into the couch, fearing he would hit me. He was breathing heavily, glowering at me like a predator stalking its prey.
“You are hurting me, Kael,” I countered, steeling my countenance and defying the fear crawling up my chest. I could not stand on my wounded foot, but I would not back down.
However, no matter how I tried to be this strong woman and look at this man with hatred, the person I was before still resided deep within me, peering into my soul and consuming me again. “Breaking me. Please, just let me go,” I softly added.
Our gaze locked, and I noticed the corners of his eyes were rimmed with red. Kael closed the distance between us and inclined his body over mine, our faces close, noses an inch from touching. He braced both arms on each side of my head on the couch, caging me with no escape.
“That is never going to happen,” he slowly enunciated each word with restrained rage. “You are mine, doll. Whether you like it or not, you belong to me, and you will stay as long as I want.”
Selfish bastard!
I wanted to yell and spit in his face, but I knew I would be risking too much. I was wounded, emotionally and physically, and there was no way I could win a fight.
Instead, I sneered at him with detestation. “You’re a beast!”
“So I’ve been told.”
“I hate you!”
“Hate me all you want, but you are not leaving me,” he uttered with finality.
I couldn’t believe we were arguing again after last night. I was still confused about what he meant regarding the thing that means the world to him, and I wasn’t asking because I knew he wouldn’t give me a clear and concise answer.
This conversation was going nowhere. I had already seen how it would end, and if I weren’t injured, I would have walked right out the door and gotten the hell out of here.
“And what if I escape again?” A smirk looped on my lips, challenging him. I had already tried that before; I may have failed, but with enough knowledge and a little more training, I might succeed the second time.
Kael’s façade immediately changed when I mentioned the word escape. He hadn’t forgotten how I ended up last time.
“If it takes tearing heaven and hell apart, I would do anything simply to bring you back.”
Just as I thought he would say that, an idea popped into my head. I leaned closer to his face, my eyes fixed on his ever soul-consuming, mossy green pair that held me captive.
“Alright, I will stay,” I said, mustering all my courage as I continued with my condition. “But break up with Sabina.”
Kael’s brows furrowed, and he refused without a single thought. “No.”
“You want me to stay and yet continue to hurt me?” I scoffed in disgust. “Damn you!”
“That’s right, damn me all you want,” he exhaled, fanning his breath on my face and inching closer. “But you are not to leave my side.”
The next thing I knew, Kael crashed his lips into mine, kissing me roughly and with so much hunger.
However, it wasn’t out of passion.
It was punishing and full of wrath.