Chapter 38 Drowning
\[Lilia\]
It was already nighttime, and we were still inside this city dome. How do I know what time it is? Well, I happened to catch a peek of Kael’s wristwatch, which indicated that it was past eight o'clock in the evening.
The day flew by so rapidly, and one of the things that occurred to me was that this was simply too much, all of the turbulence of emotions felt like a roller coaster ride, and my brain could hardly keep up with it all. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of chaos.
I kept my distance close to the two gigantic men as we walked down the cobbled pavement, ultimately having no idea where we’ll be going next. Hope it's not the fighting pit arena, since that would be terrible. Even the concept of it conjures up images of blood and violence in my mind. All of those things have already happened to me today, and I've already been emotionally scarred enough.
The other masters and their pets threw off glances on my way, and even some of them whispered with one another while their eyes fixated on me like some gossipers in the neighborhood.
I began to get conscious about myself and curious as to what they were talking about. If only I get to have a chance to stop by and talk with them, I would have already done that. However, after the incident that had transpired a while ago, I kind of had this aversion to talking to strangers in this place. That's already one thing I've gained from the experience. So, instead, I just kept my head high and ignored them as much as possible.
We have been walking for quite a while now, and I still have no idea where we are going. The armed men in our immediate vicinity marched stoically, their eyes fixed ahead and their hands permanently grasping their ammunition magazines, always on the watch for any possibilities that might possibly occur any moment soon. I let out a long sigh, pulling Kael’s coat that I am still wearing to wrap around my body, and Val only lifted one of his brows as he saw I no longer have his coat.
“It sucks. That was one of my expensive coats.” He joked as he fell right beside me while Kael walked ahead of us.
I only scoffed and gave him a long sideways glance in return for his statement. “I know you can buy tons of it.”
We both know that his jacket is the least of his concerns.
“Well, yeah. You’re right.” He shrugs his shoulders and shoves his hands inside the pocket of his pants all the while casting a downward glance at me through the corner of his eye. “How are you? Did that old man do something worse than having his filthy hands around you?” he asks.
Actually, it was partly my fault why it happened. If only I hadn't acted like a fool and been naïve enough to believe that someone would be kind enough to assist me in that situation, then none of this would have happened in the first place.
Even that woman Tasha. I didn’t know her, and she might be like me, a doll, but what she did had thrown me off the loop and almost lost my brain.
Why would someone kiss a stranger, let alone a woman? I am not a deft person to deny that there are others who have preferences for the same gender over another. Tasha is one of them, but what she did was completely uncalled for. Like, who would do such a thing as kissing strangers in a ladies’ room?
However, what happened has already occurred, and there is nothing I can do to reverse the course of events.
I heaved out another long breath and zeroed my gaze on the cobbled path that we walked in. The balls on my feet begin to strain, my toes hurt from being compressed tightly against each other from having these heels on, and my dress is getting a little too uncomfortable, although it is already uncomfortable, to begin with. I can’t wait to be back in my room and submerge myself deep in my bathtub to wash off the grime, sweat, and, hopefully, all the memories that happened this day. I wouldn't mind having Aya wash my hair, or even up to this point, I wouldn't mind if Kael was the one to do it, or anyone. I couldn't care less as long as the warm water is coursing through my body.
My knees wobbled as I trudged, my nose flared as I breathed, silently throwing curses to Kael as to why we had to walk all the way down here. Yet, as I have come to think of it, there weren’t really cars moving around inside the entire dome. All the people were walking, flaunting all their leashed pets dangling with jewels. The collar around my neck serves as an agonizing reminder that I am no better than them. I even wonder where Kael put the pink diamond he had purchased in the auction. For a thing so expensive more than my life, he might have already put it in a safer place where nobody knows except him, and maybe Val as well. It is quite ludicrous to consider that a single thing is more valuable than someone’s life and other people treating another person’s life as if they were some kind of animal.
My face turned crestfallen at the thought, knowing exactly that I was one of those and another long sigh heaved out from my chest as I panted.
“Are you okay, Lilia? You seemed like you’re choking.” The sound of Val's worried voice came to my side.
His enormous hand was resting on my back, ready to catch me if I were to abruptly fall to my feet. I tried to speak, but my throat was already parched dry, and I hadn’t even noticed it. Even my airways seemed congested, and my vision blurred. My head appeared to be tripled its weight. I have no idea why I was feeling this way, but all I could think of was that my legs could no longer support my entire body. Then I remembered I had hardly eaten anything much since we arrived in this place, aside from a couple of strawberry-flavored pop tarts that were served during the auction, but that was all it and nothing more. I didn’t even notice I was hungry, nor did my stomach grumble in hunger.
With all that had transpired on this day made me forget the basic necessities my body needed, and now it is coming back on me like a boomerang.
My steps were shaky, and I found myself leaning against Val. Fortunately, he already anticipated it and caught me on time.
“Boss, Lilia is about to pass out.” Val's voice pierced through the loud, unpleasant ringing in my ears, calling out for Kael’s attention.
“Hey, kukla,” my consciousness is fleeting, and I could no longer focus on whose voice was talking or even comprehend the words, just as I felt another pair of large hands grip over my shoulders, and the next thing I felt was that my feet were lifted off the ground, swaying into someone’s arms.
There were a couple of barking orders that roared, but I could no longer understand them. Then the next thing I knew, everything turned dark.