Chapter 11

Night had fallen.

The guest room was enveloped with darkness and silence. I sat on the couch near the window, staring at the dense trees that housed a hundred species of birds and insects.

I had not moved from this place since I had come out from the washroom after a two-hour long shower. Something was wrong with my senses; even after scrubbing and washing for two hours, his touch still lingered on my skin.

Irene had told me that he was not home. He had left after his monstrous act in the morning and not returned yet. I did not care of his whereabouts. For all I wanted, his car could have broken down somewhere near the woods and a snake might have bitten him.

Irene had come up to this room multiple times, always trying to convince me to eat something. She did not understand that I could not eat. There was bile hitting the back of my throat with every flashback of the morning that played on loop in my mind.

I wished she would just go away and never come back. I could not face her. My cheeks heated up in her presence, shame clawed at my heart. She must have seen the blood on the sheets when she went to clean that bedroom. I had heard her going in and then the noise of things being organized and cleaned had filled the silence that had descended over the house.

This was just the first time. What if it happened again? Fresh fear made me freeze in my spot. There was no guarantee that this was the last time. For all I knew, it was just the first.

What am I supposed to do? How should I-

"Dalia!"

I jumped in my seat, my toes curling inwards at the sight of Ace standing at the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, making his way towards me.

With every step that he took, my back pressed deeper into the couch, hoping that somehow the leather would swallow me up.

When had he returned? I must have missed the sound of his car.

"Since you've become mute, I'll skip to the important part," he said, standing just two or three feet away from me. "Are you on pills?"

He won't do it again, right? Not in one day.

"Are you listening to me?" he shouted. The eyes that once gave me comfort now made every moment in his presence a nightmare to live.

"W-What?" I asked, unable to form coherent words.

"Pills. Are you on pills?" He repeated himself.

I stared at him blankly. On another occasion, I might have understood what he meant, but right now all I could think of was how to get Ace out of the room.

Seeing my clueless expression, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're dumb. I'm asking if you're taking contraceptives."

Oh.

Why does he want to know that?

I shook my head.

"Are you speaking the truth?" He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest.

I nodded.

"Sure?"

I nodded again.

"Good." He smiled and his shoulders relaxed. Then all of a sudden, his demeanor changed completely. He leaned forward and gripped my chin roughly. "I want you to take them with immediate effect. I don't care how you get them. But I want you on them as soon as possible. Got it?"

I nodded quickly.

"Now," he said, closing the distance between us. "Let's have a little more fun."

I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking my head furiously.

He leaned over me, resting his hands on the arm rests of the couch.

"No," I said, looking him in the eye. "I'm not going to let you rape me again."

Rape. I had finally said it. The word that gave a new life to my ordeal, the word that explained the inner turmoil I was facing. The word that held so much power.

"What?" He started to laugh. "Rape? Have you gone mad, Dalia?"

I glared at him, clenching my jaw. "You raped me, Ace."

He laughed louder. "Darling, you're my wife. You cannot rape your wife. That's a basic concept. Don't you know?"

That did it. Without a second thought, I raised my hand and slapped him. Hard.

Dead silence diffused around us, as the sound of his laughter abruptly stopped and faded away.

He did not blink. He did not shout. He did not move. He remained in the same position with his eyes fixated on mine. There was a strange calmness in them that made me shudder.

Gradually, he moved back.

Maybe the slap has knocked back some sense into him.

He let out a long sigh. "You are so immature, Dalia. So, so, foolish."

"At least, I'm not a monster like you," I said, standing up. Then, casually, I started to walk away from him.

Good. Keep going.

A sudden force pulled me back. His grip on my arm gave me war flashbacks.

"Let me go." I muttered. "You're not in your senses."

"Oh Darling, I'm very much in my senses," he said, smiling at me. The same smile that had once made my heart flutter for him.

His other hand curled around my hair, pulling it back tightly and making me cry out in pain.

"It hurts. Let go," I said, trying to kick him with my leg.

"Not so fast." He evaded my kicks and dragged me along with him out of the room.

I began to struggle desperately, knowing well enough where he was taking me.

"Not again. No, Ace. Please. I'm begging you," I cried, sounding pathetic even to myself.

"Shut up," he warned, pushing me inside the bedroom. I tried to rush to the door, but he locked it and pushed me back inside.

"I don't want to stay with you!" I spat. "I'll go back home."

A flicker of anger passed through his eyes. Then he slapped me.

I almost lost my balance by the force but managed to stay on my feet. The sting on my cheek was nothing compared to the pain that I knew was yet to come but the shock of the slap had shaken my core, nonetheless.

"Now scream again and I will tape your mouth," he said, grabbing hold of my hair again. "Do you understand?"

I only cried.

"Do you understand?" he asked again, louder this time.

I nodded and let him push me down on the bed.