Chapter 23

The lights had been switched on. 

I was on the floor of the living room, cold and humiliated. My hands and legs had been tied and my mouth was gagged. 

I had fought and resisted but it had been of no use. My strength and defiance were no match to the skilled coordination between the maid and Ace. 

"Do you know what the punishment is?" asked Christina. "Any guesses?" 

She and Ace were seated on the sofa right in front of me, staring down at me with a predatory gaze. The maid stood behind them, expressionless as always. 

The cloth gag in my mouth was soaked by the tears running down my cheeks. 

"Come on, Dalia, you're a smart woman. You should have some good guesses," said Christina. 

I glared at her as maliciously as I could. That was the only means at my disposal to express my hatred and rage towards her—no, towards them. 

"Evelyn," said Christina, a knowing smile on her face. 

So that was the name of the maid. 

Evelyn quietly pulled out a pair of scissors from her pocket and handed it to Christina. 

My eyes grew wide as the realization dawned on me.

"No." I screamed but it sounded nothing more than a muffled cry. "No, no, no." 

"I guess she finally figured it out," said Ace, chuckling. 

Christina grinned. "Chop, chop, chop." 

I thrashed around violently but Ace was quick to move. He came down and held me in place. 

Evelyn got down behind me and held my head in place. 

I screamed and screamed, shaking my head, trying my best to free myself. But nothing worked. 

The two of them pulled me closer to Christina. 

I heard her imitate the chopping action again. This time, the scissors were right by my ear. 

My eyes begged, my heart screamed, and my mind grew numb. But nobody listened. 

Even amidst the screams in my mind, the sound of the scissors sniping at my hair pierced through my blood like a razor blade. 

I felt my hair falling down on my shoulders, trailing down my back. I found my head feeling light. 

My eyelids grew heavy, I couldn't breathe. 

And then everything went black. 

***

I had not remembered much when I had woken up this morning. Maybe my mind was trying to protect me from the trauma that had entailed in the night. 

But when the maid had come in to give me my breakfast and a change of clothes, she had carried with her a verbal message from Ace. 

He had instructed me to take a bath and be ready. Be ready for what? I had no idea. 

Following the instruction, I had stepped into the bathroom for a shower. That's when my eyes fell on the mirror. 

The reflection that stared back at me was of an empty, soulless girl. But the trigger of my worst memories, the reminder of everything that had happened, the proof of the torture last night was my hair. 

Gone were my delicate waves. All that remained was haphazardly chopped hair that could not even be gathered up together. It did not even touch my shoulders, not by a long shot. 

The memories had hit hard enough to make me break down on the bathroom floor. 

The night had now fallen but my tears had not yet stopped. 

I had taken a long shower, trying to numb the pain. But it had not helped at all. 

The key turned in the lock. 

I tiredly turned to see Ace coming in. He was also wheeling Christina along. 

"Hello darling," he said, locking the door behind them again. "Been enjoying your new haircut?" 

Christina laughed. "It looks a bit rough. I didn't do a very good job, did I?" 

"No worries," said Ace. "Dalia has always been an ugly duckling anyway. It didn't make much of a difference." 

Christina laughed again. "We're going to keep playing games, don't you worry, Dalia. If you lose the next one, the punishment is to become completely bald. Maybe you'd prefer that over this mouse hair?" 

I swallowed the lump in my throat and inhaled deeply, remembering to breathe. 

"Christina and I had a lovely dinner. I just sent the photos to your mother and sister, from your phone of course, gushing about what a wonderful surprise you had gotten from me," said Ace. "Your life in their eyes is too blissful." 

I bit my tongue, holding back my tears. 

"Anyway, you know why we're here tonight?" asked Christina. 

I glared at her. 

"It's time for your punishment, babe, for trying to escape," she said, her voice sickly sweet. 

My toes curled and I moved back further into the corner. 

"No, not again," I said, "not tonight." 

"You have no say in it, darling." Ace smiled. 

He walked towards me, rapidly closing the distance between us. 

"No, no." I cried.

He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up to my feet. 

I tried to pry his fingers off, to push him away, but his grip was firm. 

He threw me on the bed. 

"What are you doing?" I shouted. "No, no, stay away from me." 

He climbed up on the bed and pulled me towards him. 

I grabbed at the headboard, the bedsheet, but they failed to save me from him. 

I screamed when he touched me. 

Christina watched in silence. 

"No, please. Ace, no," I said, folding my hands and begging him. 

His face was blank. 

He stripped me of my clothing, leaving me bare and humiliated. 

"I'm begging you. Don't do this. Please, Ace, no." I screamed and screamed but all my cries fell on deaf ears. 

He stripped me of my life.