The first thing that hit me was the wind. It was much colder than I’d thought. My head snapped up to look at him—his eyes held emptiness, his countenance void of any emotion enough for me to discern what tonight really held in wait for me. The lack of any tangible expression was terrifying.
I took a step back from him. “Whatever you—”
A slap sent me slamming onto the rough surface of the ground, sending me tumbling alongside the rest of my words. “Shut the hell up!” he barked, grabbing me by the hair and propelling me upward. “I am sick of hearing you speak these days, Sophia. You didn't use to do much of that, remember?”
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out, so instead, I watched him with my eyes filled with unshed tears. There was something different about Alexander tonight, something sinister.
He really had lost it. It was just my sheer luck on display yet again that of all people, I had to be the one to bear the brunt of his insanity.
“What did you think? That he was going to save you from me?” His cold breath slapped my face with every word, his face was only inches away from mine, and the nearness made my heart pound even faster, hammering violently against its walls.
“I told you, didn't I?” This time, his voice was merely a whisper, spoken with his lips directly on my ear, the slobber on my skin causing me to shiver slightly in a mix of contempt and nausea.
Suddenly, he jerked my head backward and smashed his lips against mine, shoving his tongue inside my mouth. I couldn't breathe; his mouth held me hostage.
His kiss was violent, and he kept at it, kissing me like it was all he’d waited for his whole life. His other hand snaked around my waist, gripping it tightly, his nails digging into my skin.
The familiar, metallic taste of blood filled my tongue when I felt him bite my lower lip. I squirmed against him, my lungs were scorching from the lack of air, and I struggled even harder, trying my best to wriggle myself out of his hold, but the fight in me only seemed to further aggravate him, and he yanked on my hair again.
The pain was burning. It felt as though my scalp had been set on fire, and tears poured down my face. My hands flailed wildly as I fought back, hitting him everywhere—his chest, face—but nothing worked. His hold remained firm until all I could see was darkness. I could have sworn I had gone blind from the pain.
Alexander’s mouth moved from my mouth to my neck, leaving a trail of slobbery kisses on it. I gulped air, grateful for the respite. My chest heaved up and down heavily, functioning properly yet again, but my flash of relief was interrupted when I felt his hand move from my waist to grab one of my breasts.
Fear like I had never experienced before coiled around me.
He wouldn't do this. He couldn't do this.
But he was going to.
“Stop,” I cried, wrapping my arms around myself, my feet making a screeching sound as I managed to shuffle away from him. The tears were clouding my vision now.
“Really? Don't you like this?” he asked, taking a step closer to match mine. “Let’s see how much Callan still wants you when I'm done.”
And he tackled me to the floor, snatching me by my midsection and flinging me on the floor. My body contacted the ground yet again, and this time, I heard something snap. My whole body was aching, but I didn't have a second to dwell on the pain because immediately, he settled himself above me, his hand at the hem of my nightdress, attempting to take it off.
“No, no,” I yelled, and tonight, the wind was in my favor. It carried my voice away and back, letting it ricochet in the silence of the night before returning to me my own cries, allowing my yells to swallow me, helping me to hear the pain and desperation in my voice as I begged him to stop.
“Alexander, please, you can't do this.” I cried, squirming underneath him.
“I told you to shut up!” he yelled. “I don't want you to say a word, do you understand?”
I didn't.
The next time he attempted to remove my dress, he didn't bother with being gentle about it. He grabbed the edge of it, and a sharp sound perforated the air as he tore the material all the way up to its thin sleeve, slicing it into two and leaving me completely naked.
The cold didn't bother me this time around, but I wish it did, then I’d have something else to focus on. Instead, my eyes were on him, watching as his eyes ran through my body, the desire obvious. It made me want to retch.
“Just like I’d always imagined,” he said, his hand moving to caress from my stomach upwards.
His knees pinned my legs to the floor, and one of his hands did the same to both my hands.
I wanted to escape from my skin. This couldn't be happening. The itch to tear out of my own skin and escape my body was burning. I wished I wasn't so weak. I wished I was strong enough to fight against him, to stop this from happening, but I couldn't, the only thing I could do was to plead more.
“Please, don't do this,” I repeated over and over again, aware that only I could hear myself. My voice had reduced to a whimper; the wind had deserted me too.
I had only myself in this case, and I couldn't save myself. He was going to have his way, and I was going to spend the rest of my life in self-disgust for what he had done. I was going to let emotions that should be directed at him consume me.
I didn't think I would survive this or that...
And I wanted to, so with strength I didn't realize I possessed, I yanked my hand from his hold, taking him by surprise. I didn't waste a minute before making use of that advantage, I planted both my palms on his chest and shoved him away from me.
With Alexander off me, I scrambled up, snatching my torn dress around myself to cover what little part of me I could, and I turned on my heels, my bare feet contacting the rough surface of the ground, debris piercing the exposed skin of my feet The wind slapped against me as I struggled forward, running with everything I had in me, heading toward the manor. I could hear him behind me, gaining momentum with every passing second and even I knew it was only time now before…
I felt myself being hauled backward, and a scream tore out of me.
“Let me go!” I yelled and with the last bit of strength I had left, I shoved him away from me once again, but this time, a loud thud accompanied it.
My head snapped back to look behind me so fast, that I felt a wave of dizziness hit me.
A tall, massive iron cage was standing just a few inches to the side, and an unmoving Alexander collapsed right underneath it, his neck twisted at an odd angle.
My heart thrashed in panic as I fell to my knees next to him.
“No, no, no,” I chanted to myself as my hands slowly went to his head, trying to shake him back to consciousness.
“Alexander, please open your eyes,” I begged in a desperate voice when suddenly I felt the weight of my tongue in my mouth, my heart coming to a sudden halt.
Slowly, I pulled away my hands from behind his head and my eyes met the unnatural amount of blood that stuck to it.
It couldn't be.
But it was, a shaky hand to his wrist told me it was.
Silence, complete silence.