Chapter 88 Breaking point
AXEL
I stood in a spot as I was mere inches away from Lisa, I knew that I wasn't sane enough to be dealing with the stubbornness she'd been putting up concerning eating her meals. Why wouldn't she eat when it seemed like she'd been starved for days even when I kidnapped her? She had absolutely no right to make me worry about her now when she was meant to be nothing but a common prisoner to me.
I didn't know if she wasn't eating as a sign of protest but I didn't want to show her any emotion rather than the anger that had boiled through my veins nonstop for the last few days, so I tried my best to act as though her appearance and her refusal to eat didn't bother me in the slightest way. Also, if my anger would coerce her to eat so that I'd stop giving a fuck about her well-being, then I was willing to pull a few strings and make her eat already.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll eat every single meal that's brought to you because trying to do a little protest by going on a hunger strike should be the least of your worries right now, it's also a dumb strategy might I add." I was so angry and I was certain that my rage slipped through with every word that left my lips and was directed at her. Even while being under my father, she'd managed to keep pissing me off with the way she acted out.
"Is that so? Then if you really want your shipment back, feeding me should be the least of your priorities as well. Instead, you should be more worried about getting the right answers about your shipment out of me" She replied and the confidence in her tone shocked me, for someone in a state like she was in, she shouldn't have dared to speak to me that way.
In a bid to ensure she was put in her place, I walked even closer to her and I didn't stop until I was towering over her and she was directly beneath my eye line when I looked down at her.
"You don't get to dictate how shit goes around here. Don't be so sure of yourself or think that because I used to feel a thing for you, it would stop me from torturing you to do my bidding no matter what it takes" I said in a deep, dark, and low tone because I was close enough for her to hear just how much weight every word that left my lips carried without having to raise my voice at her for emphasis.
Somehow, despite how I'd sounded and my attempt at intimidating her as I towered over her, she seemed to be unmoved. Instead of cowering in fear, she'd looked up straight at me and didn't flinch as I spoke, and neither did her blank expression waver. I mean, I knew she was tough but wasn't she smart enough to know when to stand down as well? The determination in her eyes as they peered into mine without wavering also fucking pissed me off, every single thing she did seemed to tick me off because I was fighting so hard to not let any other emotion override my feelings of anger. "That's exactly what I'm asking you to do though, torture the answers out of me. I wouldn't have it any other way either" She said nonchalantly, from her tone I couldn't figure out if she meant that she was ready to resist any form of torture that would be inflicted on her by me or that she'd not go down without a fight.
Either way, her nonchalance ticked me off and annoyed me further because she had no idea what I had in store for her, she pulled the biggest stunt on me anyone ever has and the few people that came close before her weren't even alive after daring to go against me.
"You don't have the slightest idea what you're in for when it comes to getting tortured by me. Don't be so eager to experience what I've planned for you else you'll regret it eventually. But that's for time to tell and for you to find out soon enough if you don't cooperate when questions are asked" I chuckled to also express that her nonchalant attitude hadn't gotten through to me. I also maintained eye contact with her to show that her piercing started and did nothing to move me either.
After I spoke, I watched her expression soften slightly as though she was relieved that she'd indeed be severely tortured and I couldn't wrap my head around it one bit. I hardly knew the woman before me because even when I thought that I knew her the most, she easily proved me wrong so there was no point trying to decipher the reasons for her expressions anymore, I'd never understand her However, in some way I could be possibly explain, watching her features relax that way did something to ease my anger for a millisecond. But the tugging feeling of betrayal fired my anger up in no time after I realized who I'd dared to find solace in at a time like this.
"Now, eat." I moved back so I wasn't towering over her any longer and slowly pushed one of the food trays towards her for her to get started on eating. She looked up at me blankly as though I'd just asked her to do the impossible.
"No." She said and shook her head with a lowered gaze, she'd just been staring at me like she would tell me in one-on-one combat any second and now she was lowering her gaze. I couldn't wrap my head around any of the shit she did nowadays.
"You're going to eat because I asked you to, not because you want to. So, eat" I said to her in a commandeering tone while I watched her every move. She sluggishly adjusted in her bed but she still didn't raise her gaze to face me.
"I said, No." She replied faintly and it began to annoy the fuck out of me, why did she think I was up for this meaningless back and forth with her? What gave her the slightest idea that I was in the mood for fun and silly games right now?
"Fucking eat, Lisa. I won't ask you anymore, don't push me- you'll regret it, I can promise you that" I'd slightly raised my voice because of how mad she kept making me, but I needed her to know how damn serious I was about her eating, not that it mattered to me after how annoying she'd been during our conversation earlier but, I wouldn't ever torture someone that appeared somewhat lifeless, there was no integrity in that and I wasn't going to be pushed to do that to her, not even after what she'd done to me.
"Okay, I'll eat." She said in defeat and finally pulled the tray closer to herself.
However, she conceded the look didn't exactly give me the satisfaction I'd expected because I'd thought that she would fight back for a while still. I watched her push back her tangled hair behind her ears as she pulled the tray onto her lap to eat. At that moment, it felt like everything else had frozen and she was the only thing I could focus on.
I'd forgotten how much I loved watching her eat, I couldn't explain to anyone why watching her eat was fascinating but it truly was to me. Every spoon of food that she chewed on made me feel increasingly nostalgic and I didn't even notice how much my anger had faded while I stared at her. I'd planned to just get her to eat and leave the room but I just couldn't move from where I stood at that point.
Everything had come rushing back to me without warning, all the dinners where I'd seat across from her just so I could watch her eat and smile at me. I remembered how full it made my heart to watch her enjoy the meals I'd cooked and living in those memories brought me more peace than I'd ever had in the last few days. As I remembered how her laughter would fill the room when I tried to act like a butler at her service, my features softened and my heart felt much lighter. How could all of that have possibly been a lie? She'd meant the world to me and in a way, I desperately wanted to believe that I'd at least meant something to her.
My desperation at that moment had led me to throw logic out of the window while I kept watching her. There was a question that had plagued my mind for days since she'd betrayed me and I needed to know the answer else it would drive me mad. Now, that question was on the tip of my lips and my heart wanted an answer so badly that it was able to override my brain and push past all the defenses I'd recently built up against her.
Without giving it any more thought, I finally let myself ask her.
"Were any of those moments real?"