Chapter 4
"You... aren't you going to answer it?" Nina held me, fear in her eyes too.
We were both afraid it was my stepfather calling.
Damn it, he'd been making me and my friend live in fear for so long. It was like a devil's phone call.
I wanted to wait for it to stop on its own, but anxiety gripped me as it kept ringing.
That string of unknown numbers flashed stubbornly on the screen, like a bomb about to explode.
Nina looked at me with concern. I took a deep breath and finally worked up the damn courage to press the answer button.
"Good evening, my little cake."
The male voice coming through the receiver was deep and magnetic, with that familiar, heart-stopping Italian accent, like the finest velvet wrapped around solid ice.
My cheeks instantly burned, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.
I should have said something—God reminded me I should be polite.
But my throat felt completely blocked, unable to make any sound.
"Are you ready?" His tone was matter-of-fact, as if I were born to wait for his summons.
I wanted to say no, but fear and some indescribable shame kept the words stuck inside.
What a bastard! My forehead started burning again. Was this man the devil himself?
God, please take him away. Amen.
Just then, Nina suddenly reached over and grabbed the phone.
She probably wanted to protect me, her voice deliberately tough, "Listen, whoever you are, Sonya is about to become some important person's bride, so please stop bothering her!"
The other end of the line fell into dead silence.
That silence wasn't quiet at all. It was more like a gathering storm, suffocating.
I could almost imagine him narrowing those deep eyes, radiating danger.
No, I couldn't let him misunderstand!
I practically snatched the phone back from Nina, my fingertips trembling, my voice carrying a weakness I hated. "I... I'm not ready. I mean, I like my life the way it is now."
"Your life now?" Kane's voice came through the receiver with undisguised mockery. "You mean wearing that black robe, being squeezed dry of every penny by that scumbag stepfather of yours like a puppet, unable to even breathe freely? That's what you call liking?"
His words were like a poisoned dagger, precisely piercing through the calm facade I was trying to maintain.
I remembered Luca's greasy fingers taking all my savings.
Remembered his filthy language, remembered the vicious look in his eyes when he mentioned my mother's grave...
My teeth unconsciously bit down on my lower lip, tasting blood.
"Sir! This is none of your business!" I gathered courage to argue back, though my voice was still weak. "We barely know each other. I don't even know who you are!"
"We don't need to know each other," his tone carried an arrogance of total control. "I've been watching you for a long time, Sonya. Long enough to know where you belong."
"But I don't know you." The suppressed emotion made my voice rise slightly. "I haven't even... I haven't even had a real relationship yet!"
The words burst out, carrying a grievance and accusation I hadn't even realized I felt.
Yes, this damn man had stolen my forehead kiss, that most sacred place.
And I blushed.
"A relationship?" He sounded like he'd heard something absurd, his voice carrying frightening anger. "I don't need that childish nonsense, and you, Sonya, you don't have the right to try it either. I won't allow it."
His possessiveness was so naked, so absolute, it made me feel suffocated.
A strange rebelliousness, mixed with long-suppressed anger, quietly grew.
I gripped the phone, my voice trembling slightly from nerves but trying to stay calm. "Then what about you, Mr. Kane? Before you forbid me, can you clearly tell me how many women you've had?"
"Maybe... you could make me a list?"
I was hinting at what Nina had found. The rumors about him keeping female celebrities.
I heard his breathing grow heavier on the other end. Clearly, he understood what I meant.
He was a smart man. I shouldn't have provoked him.
"Sonya," his warning was like a Siberian wind, bone-chillingly cold. "Don't try to test my patience. Remember, next Saturday is our wedding. Don't be absent."
"And before Saturday, if you dare let any other man touch you, even just a finger, or if you have any stupid ideas about trying some so-called relationship..."
"I promise you'll disappear from this world completely and cleanly."
No.
Those words suddenly split open the darkest corner of my memory.
I felt like I was back to being five years old, that night filled with the stench of alcohol and fear.
My stepfather, Luca, drunk, grabbing my mother's hair and slamming her against the wall, spitting as he roared, "Bitch, if you don't obey, I'll make you disappear completely! Like you never existed!"
And then...
Then not long after, my mother really did disappear.
Little me had always harbored unspeakable suspicion and bone-deep fear.
Now, the same threat, coming from another, more powerful man.
Fear surged up, but this time it brought a desperate courage with it.
If I couldn't escape being controlled and destroyed either way, at least I could make my voice heard before going under.
"No, Mr. Kane. I won't become your lover. Never."
The other end fell into deathly silence.
Then his barely suppressed roar erupted, "Sonya! You can only belong to me! This is fate. You can't escape it!"
"Fate?" I could almost hear my own heart shattering, but my voice was strangely calm. "No, my body and soul belong to me."
"Whenever I want, I can belong to any man I choose."
"Yes, you heard right. I don't necessarily need you, so you should be gentle with me. You shouldn't yell."
"You dare!" He was grinding his teeth in anger. I could even imagine the veins bulging on his forehead. "Next Saturday night, Sonya, I'll make you understand the price of defying me! I'll make you submit willingly!"
I should have been scared of those words, but Lord, I still had courage.
I remembered the reports Nina showed me about his extravagant private life, the photos on the yacht with glamorous women surrounding him.
A mixture of revenge and self-destruction made me blurt out, my voice carrying a sarcasm even I found unfamiliar. "Really? Kane, after being... worn out by so many female celebrities? I really doubt that by next Saturday, you'll be able to last even three minutes with me."