"Quit whimpering!" The man's voice cuts through the air, his beady black eyes glaring down at me in disgust. He slaps his palm against my throbbing cheek, his groan echoes through the quiet basement like thunder.
I bite my tongue, struggling hard to hold back the sounds that are desperate to escape my mouth, but the pain I inflict upon myself only sends another whining cry flying out of my bleeding lips.
How can I not cry and whimper when my body is all black and blue now? There is not a single beige spot left on my skin, and yet, he expects me to stay quiet, or even worse––act like I'm enjoying his abuse.
Heavens, my prayers have all gone wrong.
Today, when I was getting ready to leave my home and meet my future husband, the disgusting, despicable Duke of Alsher, I wished for this horror to be over. I wished to never reach his home, to never face him, but as they always say, you have to be careful of what you're wishing for.
I didn't reach the duke's estate, no. My wish was granted. But in the most perverted, the most disgusting way possible.
I was captured by the hunters. And now... I don't even know where I am anymore.
All I know is this darkness, this cold, this... pain.
"She's no fun!" The same man suddenly shouts to someone, and I can hear him walk away, his footsteps getting quiet, distant, sending a ripple of relief through my entire body.
I finally let my muscles relax, hanging heavily with my wrists still bound by the shackles connected to the cold stone wall. I am tired, I am sore all over, but somehow, I am still not ready to give up.
Why?
"Hey, princess!" The gruff man is back, and now, he is holding a wet rug and a crumpled paper bag. I snap my gray eyes back at him, and he offers me a vile grin, several of his missing eyes making me cringe in disgust.
"Get some rest," he says, and before I know it, my knees hit the cold stone floor, pain shooting up with such an intensity that I am scared I might crack in half. "You want to be on your best behavior when the big man returns!"
A loud scoff erupts from his chest, but I can't join him in his amusement. The big man? Who is he talking about? It cannot be the Duke of Alsher, no. That man would have killed anyone who dared to touch me without his permission.
So, who am I waiting for now?