The door opened and a brunette lady entered. And as soon as their eyes met, Alexander's gaze narrowed slightly. There was this sudden feeling that overwhelmed him. It was a nagging feeling. She felt familiar, but he didn't remember meeting her or seeing her before. Yet, the strange feeling wouldn't go away.
"You're Anna's friend, right?"
"Yes… yes," she replied, as though she was snapped back to reality.
"I want you to tell me everything about the scar on her stomach."
Her eyes widened. Alexander could tell she cried her way here, the dried tears streaked her face.
"Sir… please, have you seen her? She had been missing for some days and I haven't been able to reach her… I can't accept that she is missing…"
"She's fine," he simply said. Her shoulders dropped a bit as she released a quiet sigh of relief.
"Can I see her? I want to see her… please sir." Suddenly, she fell on her knees, tears streaming down her face as she begged him to let her see her.
"Answer my question first."
"Will you let me see her if I tell you about the scar?" She asked, looking straight into his eyes. Alexander shuddered at that feeling again. Those honey brown eyes. He had seen them before. Then why couldn't he remember where?
"Will you speak or not?" he hissed, causing her to flinch. Alexander was both scared and annoyed. He didn't like the strange feeling she was making him feel. He wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.
She hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "It was her stepmom…" Katie said. "She would press hot iron on Anna's stomach each time her half-sister Claudia accused her of stealing… she… she didn't get to heal… before the next attack…" She cried more, overcome by the memories of the ill-treatment Anna suffered at the hands of those people who claimed to be her family.
"Her father would lock her in the attic, starving her for many days… He never cared about her heart condition… She would sneak out to work petty jobs just to afford her drugs…"
It was now clear why Alexander never knew she existed. Her father seemed like the perfect man who could take responsibility for his family, but there was his daughter being treated as nothing less than a slave. It was a shame, but he felt no ounce of pity for her.
"Sir… if she's with you, please treat her well… she has suffered too much…"
"Treat her well?" Alexander scoffed. After what her father caused him? That was ridiculous. "You may leave."
"Yes?" She blinked with her soaked eyelashes.
"I said leave."
"Please sir… I want to see Anna. I want to know how she's doing. I won't leave without seeing her."
"You can't see her," he said, calmly.
"Sir… just this once," she pleaded, lowering her head until her forehead was touching the floor.
Alexander's eyes narrowed. He hated that she was very stubborn. He would have had the guards throw her out if it weren't for that strange intuition that held him back. He couldn't look at her eyes without feeling a twitch in his chest. She couldn't be that girl from six years ago, right? It was only her who could make him feel this way. Each time he remembered what happened that day, he would feel so much heaviness in his chest.
He exhaled sharply. "Fine, you're permitted to see her whenever you want, but not today."
Her face lit up. "Thank you… thank you… sir," she said, joyously.
****
I woke up shifting in bed. The soft fabric of the thick blanket rubbed against my skin and I realized I wasn't wearing much. I quickly sat up on the bed and lifted the blanket. I was only wearing a towel that barely covered my thighs, every other place was bare.
Slowly, I remembered taking a bath and falling asleep, but how did I end up here?
A sound made me look to my right. Alexander was sitting on a chair, a glass of wine in his hand as he studied me with those strange eyes. Wait… did he bring me here? A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of what might have happened while I was asleep.
"Did… did you bring me here?" I stuttered, staring at him with wide eyes. He put the glass down and rose to his feet then began to approach me.
"Would you prefer someone else did?" he asked, standing at the end of the bed, towering over me.
Yes, I would prefer someone else did. I didn't feel comfortable with him after what he tried to do earlier. I climbed down from the bed, gripping the sheet tightly around my body, and made sure I created a good distance between us before speaking.
"W-What did you do to me…?"
He raised a brow.
"I haven't done anything to you yet, but now that you mentioned it… I think I should." He stepped forward and grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to him. I gasped, and the sheet dropped with the much force he used.
He leaned in close to my face, his voice low. "Prepare yourself tonight, I want to have sex with you." My blood ran cold.
"W-What?"
"Why? Is there anything wrong with it? We're married after all," he scoffed at the last part.
"No…" I shook my head. "I won't do it… this isn't a real marriage…"
"We will see about that tonight," he said and let go of my hand. Turning on his heels, he strode out of the room, leaving me alone. S-Sex? He wanted to have sex with me? No, I wouldn't do it. No matter what he did to me, I wouldn't.
But as the sunny sky slowly turned into a sea of darkness, my heart pounded in my chest with each passing second. If I refused, what would he do? Lock me in the basement after mocking him about it? Throw me outside? Starve me? Kill me? I stopped breathing at the last thought. He looked like he could kill a person; he had the aura of those gangsters who spent some time with my father. But he was a CEO, right? He wouldn't do that to me… my head began to spin; I felt dizzy from thinking too much.
"What should I do?" I whispered to the shadows like a desperate, crazy woman. I haven't done it before; my father made sure of that. But now… you're scaring yourself, Anna. You never had a choice to begin with. Just this once… Yes, just this once. After that I would figure out how to get my necklace and disappear from his life. Contract breach or not. He would never see me again.
I stood up from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. I took a clean bath, but the warm water did nothing to wash my fear away. I combed my hair, and slipped into a beautiful night gown.
As I sat on the bed waiting for him, I thought of how rough and painful it would be, and the worst scenario appeared in my head making it difficult to breathe, my hands began to sweat. I waited for what seemed like forever.
An hour passed. Then two. Then Three.
Yet he didn't come. The night grew deeper, the silence comforting. My eyelids became heavy, and I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Tired, I lay down, surrendering to sleep.