He dragged me through out the vines & started marching towards the mansion.He was dragging me with an enormous strength that I couldn't got Chance to bite him & run.I was just busy in balancing my feet.I didn't knew what to apologise or if that will work.So i couldn't spoke anything neither he did.Only the noise of our foot steps was there,two little fox ran away as soon they saw us while playing on the path.His expression was cold, controlled, furious in a way that made my stomach twist with the fear of unknown.
I tripped but he didn't stopped & balanced my weight enough to get dragged,until I was back into the mansion.Once in the mansion,he didnt stopped until he pushed me into the nearest room.He locked the door with a click.I looked at the room,may be it's his study.... judging by the shelves full of books,My entire body trembled where I stood,i wraps my arms around my body to not show that I'm terrified.
"I'm… I'm sorry," I whispered, voice breaking.
Finally,he spoke,"I can't hear your voice.Say that again."
I repeats with a louder voice that's still shaking,"I was scared in that dark haunted basement,i thought i may die because of ghosts, I didn't know what to do,please forgive me this time, I'm sorry.."
He grabs my hand again & spoke "Let's put you back in that basement with lights off this time, let's see how you die by a spector"
"No.. please, please.."
He raised eyebrow,his canine are visible,his brown eyes look almost red in the sunset light,he looked like a devil king.He spoke with that smirk playing on his lips,"Though let you know ghosts are afraid of me.Anyway,you will die with heart attack."
He stops laughing & continues,"Alright,you will stay here,but....you could have told that when i visited you in the basement...."
"Are you doubting my intent..i was so scared and forgot to ask."
His gaze are calculative as he stared at me.I couldn't met his gaze & looked away.
"When you ran...You thought that you could make it?"
"I thought!Especially when I saw the vast expanse of field.You know the sentiment, imagine once you out of something.. would you really like to go back."
He unbuckled his belt slowly. Calmly.
I froze,what he intended to do?
"Please.. forgive me this time."
"No.You should experience this,so that...you can think about consequences before went through your sentiments." He lifted the belt,his voice low & steady as he continued. "I was giving you trust.And you failed."
STRIKE
I fell down on the floor when the pain course through my left arm,i shook violently when there was another on my thigh,tears welling,"Please—I'm sorry, I'm—"
I curled up so that he will only strike on my back,which I can handle.Just then he striked my feet & i was squirming open.
He didn't stop.Marking me everywhere,my chest,my belly,my palm,my buttock & my calf.I screamed loudly to gain his mercy but his expression didn't even shaken once.
The strikes were meant to imprint the pain in my psychy.To remind me that I'm safest in his cage until I disobey. Each one stung sharp, forcing me to scream, but he kept going until I was shaking and marked everywhere.My tears making my entire face wet.
When he finally stopped, his breathing was calm. Mine was broken.
I didn't wiped my tears until my face felt cold,then i moved my trembling fingers.
"And now," he continued to speak while stepping closer"I hope you understand the exact meaning of obey."
I nodded twice obediently.
His hand gripped my arm firmly & unyielding.
"Bruce"
With his command,the man came forward."yes sir"
"She is scared in the dark so guard her in that basement."
My voice cracked. "Please don't take me back to the basement…there are centipede! Please!" I said without meeting his eyes.
He was silent for a few seconds before speaking "I'll give you a chance...But know this,you don't deserve that comfort anymore."
______________
Few days later—
He hadn't locked me in the basement anymore. Instead, he'd given me something that felt almost like… mercy. A chance to "correct my mistake," as he phrased it. So I behaved. I watched the TV he allowed me, I ate what he gave me, and every evening he sat across from me as if we were some strange, twisted version of a household.He would tend my bruises,check fever that created by him.
It seemed that this was his main house. He came back to it every night wherever he goes,moving through the rooms with the ease of someone who truly owned them. Yet I never saw any sign of another person except his servants.I was having a tour at his house allowed by him,there was no photographs of his past nor his family.
Only the recent version of him that only serve official purpose.
And because I was always with him, only me.
I kept telling myself to be careful—he changed moods too unpredictably.
Tonight, during dinner, curiosity slipped out of me before I could swallow it back down.
"Do you… have any family?" I had asked, my voice small.
He didn't even look up from his plate. "No."
The word was blunt, unbothered. Then he added with a shrug, "Never knew who they were. Don't care."
That was it. No trace of sadness, no bitterness. Just emptiness. As if the lack of a past was nothing more than a misplaced object.
Later, after dinner, I quietly walked toward "my" room—if I could even call it that. The corridor was dim. I thought he had gone back to his study.
I was wrong.
A hand suddenly wrapped around the back of my neck—firm, commanding. He pulled me back against him, his breath hitting my shoulder. Before I could protest, his lips pressed against mine, stealing my breath, my balance, everything.
I tried to push him gently. "Why? W-wait—"
"No questions." His voice was smooth, final.
His hand slid higher along my thigh, fingers curling around my waist. Panic spiked through me.
"I—I'm on my period," I whispered quickly, hoping he'd stop.
He paused, just barely. "It should have ended by now."
"No," I said, breath trembling. "My health… it's not good. Sometimes it lasts longer."
He didn't believe me.
His hand moved again—downward, fingers curling at the edge of my panties. I flinched, trying to twist away, but he held me in place, pulling lightly to check—to feel.
He stilled.
A heartbeat later, his palm struck my cheek so hard my vision burst white. I crashed onto the floor, my knees scraping against the cold marble.
My ears rang. My breath shook. I didn't dare lift my head.
His voice dropped low—cold enough to hollow me out.
"What a disappointment."
He adjusted his sleeve and left without looking back.
The echo of his footsteps faded down the hall, and I stayed on the floor for a long moment, too scared to move. When I finally pushed myself up, my cheek still stung, throbbing with every heartbeat. I wiped my face, realizing my hands were shaking.
I made my way to my room slowly, silently. The hallway felt colder tonight, the walls tighter, the shadows deeper. There were too many questions circling my mind—questions I had no right to ask. He didn't want questions. He wanted obedience. But even obedience didn't feel safe.
I slipped into my room and locked the door, though I knew it wouldn't stop him if he wanted to enter.
____________________
Few moments later—
I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. My mind kept replaying everything—his voice, the slap, the look on his face when he said disappointment. I curled up inside the blanket, wishing the walls would swallow me whole.
That's when I heard it.
A muffled thud. Then another. A dragging sound… like something heavy being pulled across the basement floor.
My heart dropped.
I crept toward my window and peeked out. The basement door was directly below, and two guards were dragging someone—no, some girl—by her arms. Her head lolled to the side, silver-white hair spilling like snow down her back.
Even from here, under the dim lights, I could see her skin.
Knitted stitches. Everywhere. Thick, dark threads pulled through pale flesh. Some were fresh, red and swollen. Others looked older. Her arms were dotted with burn marks—round, cruel circles that made my stomach twist.
She was… beautiful. A broken, porcelain kind of beautiful. The kind that hurt to look at.
They hauled her out of the basement like she was nothing more than a rag doll. My breath hitched, and I pressed my palm against the cold window, watching helplessly.
As they reached the yard, her eyes fluttered open—wide, wild, filled with a kind of terror that wasn't new. She moved suddenly, violently, slipping her wrist just enough to twist the guard's grip. He stumbled.
She stole the gun from his belt so quickly I barely saw how.
Before the other guard could shout, before anyone could react—she lifted it to her own head.
My scream never made it out of my throat.
A single crack tore through the estate.
She crumpled instantly, her hair spreading like white silk on the grass. For a moment, the world froze. The guards yelled, scattering, panicking. Someone ran to call him.
I sank onto the floor, trembling uncontrollably.
She didn't run from him.
She ran from living.
And suddenly, the stitched girl became a warning—silent, bloody, absolute.
If I made another mistake…
If I tried to escape again…
That could be me.