CHAPTER 2—DUNGEON—

Upon awakening, she found herself restrained by shackles that held on to both her hands and feet.

An empty chair sat before her along with multiple whips and knives. But that wasn't what scared her, it was the fact that she couldn't move and another fact that she was naked, completely bare to the wind and for all eyes to see.

Luckily, only her pair of eyes resided in the room, but on the outside, she knew another pair awaits. She could hear the heavy footsteps that approached and each one hit her already shattering pride with unrestrained strength.

Why her? She thought.

Why did such atrocity have to happen to her?

She was a normal girl, and though she had an abnormal weight of pride, she lived a normal life too, so...why her?

Why did it have to be her?

A tear streamed down her left cheek, moistening and stinging the still protruded skin. It reminded her of what happened the other night.

How she had begged and how unbearable the pain that still lingered had been. She was now sorry she hadn't given in and she was even sorrier when the door before her was pushed open and her captor walked in.

She knew it was him, those empty eyes told her. They were fixated on her, just as they had been that night and now since she could clearly see his cold expression, a crippling amount of fear ran through her.

He was going to beat her again. No, this time he was going to torture, then kill her. That was what the whips and the knives were for, and now instead of her nakedness, she worried for her life.

Was this how she would die?

Naked and completely unprepared?

She hadn't repented and redeemed herself yet.

She hadn't gotten married like she had promised her mom either.

And she hadn't even lost her virginity.

So how could she just die here?

That's right...she couldn't die yet, not like this, not without living out her life. She was just 22 after all, she had so much life ahead of her, but this psycho planned to take it all away.

A whimper left her lips and another breached the air when she noticed him stepping closer. His steps were large and steady and confidence weighed down in each one until he stood before her.

A calm expression laid across his face, but despite that, she still felt fear boiling and bubbling within her.

He stepped even closer, his hand reaching out until it grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his dark, empty eyes. "You remind me of my mother." He said, words slow and raspy.

"She was just like you, so stubborn too, but dad made her submit. You see those whips." He gestured to his tools. "Those were what he used on her and guess what?"

Lexie looked at him expectantly, she wanted to spicily ask him what, but her fear dragged the lone word back down her throat.

Zheme on the other hand rose a single brow, watching her expression. She was scared, he could tell, yet that wouldn't stop him from finishing his statement. "With those whips, those knives, she'd easily comply."

The girl tied in front of him shivered, but that just encouraged a creepy smirk to spread across his lips. "—I'm yours— That's all you have to say and all this torture will stop then maybe we'll get to the good part." He grabbed a knife and with it, he lightly chased her soft, milky skin. "But I could always slice you until you submit." He shrugged.

There was no escaping this, he knew and sadly, Lexie knew it too. He'd kill her… considering his mental health, he had the potential to.

So when his knife breached under her breast, Lexie unsurprisingly gave up.

She swallowed, slowly nodding her head to show him that she understood. "I-I...I'm...I'm..." She swallowed again, finding whatever she had to say hard. "I... I...I." The words were stuck in her throat, But when the knife slowly ran down her stomach, words rode the air after dislodging from her mouth. "Can I...can I at least s-say it when I get to know you?"

Her eyes fluttered shut as she awaited the pain she had long predicted would come. But surprisingly, that pain didn't come, instead a gentle hand caressed her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open and she took a peek at the man. A pleased smile lingered on his lips as his fingers dipped down her neck then drew lines along her jaw. "You can say it whenever you want kitten, I trust after knowing me enough you truly will."

Zheme's calloused hand left her cheek and dug into his pocket, taking out a silver key. He used it to unlock her shackles and immediately, Lexie fell to her knees, too weak to stand, too weak to even crawl.

He gathered her up in his arms and despite her tenuousness, she put up a fight, struggling to escape his grip, determine to survive on her own.

But he held onto her tight, admiring her for her determination and strength. It was quite alluring when a voluptuous and beautiful woman held on to stubbornness and it was even more alluring when they refuse to give in. He liked her already, she'd be hard to tame, but he was patient enough to wait.

He lead her into the kitchen where he had already prepared breakfast. He knew she was hungry, she hadn't eaten a thing since she passed out yesterday and if he didn't feed her now, he knew she'd probably fall unconscious again.

Lexie laid still in his arms, her naked body absorbing his warmth and her heart beating a mile a minute. She was scared of him, he had the potential to get rid of her at any time convenient to him and even if he didn't plan to kill her, she knew he'd torture her until she wish he did.

Her thoughts scattered and died when she was abruptly placed on a wooden chair and a plate consisting of two whole sandwiches and sliced fruits was placed before her.

She looked up at her captor, a tremor running down her spine when her gaze met his cold eyes.

"Eat." He commanded, yet she did no such thing, instead, she looked down at her nakedness and said. "I want nothing from someone as psychotic as you."

Immediately after her statement, her chin was in his grasp, forcing her face up and her gaze once again met his cold stare. "Eat. If you don't, you'll once again pass out."

Lexie shook her head out of his grip, glaring at the floor. She was scared shitless, but still, she held onto her degrading pride. "I won't eat, there's food at my house. My mother probably cooked a ton and I could've been eating that if you hadn't locked me up in here."

Something heavy fell on the table and her eyes rose to take a peek at what it was.

She did find out what it was, but it only invited more fear in her already quivering heart. It was his hand and a small knife was etched beneath it.

She tenuously backed away from the table, not missing the sick smile that appeared on his lips. "I never asked if your mom cooked or not, in fact, I didn't ask you anything at all. I told you to eat, so I expect you to."

He shoved the plate of food closer to her and immediately her shaking hands grabbed a sliced apple.