chapter 3

I walked backwards to avoid his out stretched hand. But I was only able to take three steps back before I fell in to his grip.

Elijah grabbed me by my arm and pulled me to him, not giving me a single space to move away.

"When I ask you a question, you give me an answer. Okay, Ella?" He whispered in a dangerous tone.

Clearly, he knew my name. Elijah was merely playing a game with me.

I aggressively nodded my head as I tried to rip my arm out of his grip, which made him hold on to me even harder.

"I do not tolerate disobedient people. So for your own sake, I advice you stop angering me."

I stayed still after listening to his warning. I kept my eyes on his blood red tie. Other than the tie, Elijah was all in black, looking like the angle of death himself.

After giving me a final warning squeeze on my arm that made me bite my lower lip, Elijah finally let me go. But he did not move away from me.

Elijah stood tall in front of me, intimidating me with his large figure.

I bowed my head further down, wanting to shrink away from his gaze.

"I have a few ground rules in this house, ones' you need to keep if you wish to stay around. You will keep your nose out of my business. What ever you may see in this house will be kept within this walls. You will keep your mouth shut and will not speak uless you are spoken too..."

That won't be too hard to do. I haven't spoken a word since the day a monster slit my throat when I was thirteen. Keeping my silence won't be a challenge, and neither will turning a blind eye to whatever goes on in this walls. I've done it pretty much all of my life.

"Do as I say and I might keep you alive a little bit longer than your deadbeat Dad." Elijah finished.

The last words he said forced my head up. I stared up at him with wide eyes, not being able to believe that he actually said that to me knowing that my father passed away the previous day.

I understood that my father was not a Saint, but a deadbeat? No. That is not fair.

I do not deserve to hear that right now, especially at a moment that I'm close to break down.

Tears filled my eyes as his words echoed in my head.

"Do I make myself clear?" Elijah asked, unfazed by my tears or shaking shoulders.

"Do I make myself clear?" Elijah asked again, his tone changing into that of impatience.

I couldn't sign, nor could I nod my head. I was in shock.

The reality of being married to a man like him finally slapped me in the face for good.

Life felt like it was going in slow motion. I could see Elijah's cold expression slowly morph into anger.

My heart dropped in to my stomach when he suddenly reached out and grabbed me by the jaw. His right hand alone could easily cover my entire face. It was not a challenge for him to lock my jaw with a single hold.

"Speak when you are spoken too, remember?" He hissed, his dark eyes zeroing on mine with a dangerous gaze.

Tears slide down my cheeks and dropped on his hand.

"ANSWER ME!" He growled, forcing even more fear on to me. How could he not know?

My knees were weak. The only reason I was still on my feet was because his grip kept me in place.

The fire in his eyes looked like they were ready to swallow me whole. The corner of his upper lip twitched.

Elijah looked like he was about to end me. I have never felt this much hate radiating out of a person towards me. The mere aura alone made me want to crawl into a ball and die.

Elijah tightened his grip on my jaw, forcing my face to morph into a pained expression.

A sudden knock on the door broke the tense air. I heard the door open before Elijah could even answer it.

"Mr. Smith..." A man's voice filled the room. "Piglet is here to see you."

Elijah kept his eyes on mine, burning a hole in to my face with his fiery gaze.

"I'll be there." He replied without looking away from me.

A few seconds after the man closed the door, Elijah let go of me. My knees were unable to keep me standing, buckling under my weight.

I dropped to the ground in front of his feet, breathing heavily.

My jaw hurt. In fact, my entire body hurts from the intense adrenaline that was swarming my veins.

"I expect you to act accordingly, Ella. We will finish this conversation when I get back." He commented before he walked around me and left the room.

The second Elijah left the room, the air dropped and I felt like I could breath again.

I tried to suck in some air but I was unable to control my breath. I huffed and puffed multiple times as tears poured down to the floor, wetting the beautiful red carpet stretched out in the bedroom.

I silently sobbed right where I knelt, contemplating how my life turned upside down to this extent.

With shaky hands, I reached up and touched the spot Elijah held me at.

The shock and the pain never left my body. Fear, added to the grief, was weighing me down.

I looked at the door over my shoulder, wondering what he would do when he's back.

The mere thought made me shiver in fear.

Looking back down at my shaky hands, I pushed myself off of the floor.

The only place my legs could lead me to was the one open door in the room.

With shaky legs, I stumbled in to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I made sure to lock the door before I leaned my back against it. I ripped the silk scarf tied around my neck and dropped it to the floor.

The silent sobs escaping my lips were still making me shake. My world was crumbling on me even more.

I looked down at myself with blurry eyes. I hated the fact that I was still dressed in white. A beautiful wedding dress was wasted on a cruel marriage that should have never happened.

Why would they give me to him, knowing well enough that this man would destroy me?

I pushed myself away from the door and slowly walked over to the sink.

I looked into the mirror and the first think my eyes focused on was the scar across my neck.

I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking the ugly view. The nasty scar that reminds me of the pain I went through, added up with the knowledge of the man I married, left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I'm in a situation where I can't ask for help even if I wanted to. If Elijah wanted to break me, both physically and mentally, no one would be able to come to my rescue.

If my family were willing to marry me off to mad man, who would want to save me from him?

I survived and managed to escape from the hands of monsters about six years ago. But I do not wish to go through the same thing all over again.

I already knew what was waiting for me. Men who are not satisfied with the amount of lavish power they have are the most dangerous beings in the world. Their appetite can never be satisfied and I already knew that Elijah was one of these men.

I jumped a bit when the door knob twisted and someone tried to push the door open. Thanks to the lock, the door didn't budge.

I stared at the door, praying that he would go away, that he would leave me alone at least for tonight. Was that too much to ask for?

The more the knob twisted, I was losing hope.

If Elijah wanted to break through the door, I knew he could. A single door won't be able to stop a man his size.

I slowly stepped backwards, wanting to find a place to hide. There was no such thing as a good hiding place in the bathroom. Other than the fogy glass that separated the shower, everything was wide open.

I silently prayed that he would go away. My cheeks have been washed with enough tears for the day.

I couldn't imagine what would happen if he does get to me again after I angered him.

I had no doubt in my mind that this monster would finish what the monsters started six years ago.