110

My head throbbed violently as the harsh sunlight pierced my eyelids. Heavily, I sat up, trying to understand where I was.

Rough wooden walls and small windows with dull curtains emitted light all around me, making this room feel even more alien and rough. My heartbeat quickened, panic creeping up from my toes to my head. This was not a room on our private island, not a place I recognized.

The walls were weathered, and the overpowering scent of sea salt pierced my nose, mixed with the damp, unfamiliar smell of wood.

The memories swirl, fragment by fragment, starting to return, like pieces of a nightmare creeping in slowly.

The silent night on the island, Killian's sudden grip, the thin, cold smile on his face, then the hallways of the house echoing with unfamiliar steps. My memory stops at the moment he pulls me towards the boat, waiting at the dock, as I struggle, trying to escape. But all my efforts were in vain. Killian's grip was like an iron shackle I couldn't break.

I stood uns