Chapter 6

~Victoria~

The same man who brought me to this room came, and I just remembered who he was. He was the Beta, Benjamin Foster. His face looked very different from the one I remembered. All this time, my parents severely restricted my social life, so I didn't recognize him. If not for the tattoo on his neck, I wouldn't have known that this man was Benjamin Foster.

He stood before me and sighed as if regretting what I had done. But who cares? I was sick of being a slave to the lustful asshole Ace Cassilas—or, should I say, I was sick of always falling prey to his temptations. It was the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to me in my life.

"I've warned you to be nice." He shook his head lightly and crouched down. "Don't try to attack me! I'll do it gently," he said as he untied my legs.

As soon as the ties loosened, I kicked my legs towards him, but his hands firmly gripped my ankles. His face lifted, his golden-brown eyes looking at me sharply, warningly.

"Stop being so stubborn! I won't hurt you," he said in a suppressed voice, holding back anger.

He exhaled loudly, then resumed what he had been delaying. He untied my feet but not my hands. After that, he tugged on my arm to get me up.

"You should have listened to me, Miss Russell," he said before leading me out of the room.

My feet shuffled in his vast strides. I had no idea where he was taking me. Along the way, I winced at the pain in my ankle. I think I sprained a muscle when I attacked those servants. Really, it hurt like hell, but I couldn't stop or even complain until we entered a room where there was no one there but us.

This room was closed and slightly cold, giving me goosebumps. I smelled an unpleasant odor. It reminded me of a dungeon, only without the rows of prison bars. My eyes scanned around, and my attention was drawn to a door at the end of the room. As expected, Ben led me there.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" he asked as he untied my hands. Then he opened the door. "It's going to be a little scary. Hopefully, you'll survive," he continued as he pulled my arm into the room.

I staggered. When I turned around, the door was closed and locked. I looked around and rubbed my arms, my hair standing on end. This place was cramped and stuffy, with no air ventilation.

In the next second, the light in this room went out, and I found nothing but darkness. It was ultimately pitch black. I tried to remain calm but failed. My breathing slowly began to quicken. No, I wasn't afraid of the dark, but this cramped room was suffocating me. The oxygen in this room seemed to be sucked out, leaving a vacuum that tormented and slowly killed me. My hands reached around, trying to grab anything within reach—the door. I could feel the keyhole.

"Open the door!" I banged on the door. "Beta Ben, open the door!" I yelled.

Over and over, I banged on the door and called out to whoever was out there to open it. But no one answered. My breathing started to get labored. I turned around and leaned against what I assumed was the door. I couldn't see anything. Besides the darkness, this place was also tranquil, and I couldn't hear anything besides my breathing and heartbeat.

"Please, open the door! I can't breathe!" I pleaded in an increasingly desperate voice.

My head was getting dizzy. I needed oxygen immediately. My body slumped to the floor, cold and damp. My breathing was intermittent, like something was squeezing my lungs. This place was truly horrible—a silent killer. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Please, open the door!" My voice was getting weaker.

Slowly, my consciousness faded away. I didn't remember anything until I felt my body being lifted. I wasn't in a good state of consciousness at the time. But I was sure someone had stolen my body, and I found a very comfortable place to rest. I loved this scent. It was so soothing that I lost consciousness again.

The scent of vanilla wafted into my nose, pulling me from my subconscious. The soft scent made me feel peaceful. My consciousness rose as the scent of toast wafted in, making my stomach churn. I squirmed, blinking my eyelids lightly to adapt to the light around me. I stayed in my position until I realized I wasn’t where I had been last time. A terrifying memory hit me, sending my heart pounding. I quickly got up and scrolled my eyeballs, scanning the entire room. It turned out that I was already in the bedroom, sleeping on a soft bed under a thick blanket. Not only that, someone had even changed my clothes into clean ones.

My head turned towards the nightstand. A plate with toast and a glass of milk still puffing thin smoke looked very tempting. I was hungry but felt reluctant to eat it. I didn't know whether to be grateful or sad. I felt like I had no power over myself anymore. Everything I did seemed to be under his control, Ace Cassilas.

It had been three weeks, and there was nothing I could do to stop his rage. I closed my eyes and gulped. My tears seemed to have dried up, and nothing was left to lament this fate.

Almost every night, I couldn't find any comfort in sleeping. That bastard Ace always came and came again to do it to me. And I hated myself for always being lulled into desire, burned by his passion.

"Do you like it? Tell me, Victoria! Do you like it?" He whispered every time he managed to bring me to the brink of pleasure.

I had been holding myself back, biting my lip hard so that no sound would come out of my mouth. However, I always failed to do so and let out disgusting sighs.

"Please ...." One word escaped my lips, and that was proof of my defeat.

After that, Ace would grin triumphantly and whisper, "Beg, Vic! Say my name, and I'll give you what you want."

And foolishly, I always murmured his name, following his every command in helplessness. I swear by anything! I hated myself for so easily bending the knee to desire. I hate how our souls were bound.

***

One week after the incident, my life was so peaceful. Ace never came again. I did not know what caused it, but one week meant a lot. Yes, I was at peace because no one was coming to me for sex every night. However, I also felt something I was ashamed to admit. Something inside me missed that man, Ace Cassilas.

I turned away when I heard the door being opened. A maid was carrying something in her hand. She approached me and said, "Alpha Ace ordered you to wear this."

'Ace? Is he back yet? Is he coming back tonight? Shit! I wouldn't say I like this feeling. Why is my heart pounding for the hell of it?' I cursed inwardly.

My eyeballs glanced at the object in the maid's hand. Clothes? I thought it was a maid's uniform, complete with a pair of shoes. Why did Ace ask me to wear it?

Unfortunately, I could only ask that question silently. Ace only let me ask a few questions. I kept quiet, not because I obeyed his orders, but because no matter how much I asked, no one would dare disobey Ace's order to answer.

The maid handed me some clothes. "Put them on. In ten minutes, someone will pick you up," she said.

That's right! Someone entered the room shortly after I put on the maid's uniform. He watched me from head to toe.

"Come with me!" he commanded.

My feet stepped, following the man as instructed.

"Keep walking!" he ordered again.

He walked behind me to ensure I didn't do anything out of control again. And so, my feet continued to swing down the corridor until I heard the faint strains of music. I began to wonder. Was there a party going on?

My question was answered when we arrived at a large room—a hall transformed into a party ballroom crowded with people in expensive clothes. And I knew why Ace had asked me to wear this outfit. He wanted to show that I was nothing more than a slave and servant to him. Ace wanted to emphasize that our mate bond meant absolutely nothing to him. And damn it, this was hurting me so bad.

"Do it right! I don't want Alpha Ace to punish me for a mistake I didn't make," a servant said.

They handed me a tray with several glasses of champagne on it. And I had to pass them around to the guests. It wasn't a difficult job. At least while working at Meggie's place, I had practiced doing this kind of work. I did as they told me to do. I was offering drinks to the guests and bringing back the empty glasses.

All went well for a while, but one thing was nagging at the back of my mind. This was Ace's house and Ace's party. But I couldn't find the host as far as my eyes could see. Subconsciously, I searched for his whereabouts, hoping to see him among those high-class-looking people.

"I don't know what I'm looking for," I muttered as I lowered my head.

I sighed deeply with my eyes closed. I hated him, but I also missed him at the same time. This was more painful than having to receive physical punishment.

"Attention!"

An exclamation made me lift my face. No, it wasn't the exclamation that caught my attention, but rather the familiar voice I sought.

"Ace," I muttered. My low voice faded away with the air in this room.

He stood there, dashing and handsome, amidst the guests with a glass of champagne. His eyes wandered over all the guests with a smile that seemed perfect tonight.

"I am standing here, inviting you all to come here to share my happiness. I want to announce something important that has just happened in my life," he roared.

Ace turned his head, and he saw me. Yes, his gaze was directed at me. He paused for a moment with an unpredictable face. I crumpled the empty tray I was hugging and felt my heart pound. I even took a deep breath to ensure my airways kept working. Ace's gaze was suffocating, but I liked it. I missed those eyes. I missed his lips. I missed everything about him.

'Stop it, Vic! Don't act like a bitch! You hate him. You don't deserve to miss an asshole like him!' my inner voice screamed in warning.

Our gaze was broken when Ace looked away. He looked at all the guests and then continued his speech.

"Tonight, I will introduce someone significant to me. Someone so special." Ace turned to me again. He looked at me intensely, then said, "I found a girl. She is a beautiful and charming girl. The girl who has successfully captured my heart. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet my fiancée, Hayley Moon." Ace spread out one hand.

Wait! Didn't I hear wrong?

I doubted my ears, but my eyes could not deceive me. My heart broke into a million pieces when I saw a beautiful girl approaching Ace. Then, Ace welcomed the girl, embracing her waist with a bright smile on his handsome face. They kissed. It hurt. It was even more painful when Ace tilted his head. In between kisses, his sparkling green eyes looked at me, right into my eyes.