Chapter Five

Aria's POV

The maids had this deadpan expression as they strapped me into layer upon layer of satin lace and jewels I had never wanted before. Their whispers were rough gales meant to frighten me, and while I knew this, it felt rather cold to me when their words fell like ice on my skin.

"You will be with Adam this evening." One of the hissing maids leaned forward with the warning note, just adding "Has he not warned you about him?" for spice.

I kept a blank face and mouthed an assent, without letting them detect that they had intimidated me. No show of weakness was allowed; I needed strength without fear. But under those words, their crawlings commenced.

"He won't stop until you're sorry," they preached, "once he begins" The empty room reverberated with those after they had left. I clenched my fists and told myself that I had seen far worse because *it was just another trial from our Aria: get through it, earn his trust, and pocket what you came for*.

As the guard came to clear roads to me, I kept my head high and my back straight, determined to confront Adam on my terms.

Sheen about the poles in Adam's bedroom was drawn; he stood shirtless by the window, casting conceiving shadows upon his muscular body. At that moment, a shiver ran through me, but I stifled it down.

His eyes were studying me with a hard, judgmental stare. "What a mess you made, Jasmine," he said sharply. "Do you even realize what you've done?"

I swallowed and forced myself to hold his gaze. "I... didn't mean to cause trouble."

He smirked, his expression cold. "Then why did you run? On our wedding day?

Part of me wanted to apologize, but I wasn't Jasmine. I wasn't here for her reasons. I was here to survive, so I replied with the little truth I could offer, "I was... afraid."

Adam's smile faded as he let out a harsh laugh. "Fear won't change anything now."

He stepped closer, his presence commanding, but I kept my head up, refusing to back down.

"Undress," he ordered.

Instead, I nervously flushed, and while I hesitated for a few moments under his penetrating gaze, he made no attempts to reiterate the order. The warning echoed in my thoughts. I forced myself to obey as I tore my clothes down. His eyes measured me coldly void of feeling.

As he came almost next to me, he held my given chin. "Do you think you are special, Jasmine? That you deserve some sympathy?"

Those hurt, but I kept quiet about it; "No," I said softly looking away from him to play the part I barely understood.

"Look at me," he ordered me sharply, and I forced myself to meet his cold, calculating eyes which held no mercy.

His hands slid down my arms, possessive, and I held back the urge to flinch. Defiance would ruin my plan. I was here to comply, to make him believe he held all the power, biding my time for a moment of weakness.

His touch grew rougher, his grip tightening until I spoke, "Adam, please..."

He silenced me with a growl. "Think I'll let you talk your way out of this?" he sneered. "You made your bed, Jasmine. Now lie in it."

Pulled, gasped me close, immovable. Pain lanced through me much sharper than I had expected. And again, I was hit with the realization that this was the way Jasmine, despite everything, had never been touched. She had taken this life away to let me suffer through all her pain and her secrets, and here I was, paying. It burned with a rage that was smoldering and mixed with grief.

"Please...stop," I managed to whisper, but he only chuckled coldly, void of empathy.

"Stop? Did you think it would be that easy?"

Every instinct told me to fight and scream, yet the maids' warning rang out in my mind and wouldn't stop. The only way I could deal with it was to endure his treacherous cruelty. Moment by moment, my resolve was getting stronger, and hatred kept swelling within me.

*Change your perspective, Aria; it ain't over yet. You'll get through this. Someday, you'll make him pay.*

When it was done with me, he walked out smug and satisfied, as if he had just broken something in me. I lay there, bruised and battered, but a fierce determination burned intensely beneath the hurt, shame, and anger that I felt now.

If it took working him over to stay close enough to learn his weaknesses, then this was only the beginning. I'd make him suffer one day, just as he'd made me suffer tonight.

His voice intruded into my thoughts. "Get used to this," he said coolly, smirking. "Now you're mine, Jasmine. Or whatever you are."

I met him straight in the eye, smothering my fury and speaking it ever so steadily, "I understand."

He walked out, leaving me alone in his cold, empty quarters. Gathering my strength, I swallowed hard, letting the hatred simmer, promising that this was just the beginning of a plan for my revenge.