Chapter 1~ A prisoner

 SOPHIA. 

I should have known better that I wouldn’t be able to escape. Especially when my ex-husband, Elias Hart, was watching my every move like a hawk. 

After what felt like an eternity but was only a few hours, night had finally fallen and I was ready to execute my escape plan. Again.

It has been two weeks since my divorce from Elias Hart was processed. Two weeks since he locked me up after he realised I had signed the divorce papers and submitted them to the local court. 

Elias and I had been married for three years. However, I caught him in our matrimonial bed with my best friend, Violet Miller. 

Instead of being sorry, all Elias said was, “She’s pregnant. I can’t abandon her. I want a divorce to give my child a complete family.” 

My heart clenched with pain. Tears rolled down my cheeks, my stomach churning at the betrayal. 

I never expected the closest people to me to stab me in the back like this. Elias was my first love and Violet had been my best friend since childhood, yet they betrayed me like it was nothing. 

To say I was heartbroken would be an understatement. I was devastated. I couldn’t believe that Elias and Violet had betrayed me– that they were fooling around behind my back. 

I finally came to terms with my situation and signed the divorce papers before submitting them. During that time, Elias never came back home. If he did, it was only to change his clothes and he would leave to stay with his side chick again. 

It hurt… I couldn’t pretend that it didn’t. Even if I had accepted to divorce, it didn’t mean that I had moved on. I wanted to leave and never look back. However, I was waiting for my divorce certificate before I could leave. 

After it came, I was happy. Soon, my life as a single person would begin. I was ready to wave my past goodbye and start afresh. I knew it would take some time seeing as I had loved Elias so much… but I would rather suffer from the pain of moving on than holding on to a relationship filled with lies. 

Little did I know that Elias would flip when the divorce certificate was delivered to him. He rushed home before I could move out and locked me up, placing guards outside my door and restricting my movements. 

I became a prisoner in a place I once called home.

This was my umpteenth attempt at escaping. 

I used the bedsheets in the room, tying them up to make a long rope. After fastening it at the window, I looked around, making sure there were no guards below and began to climb down. 

My heart kept thundering in my chest as I made my way down. 

I could fall and break my legs. Or worse, Elias would catch me and lock me up again. 

Relief washed over me when my feet touched the damp grass, hope igniting within me. I just had to run like my life depended on it and I could taste freedom once again.

However, the moment I let go of the bedsheet rope and turned around, my heart leaped out of my chest when I saw the tall figure standing behind me with a grin on his face. 

“Going somewhere, darling?” 

No. Not again! He caught me again! Did he ever sleep, or does he have cameras in the room which keep alerting him of my movements?

His jaw suddenly clenched and his eyes burned with anger. He moved closer, his hand grabbing my arm roughly.

“How many times are you going to try to escape?” He yelled, his tone cold and menacing. 

I tried to yank my arm out of his hold, but he didn’t budge. I glared at him, anger and hatred flaring through me. 

“Let me go, Elias,” I hissed, my chest heaving from the intense anger that was rushing through me. “We are already divorced! You can’t keep me here against my will! This is illegal!” 

His eyes flashed with anger at the mention of divorce. 

I could feel his fingers digging into my skin and I bit my lower lip to hide the pain, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. 

He stepped closer, leaning over to my level. I could feel his breath fan my skin, but it did nothing but make me sick. 

He cheated on me with my best friend and got her pregnant. 

His touch on my body made me feel like a thousand ants were crawling up my skin. 

“Don’t test my patience, Sophia,” Elias hissed, gnashing his teeth. “Behave yourself and stay home obediently as I asked you to. I’ll never allow you to escape. Ever.”

So many emotions rushed through me at that point. Irritation, anger, desperation and frustration. 

I looked into his eyes, unable to contain my anger any longer. “What the hell do you want from me? Didn’t you take it all? My inheritance, my best friend– you took it all! I signed the divorce agreement as you asked me to. Why don’t you just let me go?!”

Elias didn’t respond to my words. He simply sneered, looking me over like I was a prized trophy he couldn’t let go of. 

“You’re mine, Sophia,” he said, chuckling darkly and the sound sent an eerie chill down my spine. “A divorce certificate is just a paper. You’re still mine and I will never let you go, ever.” 

My stomach churned at the possessiveness laced in his words. 

Before I could tell what was happening, Elias dragged me towards the entrance of the villa. When we entered the house, he threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes while I pummelled his back and struggled in his hold. 

“Let me go, you bastard! You can’t keep me locked up forever! It’s over between us!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as if that would make his minions come in to save me. 

They all watched as he locked me up and treated me like his prisoner. 

“Watch me,” Elias replied coldly. He took me into the room and threw me on the bed, my heart dropping to my stomach when he began to remove his belt. “I won’t allow you to leave me, Sophia. Not now. Not ever.” 

My stomach churned when he got on the bed, grabbing my leg to pull me to his side. 

God, no. I can’t let him touch me.

I looked around, searching for an object I could use to slam his head with. Unfortunately, Elias had gotten rid of everything dangerous in the guestroom. 

I was about to scream at him when his phone rang and I let out a sigh of relief.  

Elias cursed under his breath and pulled out his phone before answering it. The volume was high, so I could hear what the other person was saying on the phone. 

“Eli, my stomach hurts. I think there’s something wrong with the baby. Can you come over?” Violet’s sickening, sweet voice echoed through the phone speaker and a pang of pain shot through my heart.

Violet’s betrayal hurt the most. She was like a sister to me. 

A flicker of concern flashed through Elias’s eyes. He swiftly got up from the bed and replied, “I’ll be there soon.”

As soon as he cut the call, he buckled his belt and smoothened his shirt, his cold eyes falling on me. 

“Don’t try to run away again or you’ll regret it,” is all he said before turning around and walking out of the room.