Entry to a cage..

The ride to my now husband's apartment was torturous.

I was told to sit in the back seat of the car while Elijah and the silver-haired woman sat in the front.

Neither of them said a word, the car filled with the utmost discomfort.

I kept my gaze planned on the right window of the back door of the car, gazing out in case this was the last time I would get to see the outside again.

I haven't seen this many cars since before the day that man took over my previous home, since the day before I became a prisoner.

The sun was bright in the sky even though the hours for her disappearance were looming closer and closer.

I wanted to erase my memory even for a few minutes, so I would be able to enjoy the view, so I wouldn't be taunted by the thought of this ride being my very last.

When the car came to a stop, my heart nearly dropped out of my chest, fear shooting up and down my body at an alarming rate.

"I'll be back, my love." Elijah commented, his gaze planted on the woman sitting in the passenger seat before he cut the engine and hopped out of the car.

He took a step closer to the back door and pulled it open.

"Come on." He ordered.

My breath shuddered, my gaze frantically looking around for an escape.

My eyes clashed with the woman through the rear-view mirror, and she had a look of concern in her gaze. She didn't turn around to look at me, nor did she voice her concerns. She just kept staring at me through the small mirror, her fingers fidgeting with the end of the blue scarf around her neck.

"Let's go." The man commented when I took too long to get out.

Even though I was hesitant, I didn't want to risk it and have the man drag me out of the car by the hair. So, I slowly forced myself out of the car and stood on unsteady feet.

A tall apartment building stood intimidating in front of me. I had to crank my neck to see the top of the building.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when he slammed the door shut.

"Come on." He said before he tried to reach for my arm.

I instantly flinched away from him before his fingers could even get close to my skin. It was a wonder how the man didn't reach out for me again. Most men in my world seemed to get upset at the smallest sight of resistance, and usually flinching away would have huge consequences. But, surprisingly, not this man.

"This way." Elijah said before he walked past me towards the door of the building.

With a final glance towards the outside world, I might never see gain, I followed after him and walked into the building.

Elijah led me to the elevator, our footsteps echoing through the deserted front lobby.

I watched as Elijah pressed the button to go up, and shortly after, the doors opened. He stepped into the elevator and placed his hand on one side of the door, so I would follow after him.

When I stepped into the elevator, he pressed the eighteenth floor button and quickly stepped out.

"The elevator will take you straight to Nicolo's apartment." Was all Elijah said before the door closed, trapping me in the elevator all alone.

I pressed my back against the mirror, trying to relax my burning lungs. My heart felt like it had dropped into my stomach as the elevator ascended, making my knees weaker.

My heart thundered in my chest as I watched the number of the floors going up and up and up, until it finally stopped at the eighteenth floor, which, from the buttons of the elevator, was the top floor of the apartment building.

By the time the doors parted, I was nearly breathless, as if I had personally run up the stairs the entire way up.

I forced myself to move before the elevator door closed on me and stepped into the wide apartment.

The sun's warmth and orange glow were blocked by thick drapes. A single bulb barely lit up the entire floor, giving little assistance for me to limp further into the apartment.

I prayed that the man I married was not there at the moment. Maybe if he's not here, then I could come up with a plan, a plan to leave this place, or leave the earth all in all.

Before a single thought could enter my mind, footsteps approached me from the left and got my attention.

I glanced left, and my body nearly broke down from the shivering fear that was shooting up and down my spine when he stepped into the light.

Jacopo Nicolo looked just as terrifying as he looked in the hall when the priest married us. No, he looked ten times more terrifying as he stood tall in the dark, his two different colored eyes looking at me with a dangerous glime within them.

He had his hand dropped to either side of his hips, still covered by two letter gloves.

My throat dried up when he took a step closer to me. I took a small step back, instantly regretting the sudden reaction when pain shot up in my injured and never healing leg.

But I didn't let the pain stop me from retreating from my now husband.

He kept approaching me, one step, two steps, three steps...

It felt like no matter how many times I stepped away from him, and no matter the distance I tried to put between us, it only proved that I had nowhere to hide from him.

My mind took me to that dirty cage my captor had locked me in. It felt as if I was getting cornered in that room again, like I was about to be tortured again, like my healed wounds would be split open once more to have salt pour all over them again.

I saw my captors' face on the man who was steadily approaching me. I heard his horror and excitement filled chuckle as I tried to cower away from him.

A small whimper climbed up my throat when I came to a dead-end, and my back was pressed to the right wall of the apartment.

I kept my eyes down as Jacopo Nicolo stopped a few steps away from me, a step he could quickly invade and do whatever he wanted to do to me.

Despite having my eyes and head down, I could still feel his gaze on me, burning a hole at the top of my head. An agonizing minute passed by without him touching me.

I thought, for a split foolish second, that maybe he wouldn't touch me, that maybe he could be one of the people who were disgusted by me for all the videos that were released on the dark web.

Maybe I revolt him enough for all the things my captor did to me. It's not new that, in the past year, I have heard whispers of how no man would even touch me with a stick, let alone marry me and take me to their home.

I didn't mind being a single woman for the rest of my life. After what I went through, I don't think I could ever recover enough to trust someone ever again.

Yet it hurt to hear and see just how badly people thought of me for something that wasn't my fault, for something that happened to me as a victim.

My thoughts were spiraling when I saw his right hand suddenly reach out for me.

A loud gasp escaped my lips when Jacopo caught me by the arm and pulled me to him. His grip was punishing, his lathered fingers digging into my flesh.

I tried to bite down the scream that wanted to crawl up my throat. All I could do was wish for death and imagine what terror awaited me when he turned away and continued to drag me to where he came from.

The pain in my knee made my eyes burn as he kept rushing me, not giving my injured leg time to recover from supporting my weight.

I thought about pleading with him, begging him to let go of me. But I knew better.

Begging a monster only makes him want to toy with his prey for much longer.

Jacopo opened a door and pulled me in. The room was no different from the front, covered with thick drapes that blocked light from the outside. The only source of light was a single bulb, and thanks to that bulb, I was able to see where he had brought me to.

The second my eyes landed on a bed, my fight or flight kicked in for the worse, and I started fighting against his grip.

Jacopo only held on tighter, refusing to let me slip from his grip. I stopped blocking my voice, and a small cry escaped my lips as he threw me down.