We queued outside the cinema, hoping to get a ticket for The Rosary, the latest horror movie. I wasn’t afraid of watching horror movies, since what happened to me was even more terrifying than a movie. But horror movies were a season pass to a girl’s heart. Carson probably thought I was like them.
Carson bought the ticket and then we walked towards the snacks section to get popcorn. He asked me my preferred flavour, and I answered him I was fine with anything. We decided on a mix of sweet and salty popcorn and then took our seats.He took my hand. It was early, and we were the only ones in the theatre.“Piper, I’m glad you agreed to come out with me.”“Well, my heart is not made of stone,” I replied casually. He didn’t let go of my hand.“It’s not that I get a chance like this every time,” he said. “Earlier, I asked if you were mad with me.”“I’m not mad. I was tired that day.”“It’s my fault. I tired you out,” he whisHe broke the kiss after a few minutes, speaking in a deep and grave voice.“Piper, as much as I want you under me right now, I don’t want to do it on impulse. I want you to be genuinely in love with me.”I straightened my blouse and buttoned it where it had come undone. Before the kiss, I had received a message from Kaiser.It had said, “Don’t come home yet. Spice things up… make him want you. No matter what, don’t come to the Strauss. Find a reason to stall him.”Something didn’t seem quite right. I glanced at Carson and then at the floor mat of the vehicle. It was pouring outside, and I didn’t have an excuse to spend the night at his place. For Kaiser, I had already put down my dignity. As much as I was willing to do what Kaiser told of me, I found it fishy that he hadn’t wanted me to come home.Was there something to do with Erica and Carson?I fished out my phone again and reviewed the surveillance records of the CCTV I had secretly installed in the apartment. I had carefully set
Carson’s warm hand offered me his solace, although I wasn’t sure whether to accept it.“If you knew it would end up like this, why bother stepping into it in the beginning?”I fathomed he referred to my now-fragile relationship with Kaiser. “I…”“You don’t have to say anything, Piper. The moment I dropped you off at the apartment for the first time… I knew.”“And you didn’t think of hurting me?”He shook his head. “I couldn’t bear to. You were different from the rest.”I pulled up my hair into a high ponytail, squeezing out the remaining water inside it. “What did you do to the others?” I asked in a meek voice.“I fooled them. Pulled them into a trap. But with you, I knew I couldn’t. You were just a weak victim of his.”“Why do you think so, Carson?”“Because I know everything about you.” He pointed towards a soft file wedged between the driver’s car seat and the storage compartment in the middle of the car between us. “I have been investigating you since you were in City X. Perhaps y
Unlike Kaiser, Carson was the sweet guy who would wake up first to make me breakfast, that part of Kaiser which was forgotten. At one point, Kaiser was sweet and caring but when we came to this new place, this part of him had dwindled away and vanished.I stayed away from the office for three days after that rainy night, waking up with an awful cold. Surprisingly, Carson accompanied me home nursing me while his sister went to the office and worked on the project with Kaiser.This was completely opposite of what I had planned. Kaiser’s partner, me, did not come to work and even Kaiser’s brother-in-law and director of the project partner, Carson was absent. Rumours sprouted about the office, although I had no idea of their origin. “I’m not in the mood for a meal.” I turned my head away when Carson came in with his homecooked meal. In fact, Kaiser had been calling me non-stop all day so I had to switch my phone to aeroplane mode and turn on the wifi. But I knew he was smarter than that.
“Hello, Piper. Long time no see, I mean, f*ck.”If those words were meant to be a joke, it wasn’t funny. Especially when I was now bound like a wild animal, with ropes in numerous lattice knots. My feet dangled above the ground, the fear making me forget my nakedness.The sting of the ropes cutting into my flesh kept me in my senses. I was back in my hell again, but this time, I was in Lenard Lee’s new den in this foreign city. What differed now was how I got into my prison.The first time, I was betrayed by my own kindness and fell headlong into the pit due to a bad choice. Right now, I was sent there by my own lover, to serve my worst nemesis. The worst was that he was the person I thought capable of my trust, and he who would assist me in my journey to exact revenge on the very person who broke me in the first place.It hadn’t meant to happen this way. I originally planned to use my body to get revenge, not fall in love along the way. Or that I’d end up with another broken heart.
Hours laterI was indeed dreaming, I lied to myself.There was no way someone who had put unto me so much torment and pain intended to tie the knot with me.I swallowed hard, rubbing the pearls of sweat off my eyebrows. As much as I hoped the sight in front of me wasn’t real, it was. Lenard Lee reappeared in front of me, with a vibrator in his hand.“Ugh,” I muffled a moan as he slipped it inside my wet hole. Lubricated as I was, it didn’t hurt, unlike the times he had taken me after my abduction. He wasn’t bending me to his will now, but tempting me. And I had totally no idea why, after how harsh he was to me, he was now treating me like a woman. His woman.His prized possession.The jerking of the device between my legs made me lose control. I couldn’t think straight, but my mind continuously told me, “This is Lenard Lee, the Master, the man who kidnapped you and broke you. The man who treated you as Milanda. The man who forced himself on you back in Thailand…”But in spite of every
The moments when I was alone in the room allowed me to have my solace. It dawned upon me that Lenard Lee was indeed gone. I forced myself to get out of bed and made for the connected bathroom. In the cold weather, one didn’t normally need to bathe often, but I perceived myself to be gross and covered with filth after being with my nemesis for such a long while. Once I was inside the bathroom, I bolted the door shut and scanned the space confining me for any hard sponges. Upon finding one, I seized it quickly and brushed myself as hard as I could, creating dark red lines all over my body.I turned the coloured knob to spray myself with hot water from the shower. The water was steaming hot, scalding me minorly for a few seconds. I soaped myself quickly and brought the sponge to my bare skin again, scraping myself so abrasively that I flinched.But outside the external pain that I inflicted on myself, the pain deep inside me prevailed. My mind flashed for a few seconds, visualising Kais
The traffic lights flickered with a bright colour. Clear luminous digits appeared, indicating the countdown. I stared at the crowd outside. A beautiful young teenage mother with bright red hair, pushing a stroller, crossed in front of us, and the driver hummed. Pedestrians that took their time were infringing on his patience.Then, I focused on the door handle to my right. The doors of the car were unlocked. All I had to do was open it while they were not paying attention, and run out as fast as my long legs could take me. It wasn't even a plan, it was survival.'Piper, it is now or never,' the voice in me spoke. I mustered all the energy I had. Freya had her head turned to watch the young lady, mumbling something inaudible under her breath. Before she noticed, I had opened the door quietly, before I slipped out, making a roll on the ground. Then, I dashed out as if my life depended on it. Who was I kidding, of course, it did!I took shelter among the crowd, catching my breath. From a
We were gone for some considerable distance when Kaiser stopped me in a dark alley. There were a few shady love motels nearby, but they didn’t deter me. After all, if I murdered him in cold blood, his corpse would be barely noticeable. I clenched the knife closer to his throat and urged him to move faster.“Piper, it doesn’t have to come up to this.” His voice bore some emotions, playing with my mind. I didn’t want to listen anymore, but he still went on and on about our past and how he deemed me his woman. He just didn’t mention the word love, although I know that he had sacrificed me for some unknown gain. If it was the work of that b*tch, all the more I didn’t want to show him any mercy.“You f*cking played me, Kaiser Klef!” I roared at him, but my hand didn’t budge. I was scraping his neck lightly. He suddenly moved, pulling the knife and pointing it to his chest.“If you don’t believe me, Piper, then kill me now. The reason you haven’t made a move to do so is that you still love