Chapter 4 - She Was a Conquered Territory

The minister’s word snapped her back from her trance and Kirsten blush furiously. Not only did her cheeks were tinted with color but her fair neck was stained red and the color spread to her earlobes. 

Matthew slid his forefinger down Kirsten's chin inclining her head up and slowly his face descended, his sexy lips connecting with hers ever so gently. 

The contact sent thousands of tingles, washing over Kirsten's body, who for the first time was kissed in her whole life. 

Kirsten shuddered at the new and foreign sensation she felt all over her body. She was terrified at her body's reaction towards the kiss. A big question mark left floating in her mind. She couldn’t comprehend or name the feelings she had experienced when Matthew’s lips settled on hers. 

While Kirsten was yet to come out of her daze, she felt being lifted in the air. At once, as her initial response she reached for something to hold on. And she found herself clasping Matthew's neck. 

"Hold on tightly," Matthew commanded while he looked ahead, making his way to the car waiting for them. 

Seeing his employer carrying his bride in his arms, Tony quickly went to open the rear passenger seat. 

So she could prolong her innocence for another minute, Kirsten deliberately took her sweet time in the bath tub. If she could prolong it for another hour that would be good. But, she was not given a chance when her husband began knocking on the door. 

"Aren't you coming out?" Matthew couldn't be bothered to hide his exasperation. One of the things he hated was waiting. No one dared to make him wait and only his new wife had the guts to make him wait. 

Kirsten's heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach. Shakily, she unlocked the door, twisted the knob and walked out of the bathroom. 

Matthew was holding a glass of red wine while he was lounging on the sofa. "Come over." 

Kirsten felt like tons of shackles had been bound to her feet as she traipsed towards Matthew. 

"Drink!" He said in a commanding tone. 

Kirsten knew she could not say no to this man. The aura he was exuding demanded obsequiousness. She couldn’t imagine what would happen to her if she disobeyed him. 

She coughed when the wine slid down her throat leaving a scorching heat in her throat. 

"Silly, drink it slowly," Matthew slightly chuckled while he stroked his wife's back. 

"It was my first time drinking," she admitted, her cheeks aflame. 

"Mmm," Matthew stared at his wife's reddened face. She was more alluring than ever. 

Kirsten jumped to her feet as if she was like a scalded cat when a hand snaked around her waist. 

"I'm sorry," she murmured upon seeing the glum in her husband's face. 

Slowly she sat beside him, waiting for him to take action but was relieved when minutes passed by and Matthew did nothing to her. 

After some time, Matthew lifted his hand and brushed his forefinger softly on her shoulder down her arm. 

Kirsten bit her lips and held herself from flinching. She didn't know what this man would do to her if she didn't please him. Her family still needed her and she must come back alive to them. 

Her body stiffened when his soft and warm lips touched her skin. Goosebumps covered her entire body as he began to glide his lips from her neck down to her shoulder. 

When she wasn't doing anything to stop him from his advances, Matthew lifted her from the couch, carrying her bridal style onto the huge bed. 

The soft bed welcomed her in its comfort as they both plunged into it, with Matthew's lips sealing her lips. 

With his incessant attack to her lips, gradually her lips parted and allowed his invading tongue an entry. Kirsten's mind was in haze as she tried to decipher what was going on her body. 

“Ouch!” Tears rolled down her cheeks while she screamed in pain as the barrier was harshly broken down with one forceful thrust. 

Surprised and altogether confused, Matthew paused and stared at his wife with tears rolling down her temples. 

He judged her wrongly. He thought that she wasn't as innocent as Mr. Rossi told him. That she was no different from the others. She was just another woman portraying innocence.

Two days ago, Tanya, the woman who assisted her, said that she left Kirsten at the mall as she was going to meet a friend an hour later. 

Matthew, who happened to have a meeting within the vicinity, secretly came to see Kirsten after his meeting. 

Storm loomed around his head when the friend who showed up was a male friend. They seemed to share an intimate relationship. 

The man from time to time would touch her nose or face while Kirsten gave him a bright smile which was obviously reserved for the man. 

He followed them until the man's sports car reached a mansion. Until dusk he sat in his car, waiting for Kirsten to come out. 

But to his dismay, he saw Kirsten come out to the balcony wearing a man's shirt. Next thing that maddened him all the more, was the man followed her in his sweatpants and t-shirt. The man leaned towards her and said something before she turned to hug him. 

The reason he was late at their wedding was that he was having second thoughts whether he should marry her or not. 

But in the end, he decided to marry her because she was just part of his plan. As a chess piece, it didn’t matter if she was a virgin or not. After he had achieved his goal, he would just discard her. 

"Does it still hurt?" he asked as he reached to wipe the tears cascading down her temple. 

Judging by her body's reaction and the red stain on the sheet when he looked down, he was her first.  

She nodded her head while she bit her trembling lips, trying to smother her sobs. Matthew felt a tug at his heart string, looking at his wife writhing in pain underneath him. 

"It will get better after a while." He kissed her forehead, down to her nose bridge and captured her lips for another searing kiss. 

Only then did he realize that the way she kissed him back showed that she was inexperienced. 

He moved slowly to check if she already adjusted to him. Shortly, pleasure eclipsed pain, eliciting a soft sigh from Kirsten. Matthew picked up his pace a little bit when he heard a soft sigh leave her throat. 

Kirsten, exhausted with their activity, struggled to keep her eyes open as the man carried on to satiate his burning desire. She had no idea when her husband finally found satisfaction. 

A gentle sea wind blew the curtain as it entered the open window and caressed Kirsten's face, waking her up.  

Kirsten winced at her first movement, making her recall what happened the previous night. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder but the man responsible for making her body sore was no longer on the bed.  

Covered with the sheet, Kirsten headed for the bathroom. 

She wanted to cry for losing her innocence to a man she barely knew. But she toughened herself. She was doing it for her family. They were the most important people in her life and will do anything for them.  

She cleaned her body thoroughly wanting to remove the trace of Matthew but little did she know that he left marks all over her body until she saw her reflection in the mirror.  

Shame covered her entire being, seeing the marks on her body. The marks of being branded, a conquered territory. And to put it on a more precise statement, a toy that was bought from the house of pleasure. 

The admission broke her resolve, sending her to her knees, sobbing. 

Prostitute, that was what she was. She refused to be one of them. But ended up with the same fate as them. The only difference was that her client married her; however it didn’t make her feel better.