Rodrigo's POV No matter how much I tried, I couldn't free myself. I gave up after a couple of long minutes of trying and feeling. I needed a blade, at least, or maybe some sharp piece of glass, but I had nothing. It was during times like this that I wished I was some superhuman. Imagine someone as powerful as I was being held down by nothing more than ropes; it was utterly ridiculous. I still heard his voice but couldn't place it, no matter how much I tried. Something told me things would conclude, and I had to leave. If not, it would be too late when I was ready. I continued struggling after that, but it was no use. If anything, it brought me some trouble when I wasn't ready for it. "I see you are awake," I heard. I froze immediately after hearing the voice, hoping the person would not come closer. I listened to a couple of footsteps, and no, they weren't going away. They were getting louder and louder, indicating that the person was coming closer and closer to me. I rema
Rodrigo's POV The most that I let them hear was a hiss from my teeth. I didn't cry out in pain, no, not once. I wouldn't give them that satisfaction, especially Luciano, who looked honestly disappointed by the results. I was weak, however, which was probably a win for him. He looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face. I could tell that he wasn't delighted by the outcome of his torture, but he was tired of it already. "Don't worry; we have a lot of time to break you," he responded. "You can act tough all you want. I wonder whether you will still be able to do that when I come at you with knives and cut through your skin to torture you." "Why don't you do that now?" I asked him with a smile on my face. "Are you scared or something?" His eyes narrowed at my provocation. "You don't seem to understand that you can't do anything to object to whatever I want to do to you," he told me. "If you understand that, then you'll know that if I want to, I can take you by your
Tanya's POV I thought he meant for everything to happen in just one day. Simply put, I wanted to see him as soon as possible, but he instead waved me off. "We will continue this another day," he said. "I still have some work to do with Rodrigo. It was better to see him when he was broken. You see, I don't know what it will take to break him." I wanted to shout that he shouldn't torture him to break him. There was no purpose in doing that. But if I said so, he would think I still had some affection for him, which I did, and then everything would be scattered. I needed to put up an awe-inspiring act if I was to save him. There was no way for me to do it without that. "Do what you have to do," I said. "I think it's going to be very interesting to see how he acts and talks when you are done with him." "That's the spirit," he said. "I'll communicate the date and time to you, and then you'll get to see him one last time. After that, we can kill him and confirm our deal." My he
Tanya's POV The next couple of days passed quickly, but none of them went by without me thinking about what he was going through in his captivity. I knew that he would be subjected to torture, and the thought of that alone was enough to make me feel nauseous. It was difficult for me to focus on anything, but luckily, there wasn't much to focus on. I went about my daily routine slowly, waiting impatiently for the one message to move things forward. Finally, it came to me about two weeks after that, a cryptic message, but I didn't need anyone to translate it for me. I already had a clear understanding of what it meant. "It is time," I thought in relief, suddenly realising that I had wasted all the time I had been given. Instead of looking for a solution like Dante had suggested many times, I had spent the time cooped up indoors, wanting everything to blow over. Now that it was time, I was not prepared for an attack. "What am I going to do now?" I asked myself, suddenly knowing
Tanya's POV It was funny, him dressing me. It might have felt romantic if not for the fact that he was my grandfather practically, and I hated him somehow. Anyway, he had already seen every part of me previously, so there was nothing to be ashamed of. He was being cautious with everything he did, and there was a professional touch to his movements. There was one goal: to hide every weapon he was equipping me with under something very pretty and casual so that it would not be obvious, but I was going in there to cause a fight. "It's a bit heavy," I said with a frown. I had been standing there for over an hour with him, doing everything he could to make his work impeccable. "I know," he said. "You have to get used to it. You can ask him how he goes into fights, and he will tell you that he goes as a walking weapon." "I don't think I'll be able to move properly with this," I said, feeling like he was giving me some ancient metal armour. Maybe this was how the knights of old f
Tanya's POV "I like you, not too early and not late," he said, looking at his watch. I knew what the time was. I had been racing here when I realised I would be a minute late if I didn't. "You told me to come at 11:30, not before and not after," I responded confidently. I had to establish a sort of equality with him, even though the both of us were anything but equal. I needed to be able to demand some things from him, like getting to see Rodrigo personally. Luckily, he had already agreed to that the last time we met. "Indeed," he said. "If you continue like this, our relationship will not be strained. Might be very enjoyable for you and me." "I hope so," I said. "But that's enough small talk. Let's get to business now." He raised an eyebrow at my brisk attitude, bringing out a cigarette. "Relax," he said in response. "How about you have a drink first of all? You are about to do something very tasking." I looked at him in surprise, not having any idea what he wanted me t
Tanya's POV It took an effort for him to hold the knife. I could see it clearly from where his hands shook to balance the knife behind him. I knew then that the chances of him succeeding were very small if things would continue like this. In other words, it was fortunate that I had talked with Dante before this, and he had come up with a counter for this situation. "Just a moment," I said. I was already almost done with bringing out the syringe. I knew that the time was getting a bit too long, so I decided to say something to him loud enough for them to hear. "I hope you understand why I'm doing this," I said. "I have no choice. Either I shoot you with this gun, or he kills you either way and then kills me after. I have no choice in this." He looked at me, his eyes filled up with confusion that almost broke my heart. The only consolation that I had for that was that it meant that my words were persuasive. If I had been able to fool him himself, then maybe I had fooled the
Rodrigo's POV I was utterly worn out from the treatment they had given me. Honestly, I would have thought that after going through the same routine over and over again, I would get used to it, but I never got used to the pain they inflicted. It was a shame that he got what he wanted, or at least a part of it. I made a point of not screaming, of not letting any sound of pain come out from me, or next when it was too much, and that seemed to annoy him. He also made me feel pain, which was a win for him. With the tiredness in my bones from two long weeks of torture, when I heard the sound of people going down the staircase, I wondered whether it was time for another round. I didn't prepare myself; I had done that a lot of times, and it hadn't helped at all. The only thing that I could do was to rest and relax my body even more. Maybe this time, it would be short. If not, I would go along with it and survive. He thought he could break me? Well, he had to think again. I was going to