Chapter 5

Ana's point of view:

The look that Denver had just cast on me was unhealthy.

It was even disgusting.

I felt fear... I felt anxiety. I felt frightened, and I was trembling. I was on the verge of urinating on myself.

How... Why? Even in my head, I couldn't formulate all the questions I wanted to ask.

I was finished. I was going to die. I could see it; I could read it in his eyes. He was going to kill me. Slowly...

This suffering that he would have liked to inflict on my parents is on me.

My tears flowed of their own accord as my breathing became jerky and difficult.

I was scared... And I was pretty sure that was the highest level of fear anyone could feel.

I even began to beg death to take me away.

I heard you could die of fear, so why wouldn't death come?

I wanted to have a heart attack. An epileptic seizure. Whatever, but I wanted to leave this world...

I wanted to not have to suffer this man's retaliation.

But...

The more seconds passed, the closer I got to the flames of hell that were reserved for me.

“Move forward," he blurted.

His tone was neither harsh nor soft. It was simply neutral. I hesitated for a moment. What did he have in mind? What was he going to do to me?

Was he going to rape me? Was he going to hit me?

I had a whole bunch of questions. Some are more unthinkable than others. Deep down, I knew I was going to endure everything. Simultaneously or successively, I was going to endure everything with him.

“Don’t let me repeat myself, slave. Move on!”

Slave ? My heart sank in my chest, and a lump of fear and stress formed in my throat. His tone, now harsh, forced me to obey. I took a step to the side, not sure where he wanted me to go.

His gaze hardened even more, and while I was thinking about taking another step, he grabbed my arm and pulled me in front of him. Still surprised by this second abrupt gesture towards me, I started to whimper. I let him drag me away, and soon I was pushed into a sort of secret passage near a small library.

"No... Let me go. You're hurting me. Let me. Let me go." I begged in a trembling voice while resisting moving forward.

I was freaked out. I was scared. This secret passage had nothing good in store for me, and the interior was already scary. I didn't want to move forward. I didn't want to know what was there.

He let go of my arm and thundered in a dry voice.

“Stop whining and move on!”

I cannot say how I was able to resign myself to obeying him. His presence behind me frightened me, and with the promiscuity of the passage, I only thought about getting away from him, but as I couldn't go back, I was forced to move forward.

The passage seemed long. Interminable even. I moved forward, whimpering. I moved forward, trembling. The high heels that I was forced to wear hammered my foot, adding to my torture.

Maybe if I begged him, he would let me go. I thought instantly.

“I’m begging you." I began without missing another second.

I slow my pace, trying to look over my shoulder at him.

“I’m begging you... Let me go.” I finished in an even more pleading tone.

But in response, he pushed me brutally forward before spitting...

“Faster… I don’t have all night!”

From then on, I lost hope.

It was over for me. I said to myself as I looked at the exit of the passage.

Deep down, I had hoped that there would remain in him a little of this man who had been in love with me. But I had just cruelly understood that this man was no more.

Truth be told, I'm pretty sure I was the one who killed him. I should never have...

I should never have listened to my father... I should never have done to him what I did to him.

And now... It was too late.

The passage opened into a room. And at first glance, it was not the dark and frightening side of the room that horrified me, but rather what was there.

Chains. A cage.

I stopped abruptly. Terrified.

" No." I whispered as my eyes widened in terror.

“Welcome to your new bedroom."

New bedroom?

“This is where you will live from now on.”

At these words, it was like I realized for real the sh*t I was in. All I had thought was paradise compared to what I had before my eyes...

This tiny room without doors or windows, dimly lit by a lantern, would henceforth be my home.

There was no bed. There was a cage, chains, and, a few steps further, a toilet bowl.

“Please don’t do this to me." I blurted out, trembling even more.

I was claustrophobic; I could never live here.

"Please don't do this to me." I said, turning around to look at him.

But his gaze was impassive. Even though it was the last thing I would have wanted, there was no trace of pity in his gaze.

"I'm sorry... I'm begging you. It's not my fault. I'm not my father, you know that. You know I don't deserve this... You know that."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He cut me off with a loud and authoritative voice.

Despite myself, I could only whimper even more. I took a few steps forward to get away from him. My whole being was trembling, and the fear I felt because of him only increased.

“Get on your knees" he continued in an indescribable voice.

Should I attempt to resist? Should I try to escape? Why didn't he kill me the night of the revolt? Why didn't he take my life? Why subject myself to something that I did not deserve? I was not the one who ordered him to be whipped, and even less the one who whipped him, but why was it up to me to suffer such atrocities?

"Anaïs... Get on your knees. I'm not going to repeat myself again."

I complied. Then... I looked up at him, pleading with my frightened eyes.

He had a satisfied look on his face, and when he moved around the room, it was to take the chains and come back to me.

"Hold out your wrists to me."

At this point, I no longer had the courage to do what he wanted. I didn't want to agree to do everything he asked of me. I didn't want to rebel, either. I just wanted to make him understand that I couldn't live in this room.

"No," I said, shaking my head negatively.

The man's eyebrows widened, and he smiled mockingly.

“Interesting. The slave is already starting to rebel.”

As soon as he had said his words, he released the chains at his feet. The latter fell to the ground with a dull thud. I saw him remove his belt in a sudden and rapid movement. It took my brain a long time to understand what he was about to do, and when I finally understood, he had already raised his belt.

“No…no, I’m sorry.” I said, lowering my head, then I let out a cry of despair, holding out my wrists.

The belt landed with a thud. I could feel the burning in my back, but the belt had only been hit on the ground.

My tears redoubled. He released the belt and grabbed the chains, which he put around my wrists like handcuffs.

The sound of the chains closing on my wrists forced me to resign myself.

I was now his thing, his slave.

There was no turning back anymore.

“Now get in the cage."

I tried to get up, but in vain. I couldn't do it.

“On all fours, Anaïs…”

It was humiliating, but I did it. I walked as fast as I could, ignoring the hard ground that seemed like it was going to break my kneecaps.

Then I entered the cage, pulling the heavy chains behind me.

It was a very small cage. I could barely crouch or lie down. Denver approached the new prison and lowered himself to my height. In his hand, he held a large padlock that would surely be used to lock me in the cage.

Looking up at him, I was suddenly plunged into the intensity of his beautiful red eyes.

I felt my being shudder. Today, more than ever, I felt them burning me...

“You see… You can be wise when you want.” He finally said

Then... He closed the cage door and put the padlock on. Between these bars, I looked at him.

I am still hoping in my heart that he will have pity on me.