"When I was in the confinement cell, there was a nail lying on the ground which I didn’t know of," no one could know with the full darkness one was surrounded by and left to spend time in. "I stepped on the nail."
"Must have hurt really bad," his words suddenly turned gentle, but Sherry wasn’t sure if she heard it right. Dallion ran his thumb much more gently from one side to the other, making her heart leap and her body jerk. His grip remained firm around her ankle. Sherry could feel his hand touching her skin, the warmth of it making her fret. "Dallion?" she spoke softly, for him to respond with a hum. "What is it?" What was what? He was holding her ankle without letting go. "Could you please let go of my leg?" She kept her speech docile, with a certain passive aggressiveness in it, wanting him to drop her leg. But instead of listening to her request, Dallion only ran his finger over her feet. "Why, little mouse? Let me demonstrate something for you, so that you can keep it in your mind. Alright?" At first, she didn’t understand what this demonstration was about until he ran his fingernail sharply against the back of her foot, making her cry out in pain as it pierced her skin. "Please, Dallion." She could feel the burn on her feet which started to hurt. Dallion’s eyes fell on the girl in front of him, her face contorting in pain as he had scraped her skin, leaving a small streak of blood in the same place where she had previously been hurt, without letting it heal properly. Instead of letting go, he then took the same kerchief he had offered her before and tied it back around her foot. Sherry didn’t understand why he had hurt her just now. This man’s head was messed up for hurting her for no reason, until she heard him speak. "Keep this in mind before you do anything where we’re going. One toe out of line, and the punishment will be far worse than what you’ve experienced right now." "I didn’t do anything," she said, pulling her foot away to drop it down when his grip loosened. "But you will. Having studied you, there’s a possibility you might do something I won’t be happy about." She didn’t understand what he meant by it. She had been careful with her words too, after getting drenched in the rain like a wet dog, yet she had been punished. Sherry was sure that Dallion needed his head checked. When the car finally pulled over, Sherry was the first to step out, her footsteps uneven due to the kerchief wrapped around her left foot. A massive mansion stood mighty in front of them, its black walls making it feel eerie and causing her to feel suddenly cautious. Dark grey clouds hovered all around in the sky, growling threateningly. She wanted to ask where they were, but Dallion didn’t wait for her and instead started to walk towards the entrance. Two guards stood on either side of the open double doors. Following his footsteps, Sherry stepped inside. For a moment, she was sure he was going to make her remove his coat, like he had made her help him wear it. But he didn’t. He continued walking, eventually meeting a group of three people—a man and two women. One of the women sat on a plush couch, with the man a seat away from her. A boy sat at her feet, massaging her legs. He looked to be around sixteen, with freckles on his face. Another woman stood nearby, holding a whip and staring down at a girl who knelt on the ground. "Dallion, how good to see you. We thought you wouldn’t come," the man—undoubtedly another member of the Cross empire—greeted Dallion. "I wouldn’t miss such an occasion. You did say it was two million dollars that would be met. How could I miss it?" Dallion answered, a lopsided smile on his lips. "Whom have you brought?" the woman on the couch, questioned as her eyes fell on Sherry standing behind Dallion. "So, the rumor is true," the man said, looking at Sherry, who kept her head up, watching the people. "What rumor?" asked the woman, still seated on the couch. "The rumor about Dallion buying a captive for himself," the man gauged Sherry up and down, a smirk crossing his lips, his eyes filled with ill intention. It made her uncomfortable, but the way the women in the room gawked at her only made her want to return to the room where Dallion had locked her before. The man laughed. "I was curious what made you spend five hundred thousand dollars on a lone slave." Sherry, lacking the experience of being a blue Beard captive, abashedly stared back at the man before averting her gaze. His neatly combed brown hair and open shirt buttons made him look like he didn’t belong to a good group, and everything in the room screamed danger. "Eyes off my little mouse, Rivers ," Dallion warned the man with a bright smile etched on his lips. Rivers raised his hands in mock surrender. "I wasn’t doing anything." "Of course you weren’t. You wouldn’t want to lose your eyes, would you?" Dallion laughed, leaving the room in eerie silence.Sherry was taken aback by the mild threat, and for a minute, she wondered if Dallion was joking about gouging the man’s eyes out. When she turned to look at the man, Rivers seemed to have stopped staring at her and had instead gone to fetch himself a drink. Dallion walked to one of the empty couches, where no one sat, leaning his back completely as he crossed his legs, eyes locking on the woman who was standing in the room with a young girl sitting down on her knees. "I see your little mouse has been taking good care of you," he chimed in, glancing at the boy who hadn’t raised his eyes to anyone but his mistress' legs, massaging her ankles now. "Luke is a lovely boy, isn’t he?" the woman smiled, looking down at her captive, whom she had personally acquired from a hidden auction, unlike Dallion, who had snatched Sherryl from the black market. "Your little mouse hasn’t learned the code of conduct for captives," the woman remarked, her red eyes sizing Sherry up. Sherry hadn’t dropp
While Sherryl was lost in her own thoughts, the people in the room couldn’t help but keep their ears on Dallion's words. Captives, reduced to nothing but dust beneath the feet of mafia bosses and their powerful elites, were treated with derogatory remarks, degraded by their owners, as their lives belonged to the ones who had bought or captured them. Yet, very few actually called the captives by their real names—something that once in a while raised the eyebrows of the others in the room. Dallion, though noticing the gaze, didn’t bother with such trivialities when there were more pressing matters on his mind. While Sherry behaved as a good captive should, keeping her eyes and head down, she couldn’t shake the feeling of two pairs of eyes locked on her. Both belonged to mafia elites, but neither belonged to her captor. One was a man, the other a woman, the one who had wanted Dallion to allow her to punish Sherry, and the third eye she was now sensing was of the woman who had earlier
Sherry could somewhat relate to this as she had seen or gone through things like this before. The city she used to live in, especially after her mother passed away, was far from what one would call decent, let alone luxurious. As Dallion had pointed out, if a person failed to bring in money, someone else in the family would have to step up to keep them afloat. Her city had been in a constant state of crisis, where jobs were scarce, and opportunities for a better life were even scarcer. The people barely made it through, and everything from food to basic necessities was overpriced, making it hard for anyone to live a decent life. Most of the city’s residents knew the dealings between the local officials and those in higher power. Money that was supposed to be used for development or relief always disappeared, never reaching the people who needed it most. The corruption ran deep, affecting everyone. "You think it’s right?" she asked Dallion. "Which part?" he replied casually.
The weather today seemed strangely better, with the sunset beginning to cast its fading glow, illuminating the horizon. It must have been because it had rained last night—enough to grant a break to the lands. Even though the sun's rays didn’t break through the window fully and weren’t warm, Sherry could still feel the heat just by the light touching her skin. It had been so long since she had seen sunlight, and an unconscious smile crept onto her lips. She turned her face toward the window, her eyes closed, savoring the fleeting warmth. Dallion noticed the small smile on her lips. Such a simple girl, he thought. He could see how she found joy in the smallest of things, completely oblivious to the darkness surrounding her. 'Dali, do you know what’s beautiful about this flower here?' echoed a voice from his past, without him even closing his eyes. 'It’s the simplicity. The flower doesn’t stand out like the rest.' Young Dallion had stared at the flower in the woman’s hand. 'Place a
Reaching back the mansion, Sherry got down to follow right behind Dallion. Before becoming a captive, her hands and time were usually full—working endlessly to make her living, saving every dime so that one day she could use it—Her money! She realized the cash she had been stashing away must still be there unless someone had found it! More than anything right now, Sherry couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened to the money she had saved all those years. It wasn't much, just a good sum of seventeen hundred dollars, but it was the most she'd saved until now. Thinking about how her foster aunt May and uncle Larry had sold her off like a commodity for chump change made her stomach churn. She wondered if sharing a piece of it with them could’ve avoided this, kept her from becoming someone’s property. But then, she shook her head internally—there was no reasoning with scum like that. Her relatives didn’t deserve even a penny from her pocket after what they had done. Who knew peop
Nickison, the butler, was making his way from the dining room to the kitchen when he caught sight of Lady Rose doing what she did best—scolding and belittling the workers of the Cross empire. On a second glance, he realized it wasn’t one of the usual servants but Master Dallion’s little mouse, Sherryl Rain. His footsteps faltered. Rose didn’t spare anyone, not even those who weren’t part of the empire. The young mafia queen enjoyed watching the staff cower, asserting her dominance to remind them who held the real power. Even he, a long-standing butler, had not been spared from her biting tongue. After overhearing Sherryl’s defiant words, Nickison pressed his lips together, knowing trouble was brewing. He was well aware that the walls of the mansion were about to shake. "He’s my brother, so you’re indirectly obligated to serve me the same way you serve him," Rose taunted, shoving Sherryl’s head as though she were a toy to be played with. "Didn’t you hear me? Come to my room," she o
Before Rose had left Sherry's hand, she'd had a good exchange of words with her step brother which Sherry had really found it... She didn't know how to really term the words, because one was surprisingly angry while the other was really composed. This is how their banter had gone before Rose finally released her. Rose out of anger only turned Sherryl’s arm to another side where the furrow between the captive’s forehead increased. Dallion, noticing this, looked at his butler who was quietly standing by. Raising the rolled-up document, he handed it to him. “Take this to Gray's mansion,” the butler bowed his head, not spending another minute as the order had been given. He walked towards the main doors and away from them. “Let go of her, sister.” Rose tilted her head in curiosity, “Why? She doesn’t even know who the mistress is. She even shows the courage to deflect me.”
Rose his younger step sister, as she liked to be called—was a fierce opponent. For a split second, Sherryl had believed Rose would snap her arm like a twig, but then Dallion had arrived, saving her from an imminent breaking. Still, grabbing Rose’s hand in reflex had been a mistake—a direct challenge. And now Sherryl was sure she’d made it onto Rose’s personal hit list. As she lay there contemplating her options, her mind drifted to escape plans. She had to get out before it was too late. Two hours, Dallion had said in the car earlier. It was all she needed to flee the city. Maybe she could make it to Cross empire’s neighboring districts, but first, she'd need to be careful, as she bide her time. To he she'll either run to the eastern part of Bone lake into Indiana Valleys or maybe move towards Blue city Somewhere out of his reach. But what about the photo and fingerprints he claimed to
When an unintended sigh slipped past her lips, it only seemed to fuel the fire already burning in Dallion’s touch. His grip on her tightened, his heart beating steadily, his eyes alive with something dark and dangerous. His control was slipping, and he knew it. Without another word, his teeth extended, sharp and eager. "I need a taste," he murmured, his voice rough with hunger. Before Sherryl could react, Dallion sank his teeth into the side of her neck. Her skin was —warm, rich, intoxicating, it was sweeter than anything he had ever tasted. It made him wonder if it was because of who she was, something about her making it more potent, more addictive. It was like drinking from something rare, something otherworldly. Dallion never cared for attachments, never let himself be bound to anyone. He had always been clear about that. Women came and went, serving a purpose but never staying long enough to matter. But ever since he had laid eyes on
Sherryl stared at him. Was she imagining things, or was Dallion actually jealous? The thought alone sent an odd, fluttery feeling through her stomach, one she didn’t quite understand. "I don’t share, little mouse," Dallion said smoothly, as if reading her thoughts. "Did you really think I’d be fine with you standing on a stage, under bright lights, with hundreds of eyes fixated on you?" His tone was calm, but the possessiveness in it was unmistakable. He leaned in, his forehead almost touching hers. "Do you want to know when and how I fell for you?" His voice dropped to a whisper, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "I think it’s time I told you properly." Sherryl’s heart pounded. "I think it’s okay if you don’t," she blurted out, already anticipating the embarrassment that would follow. Dallion clicked his tongue. As she raised her hands to push him away, he caught them effortlessly, pinning them against the bed with a smirk.
Sherryl, still quietly eating her apples, wished she could finish quickly and leave as well. Every meal in this house felt like a battlefield, tension thick in the air. She continued eating as discreetly as possible. Then, his father spoke. "You should stop spoiling the girl, Dallion. Your sister is right. We don’t want you being manipulated." His cold gaze flickered toward Sherryl, and she felt a lump form in her throat. "There have been plenty of cases where a simple girl like this has twisted her owner into doing unspeakable things—even wiping out their own family just at her word. And we both know you’ve already had your fair share of experience with betrayal." Dallion’s smirk didn’t falter. "Don’t worry, Father. I care about my family too much to kill them. Well… at least you and Grace. The rest? I can’t make any promises." His eyes drifted toward his younger half-sister. Rose’s expression darkened,
Here’s the revised version with the name changes.In the grand estate of the Cross family, the evening air was thick with the promise of an impending storm. The sky remained overcast, and a biting wind whispered through the halls. With winter creeping closer, the temperature had plummeted to an unforgiving low. If not for the warmth provided by the mansion’s insulated walls and flickering fireplaces, those unaccustomed to such cold would have perished.For the staff working in the Cross estate, survival was a luxury they didn’t take for granted. The grand halls and well-kept quarters provided a stark contrast to the bleak streets they might have otherwise called home.As the evening descended into dinner time, Dallion Cross and Sherryl Rain made their way into the dining room. Plates were brought out by silent staff, each movement practiced and precise. Sherryl, however, found herself staring at what was placed before her—a thick slab of raw meat, still red wit
Dallion studied her intently, his sharp eyes reading every flicker of doubt on her face. But he still answered, "You said you walked there because riots had blocked the main road. You took a different route and eventually found him. Later, you mentioned bringing him back, but by then, it was too late. Your mother’s condition had already worsened. What’s going on, Sherryl? Speak." His voice was firm, demanding. There was an unsettling confusion in Sherryl’s eyes as she tried to piece together the past. Then, out of nowhere, she asked, "If my mom could still be alive… does that mean she would allow me to look for him?" Dallion exhaled deeply, his expression unreadable. "Yes."He didn't want to give her false hopes, he knew her father left them and he was sure her mother wouldn't have allowed her to look for him. Sherryl nodded slowly, but she wasn’t convinced. If her father had left only to return years later, what
Dallion held her closer, his grip softer now, unlike before. His hands weren’t restraining her wrists anymore—they were holding all of her, as if anchoring her. It wasn’t just his touch that had changed, but his voice too. It was calm, quieter than usual when he spoke. “Tell me, Sherryl. Do you find it difficult to trust someone with your feelings?” His words were firm yet patient. “You do realize I’m not letting you go until you tell me what’s going on?” Something had shifted in her. He had noticed the change immediately. Moments ago, she had been fine—her pupils had been dilated, her breathing slightly unsteady—but then, suddenly, she had gone still. Her heartbeat had steadied unnaturally fast, and her eyes had turned hollow, like she was somewhere else entirely. There was only one conclusion Dallion could come to. Had someone touched her before? Her voice was low when she finally answered. “It’s nothing serious.” Slowly, Dallion loosened his hold but didn’t let her mo
Sherry barely had time to process the overwhelming sensations before her legs gave out. With a strangled yelp, she toppled sideways, arms flailing—only to land in an ungraceful heap on the floor.Dallion stared down at her, blinking. Then, slowly, a smirk curled his lips. “Well, that’s one way to show appreciation.”Sherry groaned, hiding her burning face in her hands. “I hate you.”“I know.” He crouched beside her, entirely too amused. “But if you were going to throw yourself at my feet, you could’ve at least done it with some dignity.”Bluebeard Lady chuckled from her corner. “She’s a fast learner. Even her falls are dramatic.”Sherry shot them both a murderous glare as Dallion effortlessly scooped her up. “Put me down!”“Not a chance,” he said, carrying her outside like she weighed nothing.The drive back to the Cross’s mansion was filled with Dallion’s teasing remarks—each one met with Sherry’s grumbled threats. But
The tent’s lanterns flickered softly, casting golden light over velvet drapes and aged artifacts. The scent of incense thickened the air, mingling with something more primal—the slow hum of anticipation.Sherry sat in the center of the room, wrists bound in silk, the smooth fabric a whisper against her skin. The ties weren’t meant for struggle, but for awareness—of herself, of the watchful presence behind her, and of the woman before her.Bluebeard Lady circled her like a patient instructor, a delicate silver chain swaying between her fingers. “Restraint,” she murmured, “isn’t about holding back. It’s about extending sensation, drawing it out until it becomes something unforgettable.”Sherry swallowed hard, feeling the heat of Dallion’s gaze from his seat across the room. He had yet to speak, but his presence was a force in itself—a quiet command.The woman knelt before Sherry, her fingers ghosting over her skin, feather-light. Even with
Sherryl Rain kept her head low, focusing on the lesson, even though she knew how rare it was for someone of Grace’s status to take the time to educate a mere servant. Most high-ranking figures in the Cross Empire saw little value in teaching those beneath them. Grace glanced at the worn parchment in front of her before turning her cold gaze to Sherryl, the little mouse that belonged to Dallion. “We’ll stop here for today,” Grace decided, stretching as she closed the book. “I need to take my mother and sister out to the Valley. Would you like to come?” The offer sounded casual, but Sherryl could hear the subtle test in it. “Ever been there before?” Sherryl gave a slight nod. “Master Dallion is taking me somewhere today.” A truthful excuse, but also a way to avoid the suffocating tension she’d have to endure with Grace and her ever-judgmental sister. Without pushing for details, Grace dismissed her, and Sherryl exhaled a brea