Chapter 4: Losing to the darkness

Irene’s POV.

"No!” I protested.

“Diego can't… he can't do this!" I insisted, my voice cracking as my panic rose.

"He has no right!!"

Camilla's lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Oh, but he does, Irene. He is Lord Diego.”

“And after your little display of arrogance, this is a rather lenient punishment, don't you think?”

She tilted her head, feigning concern.

“A few days in the dungeon should teach you to obey him as your Lord.”

Anger stirred up within me, overshadowing my fear.

“Obey?” I spat the word out like shit.

“I will never obey that tyrant… that monster!”

Camilla’s smile faltered for a second.

“You keep running your mouth like this, then you might get yourself into bigger problems.” She said coldly.

"Now, are you going to come peacefully, or should I order these men to drag you out?”

“What will it be?"

I couldn't believe this was happening.

My heart raced in my chest as I struggled to accept the reality of my helpless situation.

I had to think, to act.

My gaze darted around the room, searching for any possible escape, but the door was guarded by the two hefty.

There was no way out for me, so I turned to Camila, my last hope of an escape.

“Please, Camilla,” I pleaded.

“You know see this is unfair.”

“He’s only doing this out of spite because I refused him.“

“Don’t let him do this to me.”

For a moment, her glare softened.

Doubt crept into Camilla’s eyes, like a crack in her rigid composure, showing her truth, beyond her fierce loyalty to Diego.

But she shook it off before it settled.

“Lord Diego has made his decision, Irene,” she said with a cold finality.

“Take her away.”

Every muscle in my body tensed as I instinctively took a step backward, putting distance between myself and the advancing guards.

“I go nowhere!" I hissed.

Before I could take another step, two pairs of strong hands gripped my arms firmly.

I struggled, trashing against their hold with all my strength, but it was all for nothing.

They were too strong.

“Let me go!” I yelled.

"Get your filthy hands off me, you bastards!"

I twisted and turned, trying to break free, but they pulled me out of the room into the hallway, dragging me towards an elevator that took us down, underground.

The air underground was cold, eerily dark, and too quiet.

It seemed like a set from a horror movie.

A torchlight flickered on, casting long, dancing shadows on the damp stone walls.

The stench of decay and something foul, filled my nostrils, making me gag.

They took me through a dark passage that had several empty enclosures.

Finally, They stopped at the farthest cell.

A cold sweat ran through me.

This was it.

The iron door shrieked open, revealing a small, dark cell. The air that wafted out was thick with the stink of mold.

This place wasn't fit to keep a human not even an animal. It was sickening.

This wasn't what I expected to be the dungeon, this was a tomb… my tomb. I could die here.

My struggle intensified as I made one last desperate plea. “No! Please, don’t do this! I beg you!” Tears streamed down my face.

I struggled, pulling against their hold, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

“Please, I won’t survive in there!” I choked out.

I turned to Camilla, “This is unfair, I am not a criminal!” I yelled, my voice echoing in the space.

“Use the alone time here to reflect on your life choices.”

“Throw her in,” she spat, impatience in her tone.

Recklessly, the guards roughly shoved me forward. My feet caught on the rough ground, and I stumbled, landing hard on the damp earth within the enclosure.

The iron gate clanged shut.

The sound echoed in the silence, sealing my fate.

I scrambled to my feet, my hands gripping the cold bars.

“Help me! Is anyone there?” I cried out.

My voice was strained, it sounded raspy.

I looked out into the dim passage, but the guards were already gone, their footsteps fading up the stone floor.

Camilla was nowhere in sight.

“Help me!” I screamed again, my voice breaking.

Tears streamed down my face, mingling with the dirt on my cheeks.

“Please! Let me out!”

“Let me out!” I wept desperately.

But only silence answered my cries.

The thick stone walls seemed to absorb my voice, trapping me here, in this cold abyss.

I was abandoned in the darkest and most desolate corner of this terrifying place.

I tried to gather my faith, hoping that help would find me, but as time dragged on, despair settled deep in my soul and the darkness killed my hope.

‘What would become of me now?’

‘I should have listened to my papa and escaped when I could.’

‘Or I should have submitted to Diego before things escalated?’

As the day dragged out, the temperature dropped.

Cold seeped into the dungeon.

I shivered uncontrollably, I had nothing to keep me warm, so I huddled myself in a corner, using my arm to wrap myself.

I slept like an animal, reeking of sweat and slime. In all my life, this was the lowest I have ever plunged.

The next day crawled by, indistinguishable from the last.

My temperature rose, and I was losing myself to a strong fever.

The cold and decay were infecting me, but I could do nothing but endure.

Time stretched on, it felt like I had spent an eternity in the dungeon, with no food or water.

I was miserable.

I yearned for death, but it never came, nothing came.

After a few days, I started to feel my conscience drifting.

I felt myself teetering on the edge of oblivion, faint and weightless.

It was like God heard my prayers and sent the cold hands of death to come to free me from a life I no longer wanted to endure.

Then, I heard something.

I heard footsteps, echoing from the dark hallway, drawing closer to my cell.

A surge of adrenaline kicked in.

I desperately wanted to move, to cry out for help, but my body felt numb.

Only my mind was alive, screaming help, for justice.

I closed my eyes as the chaos in my mind quieted down. Everything faded as the shadows of death embraced me.

I was losing to the darkness.

But the faint sound of nearing footsteps kept my consciousness lingering.

Then a deep voice called my name from the other side, summoning me from the darkness that had almost buried my soul.

“Irene, are you there?”

The voice was familiar, it was him.

Diego Vargas.