Chapter Thirty Five

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

ARIA

Drip, drip, drip.

Drops of brown-coloured water dropped from the leaking tap into the dirty sink across the empty room. The sound was steady and predictable with an interval of five seconds between each drop. It echoed in the silent, dimly lit room. It drove me crazy, but at the same time, it was the only thing that kept me awake and grounded.

Tired of lying on my left arm, I sat up and rested my back against the wall behind me. A sharp wince escaped my lips as my naked back came in contact with the cold, rough surface. My head dropped slightly forward as I looked at my beautiful dress, the one Maximo had bought me, the one I tried to escape in.

The beautiful chiffon material had been sullied, now covered with a mixture of grime, dirt and blood.

I wished it was my blood. I wished I didn’t have to go through this again.

In the past few months, I’ve been kidnapped a good number of times and I am now accustomed to what a cell looks and feels like. It is always