I said after much hesitation, "I'm not close to your aunt, though. It's too embarrassing for me to borrow a pad from her. Besides, I don't know how to speak in your dialect. Why don't you help me ask for a pad from her?"Anthony waved his hand immediately. "I'm a man. It's even more embarrassing for me to borrow a pad from her on your behalf. I'll take you to meet her, and you can tell her yourself. She'll understand what you're talking about anyway."I dug my nails into my palms. Even so, I didn't feel any pain flaring from them.Anthony led me out of the house. His uncle called out to him right away. "Ant, where are you going?"Anthony replied, "I'm taking her to the toilet."His uncle guffawed in response. "Why are you following your lady to the toilet? Just let my wife take her there!"Anthony hesitated for a moment. "But—""What's there to be afraid of? We have dogs stationed at the entrance, you know! Besides, the other exits are completely sealed shut." Anthony's uncle wa
I hid in the toilet and sent a text message immediately. After that, I returned to the main wing of the farmhouse. I schooled my expression to the best I could for fear that Anthony suspected that I knew something. Anthony enjoyed himself thoroughly at lunch. He even had a few extra drinks.On the way home, I propped Anthony up. He was already tipsy. Then, I probed, "Anthony, I miss my home.""You miss your home? You won't be missing that soon enough." The way Anthony looked at me sent chills down my spine.I pretended to not understand what he said. I lowered my gaze before replying, "Perhaps I should go home, Anthony. My parents are celebrating the Wintermoon holidays at home this year. They'll definitely miss me."Anthony grabbed my hand forcefully. "I can't let you leave! You came all the way here, after all!"My heart kept sinking the whole time."Be a good girl, okay? We're almost there… We're almost there now…"Another cold wind hit me on full blast, making me tremble o
A dull thud sounded after that. The man collapsed to the floor slowly while clutching his head. At the same time, I lowered my trembling hand, which was gripping a brick."What's going on in there?" Mrs. Hawthorne asked from outside the main wing. She must've heard the loud sound produced by the man's fall.I was startled for a moment. Then, I quickly let out a scream and flipped a chair over, causing it to crash. Mrs. Hawthorne never said anything after that.Then, I looked at the unconscious man. After taking a deep breath, I tiptoed to the door before latching it. I spent some time searching around the living room. In the end, I used a pair of scissors to cut the couch's cover into cloth strips so that I could tie the man up. After that, I stuffed a bundle of cloth into his mouth.Once I was done with everything, I let out a small sigh of relief. Then, I pulled out a spare phone from the internal layer of my clothes before placing a call.Blake Tomlin picked it up in just t
Two minutes of silence later, Anthony said in a low tone, "Roxy, just come out, and I'll tell you everything. I have my own reasons for doing that to you."I just shook my head while crying. "I don't trust you anymore! Anthony, just tell me the truth! If your reasons are valid, I'll still forgive you!"Honestly speaking, I didn't even trust myself for saying that.But Anthony seemed to believe me. Well, maybe he was also confident that I could never escape from this place.He seemed to be leaning against the door. His tone was now laid-back. "Sure, I can tell you the truth. You can't escape anyway. "Roxanne, you're far too vigilant for your own good. I wanted to give you to that man once the holidays were over, but your conflict with Fiona last night made me uneasy. The expression you showed at my uncle's place was also quite odd. Otherwise, you could've spent a few more days in peace and luxury."Mrs. Hawthorne must have tried to stop Anthony from speaking, for I heard him chuc
I gripped the brick tightly as I cleared my throat. "Anthony Hawthorne, I have no idea if you're telling the truth. Even if you are, this shouldn't be a valid reason behind your decision to hurt me.""Haven't you heard of 'every debt has its debtor'? As your father's daughter, you're obligated to pay the debt with your suffering!" Anthony retorted.I mocked back with a smile, "Going by that logic, are you saying that Janice's father harmed you too?""You know Janice? No wonder I had a feeling that something was off with you! Hah! But that doesn't matter anymore! Janice deserves it!"I scuffed my feet against the floor subconsciously. "Oh? How did she deserve it, then? She's most likely just a poor soul who happened to have met you!""She killed my beloved Lily! I told her that I didn’t have feelings for her and that I was in love with someone else! But that vile woman actually killed my Lily! "Since she craves for the touch of a man that much, I'll find her a man! She'll spend t
I dug out my phone in a fit of frustration. By then, 29 minutes had already passed.Why weren't Blake and his people here yet?Perhaps those memories and the narration were aggravating to Anthony, for he began slamming the door forcefully."Open up, Roxanne! If you don't, I'll bust this door down!"I gulped nervously in return. "Based on your logic, are you saying that we're siblings who share the same father?""As if! I don't want to be siblings with a phony like you! Roxanne, hurry up and open the goddamn door! Stop distracting me with bullshit like this!"I exclaimed loudly, "No wonder you refused to even kiss me throughout our three-year relationship! At one point, I thought you were gay!""I knew it, Roxanne! You're just as filthy as the rest of them! Are you that desperate to feel a man's touch? What do you think about the man that I just found for you, huh?"Anthony's voice became so shrill that his voice was all warped. At the same time, the sounds coming from the door
At that moment, the door was busted down with a loud bang. The man mumbled while pinning me down, "Get out, Ant. I'm fine now. Y'all can come in once I'm done with this bitch. Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you…"I just turned to look at the doorway numbly. The moment I saw the people outside, I began tearing up immediately.Blake and the others were finally here!A policeman kicked the middle-aged man off me instantly before helping me up. "Everything's alright now. Don't be scared. We're here now."After going through intense fear, all I could do now was break down emotionally. I couldn't hold my emotions back anymore as I dove into the officer's arms while wailing at the top of my lungs.He seemed to be startled at first. Then, he patted me on the back awkwardly. "There, there…"I refused to listen to what he had to say. The immense relief I felt after surviving such an ordeal made me firmly believe that I could trust this officer with my life and that I felt safe in his a
That night, I sat on the bench outside the police station and waited for Naomi there after the police had taken my statement. Naomi was worried about me, so she was adamant about spending the night with me in the hotel.Daniel plopped down on the spot next to me. "Don't… Don't be scared. And uh, don't be sad."It took me a moment longer than necessary to tilt my head and look at him. A few moments later, I finally replied softly, "Yeah. I'm not scared anymore. I feel very safe with you guys around. I'm not sad as well."When I saw the look of disbelief on Daniel's face, I forced a smile. "Trust me, I'm done feeling disappointed and sad about Anthony's actions over a year ago. My love for him has already dissipated over the number of times his façade crumbled in front of me."Honestly speaking, I'm thankful to Blake. If it wasn't for him pestering and convincing me for so long, I might not have found out about Anthony's true colors. Perhaps I might've gotten sold off to another ma