Ayla
My eyes blinked open as I slowly gained consciousness. My head throbbed, and my muscles ached. My whole body was hurting.
When my vision finally cleared, I let out a gasp. My body froze, and suddenly nausea assailed me. I had to swallow back the bile that was working its way from my stomach and into my throat.
I couldn’t move my arms or legs. I felt trapped. I was trapped.
Alberto had me. I was completely at his mercy.
My chest tightened, and I choked on my sob. How did this happen? Everything was perfect, but I had been thrown back into the darkness again.
Tears fell silently down my cheeks as I thought about Alessio. I loved him so much that my heart ached at the thought of never seeing him again. He was my everything, and now I was alone again, without my savior.
I was living my nightmare again.
I tried to raise my arm but was horrified to find out that I couldn’t. I tried to move my legs, but I couldn’t.
They felt heavy, and there was no mistaking the coldness of steel wrapped around my wrists or ankles. I moved again, and the sound of metal jiggling filled the darkness.
I was chained.
Panicked, I tried to move. I wrenched my arms and legs but only cried out in pain when the metal bit into my skin.
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes in despair. My hands and legs were manacled to a damp stone wall. I was shackled to the wall like a slave.
My throat constricted as I fought to breathe. My vision swam with dizziness, and my head tilted against the wall as I tried to keep my eyes open.
I heard footsteps approaching, and my stomach cramped. I whimpered in fear. My pulse thudded painfully against my temple and throat. My chest felt heavy under the pressure of my panic and fear.
I trembled against the wall, waiting for my impending fate.
And then suddenly, I wasn’t in darkness anymore. The light was on, and my eyes closed instantly at the sudden glare. I flinched away and pushed myself harder against the wall, as if it could protect me.
I tried to cover my face with my hands, but they were yanked down cruelly. My eyes snapped open, and I was staring right into Alberto’s eyes.
I cried out in pain as he tightened his fingers around my arm. When he smiled, I flinched.
“Shhh, love,” he said in my ear, his tongue licking down my neck.
Fear rendered me immobile. His fingers wrapped around my hair, and he pulled my head back until I was staring at him.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?” he hissed, his face red with rage. “You can escape, but I will always find you.”
My heart sank. I knew this day would come. I was childish to think I was safe.
Alberto looked crazed as his hand twisted in my hair. I winced as my scalp burned like fire.
“Did you let him fuck you?” he asked, grabbing my chin. His fingers dug into my skin, and I had to bite my lips to stop myself from crying out. “Of course you did. He fucking touched you. Did you forget that you’re mine?” Alberto snarled in my face. I cowered back and shook my head.
How could I forget? I was, after all, chained to my past. But for a small moment, I had let myself believe I was Alessio’s.
Alberto stared at me for a second. He watched my tears slide down my cheeks, and I saw his eyes shining with delight.
He released me and stood up. I slumped against the wall, my body suddenly weak. Alberto walked backward and sat down on the chair placed in the middle of the room. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, looking dangerously intimidating.
I quickly looked around the room, but it was empty. There were no windows, and the room looked unfinished.
When realization dawned, I sucked in a harsh breath. It wasn’t a room. It was a dungeon.
My eyes snapped up. Alberto’s lips curled as he speared me with a chilling glare. I trembled against his gaze and glanced down. I couldn’t look at him. His face was a reminder of every bad thing that I had gone through.
“You ruined your father’s plan,” Alberto started. My eyebrows furrowed, but I didn’t look up. “All this time, he kept you hidden so the Russians wouldn’t find out about you. And now, they know about your existence.”
I peeked up at him through my hair that was half covering my face. Alberto shook his head. “You were a fucking liability. A weakness. If they knew who you were, they would have come after you. Did you ever wonder why you were never allowed out of the estate?”
I didn’t answer. It didn’t matter what my answer was. Alberto would say whatever he wanted.
“Because you are a dead woman. You died in a fire twenty-one years ago.”
My head snapped up, my heart throbbing at this new revelation. Alberto laughed at my expression, his face sinister. “But that’s what the world thinks. Your death was fabricated, so your father’s enemy wouldn’t come after you.”
Suddenly, his face changed. The anger was back full force. “But you fucking ruined all of that. You had to escape. And you had to end up with those Goddamn Russians. Now, they know the truth.”
Shaking his head, he smiled. It was malicious, and I shuddered. “But I think it all played out well.”
I didn’t understand what he meant. I only saw his smile. The same one that haunted my memories. I would never forget that smile.
Alessio. Where are you? I silently begged. I needed him. I felt like I couldn’t breathe without him.
I saw Alberto get up from his chair and walk over to me. Kneeling down, he grabbed my face. “What are you thinking about, love?”
He tsked when I didn’t answer. “Don’t tell me you are thinking about Alessio?” he taunted to my face.
I swallowed hard as his words hit me right into the heart. He chuckled, his face right next to my ear. “Did you forget? He gave you to me.”
No.
He didn’t give me away. He loved me. I knew that. Alessio would come for me.
“He handed you to me like you were nothing. Do you really think he’s coming to save you?” he whispered into my ears.
I closed my eyes tightly, trying to block his torturous words. I didn’t believe him. I didn’t.
I believed in Alessio. In us.
“Love, look at me,” Alberto demanded.
I didn’t have any other choice but to look at the devil. He had all the control. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw Alberto’s face soften. His eyes changed to a lighter shade as he looked at me almost lovingly.
“Don’t you see? I’m the one who cares about you,” he said, trailing a gentle finger down my cheek.
Fear rocketed through my chest, squeezing me until I couldn’t breathe. I knew what he was doing. Alberto always did that. He would change right in front of my eyes. Going from a monster to a gentle man.
He did that to play with my mind. To trick me into believing what he wanted. To make me believe he actually cared.
At the beginning, it worked. But now I knew the truth. It was all a game to him. There was not even an ounce of humanity in him. He was a monster.
“Everything I have done is for us. For you. I have always protected you and kept you safe so my enemies wouldn’t hurt you,” he continued.
I tried to shut him out. I really did, but his taunting words rung through my ears, refusing to leave.
“Alessio doesn’t care about you. He never did. But I do. I’m here for you.” Alberto leaned forward and placed a kiss on my cheek. His lips moved to my lips, and he kissed me. Almost sweetly and apologetically. “You’re my queen.”
I whimpered and shifted away. I thought he would hit me, but he didn’t. Alberto rubbed a finger over my cheek instead. “You’ll see that he never cared. He’s not coming for you, Ayla.”
I wanted to scream. Stop it! Please stop it.
He was lying. Alessio cared. I was his Angel. He would come for me. I trusted him.
Alberto continued to whisper in my ears as his hand wandered up my bare thighs. They went under my dress, his touch soft. But the softness was deceiving. The softness only held the promises of pain.
“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. Now that you are home, you are safe. He can’t hurt you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt a finger probing me through my lace panties. Pain. All I felt was pain. This couldn’t be happening again.
Maybe it was just a dream. A nightmare. But I knew it was real. This nightmare was my reality.
He grabbed my thigh possessively, his fingers digging into my skin, leaving his marks. I sniffed as my tears continued to run down my cheeks.
I didn’t say anything. I knew how it worked with Alberto. As long as I stayed quiet, it wouldn’t be as bad.
And then suddenly the gentleness was gone. The back of his hand smacked across my face, and my head knocked against the wall. I screamed as agony pierced through my head and neck.
Alberto gripped my hair and shook me. He yanked me forward until the shackles bit into my skin painfully. I cried out again, the pain too intense for me to bear.
It didn’t hurt just physically. My heart was hurting too. I was breaking inside, slowly losing myself to the darkness that surrounded me.
“Did you really think I would go gentle on you, love?” he spat into my face.
I shook my head, my stomach cramping violently at the unspoken promise in his words. My heart throbbed, and I was paralyzed.
His fist made contact with my face, and my lips cracked open. I didn’t scream this time. I just waited because I knew what was coming next.
“You betrayed me, Ayla. You are making me do this. This is all your fault,” he said against my neck as he ripped my dress.
I shuddered as his hands groped my body. As he touched me, Alberto placed kisses over my face. A mixture of gentle and pain. He was giving me both, trying to confuse me, trying to trick my mind.
“I’m going to fuck you and show you exactly who the fuck you belong to,” he growled into my ears.
My heart sank, and my mind went blank.
I resisted at first. Something I had never done before. But that only angered him more. I didn’t want him. I only wanted Alessio. I wanted my Alessio’s touch. Instead, I was forced to feel the monster’s touch.
I tried to be strong, but in the end, I was weak.
Alberto twisted me around until I was on my knees, my back against his front. He forced my face against the wall until I was trapped. I couldn’t do anything, not with the chains wrapped around me so tightly.
He pushed my thighs apart, and I felt his tip at my entrance. “You are mine! Never forget that, Ayla. Mine!”
He slammed inside me, painfully and ruthlessly. I couldn’t stop the scream that escaped past my lips.
I felt his breath at the back of my neck as he took me roughly and painfully. He pounded his cock inside of me repeatedly, his fingers wrapped around my throat the whole time, making sure I knew he was the one in control.
I was being cut from the inside. It felt like I was being prickled with glass shards. I was bleeding inside. My heart was bleeding. My soul was bleeding, begging for mercy. The pain was too much. I stayed silent as my body and heart broke into pieces. I felt disconnected.
It felt like this cruel punishment was never ending. He took me over and over until I slipped into the darkness.
And I knew this time I wouldn’t be able to come back.
When he came with a roar, my head spun. Alberto slipped out of me, and I felt his cum slide down from the inside of my thighs, branding me in the most humiliating way.
My whole body was aching from his assault. I couldn’t move so I just laid there, my head hanging limply against the cold wall.
I felt Alberto’s lips next to my ears. “He’s not coming for you. No matter how much you beg, he’s not coming. He will never find you. Nobody is coming for you.”
I closed my eyes, refusing to accept his words.
“You’re a ghost, Ayla. A forgotten ghost. You always lived in the shadows.”
His words impaled my heart in the most horrendous and painful way. Because I knew they were the truth.
But what made the pain worse was the realization that I would always live this way. In the darkness. Hidden with no escape.
I was truly a ghost. A forgotten one.
My eyes rolled into my head as I slowly succumbed to the agony coursing through my body.
But even through the numbness, I still thought of Alessio.
No matter how impossible it was, I still wished I could feel him again and listen to his beating heart. Just one more time.
Just for one last time, I wanted to feel his beating heart.