In a breakdown, I kicked wildly. “Ben, you’re a pathetic pervert! I will never like you; you will never deserve love!”
He wiped away his smile, finally showing his true self. “Sherlyn, I didn’t want to use those methods on you.”
“I’ve spent years at the Jones house, training disobedient little dogs.”
I was chained up, locked in a pitch-black room with no light, only the sound of a dripping faucet echoing in the silence.
As my mental state broke down repeatedly, the faint light Ben brought with him would momentarily snap me back to reality. I felt like a dog, longing to wag my tail and plead when I saw Ben.
I stared fixedly at the screen of my phone, where the video showed the chains on my feet clinking as they were pulled.
During that time, Ben ordered the cancellation of all my privileges; even food delivery became a luxury.
Perhaps he wanted me to understand that without his affection, I was nothing. Only he was my sole support.
So, he brought me food and deliberately placed the spoon just a few centimeters away, watching as I desperately tugged at the chains on my feet.
“Sherlyn, whose good little dog are you?”
I lay by Ben’s side. “I’m your dog; I’m Ben’s dog!”
His brows furrowed slightly. “Sherlyn, what did you just call me?”
I reached for the food in his hand. “Ben, I’m Ben’s dog.”
He smiled and gave me a kiss. “So cute; I really love you.”
The memories I once vowed to bury deeply now floated to the surface so lightly.
Jonathon’s hands clenched tightly, the veins bulging. “Sherlyn, in the video…”
Was it “Is it you?” or “Really?” I could almost foresee the question.
I blinked heavily, then heard myself say, “Jonathon, just go.”
I confessed everything to Jonathon, closing my eyes. “If you want to leave, I can understand.”
Jonathon smashed his phone to the ground, the fragile screen shattering into pieces.
I almost thought he would storm out, but Jonathon turned back and unexpectedly pulled me tightly into his embrace.
“Sherlyn, I’m begging you, don’t say that.”
His eyes were red. “Sherlyn, don’t think you can make me leave.”
Just before tears fell, he leaned on my shoulder. “Was it very painful all those years?”
The feeling still lingered on my shoulder, and I found myself unexpectedly tearing up. “Yes, it was painful.”
Ben contacted me again, which I had anticipated. After all, things hadn’t unfolded as he had envisioned.
“Sherlyn, didn’t you enjoy the test this time?”
A hidden fury filled my heart as I clutched my phone tightly. “Ben, who do you think you are? How dare you mess with my life!”
My life, my ordinary happiness, my unspeakable pain.
Ben chuckled softly. “Sherlyn, you were abandoned by your family and betrayed by the one you loved. We… are meant for each other.”
Ben’s mother was an inconspicuous mistress who left him alone with her stolen money. As for Ben’s father, in his frustration, he tossed Ben to his two sons, letting them mistreat him.
The day I met Ben, his shins were covered in scars from dog bites.
But why should I bear the consequences?
I was losing my sanity. “Ben, it’s your fault you were abandoned! I will never leave Jonathon! Dream on!”
There was a long silence on the other end before he spoke. “Sherlyn, who can say for sure?”
Soon, I understood what he was planning; this time, all his schemes were directed at Jonathon.
In a matter of days, Jonathon’s business faced a financial crisis. Almost every night, he ended up drunk, begging for help, sometimes even throwing up blood.
So, when he went out for drinks again, I tagged along, but it was Ben who took the main seat.
Jonathon was clearly surprised to see Ben, instinctively trying to protect me and leave, only to find two people blocking the exit.