Chapter 66
Ariel
The force of the cold water splashed on my body jolted me from my drug-induced sleep. My eyes fluttered open, but it met utter darkness which reminded me that I was still blindfolded.
I slowly raised up my head from the tilted position it was in and winced at the soreness of my neck.
Loud footsteps drew closer to me and I shivered in fear, struggling to untie my hands. The cloth was yanked off my face and a bright light shining from the incandescent bulbs in the room struck my eyes painfully.
I gasped for air and drew in a deep breath then looked around. Summoning a little bit of courage, I yelled to whoever cared to listen. “Let me go this minute. You won’t have it easy if you don’t do as I say,” Darting my gaze around intently with the hope of seeing my captor, I yelled again. “Show your face if you aren’t a coward,”
A shrill chuckle reverberated in the room and then a sigh followed.
I passed a cursory glance around and noticed the speakers that were hung in different corners, but I couldn’t find the source of the voice.
“And why should I give in to your demands? Have you forgotten that you’re in my mercy? I’d be careful if I were you, unless you aren’t interested in leaving this place alive,”
Cold chills ran down my spine as I tried to ascertain who was speaking. I’d never heard this voice before and even though the speaker was hiding, I could tell that it wasn’t Margaret’s.
And then it occurred to me that there was more than one person who hated me for unknown reasons. Since I was stuck here, I had no choice but to find out.
“Why am I tied up here? What do you want from me?” I fumed, fueled by frustration.
“Oh, poor thing, save your energy for later because you’ll very busy soon, but don’t worry, I’ll tell you why you’re here,” She replied calmly though the derision in her voice couldn’t be hidden.
I kept my mouth shut and patiently listened to her while hoping that I’d actually sent the recording to Dmitri before losing my phone.
“You see, I’m very territorial and I hate to share. Unfortunately for you, you are in possession of something very important to me.” She explained.
My eyes squinted in confusion and I flipped the straying strands of my hair that covered my eyes to the side. “Then you have the wrong person. I don’t have the habit of taking things that doesn’t belong to me,” I argued.
“Wrong! You took the heart of the man I love so much and now he has forgotten all about me,” Her voice cracked as if she was on the verge of crying.
Oh shit!
Why did Dmitri have so many crazy lovers? I couldn’t begin to count the number of death threats I’d received just because I was his wife.
“I don’t have his heart either. I’m just his wife on paper,”
It hurt me to say it, but it was the truth. He told me that he could never love me so how could I possibly have his heart? I only hoped that she would believe me and let me go.
“This is making me sick, but you don’t worry, I have a plan to get him back,” She rasped and my heart sank.
Even though Dmitri didn’t love me right now, I enjoyed the fact that we shared a very strong physical connection- how our bodies submitted so easily to each other’s touch, how we could tell what we wanted without talking to each other.
Even though we were not in love, I’d experienced several things that I never knew existed before I met him, and the fact that he stopped wearing his mask just to please me made me feel special in a kind of way.
And I doubted anyone apart from Anya could share such bond with him.
“Who are you?” I had to ask.
For as long as I could remember, Dmitri had been with three women-Anya, Margaret and me. Who else could he have promised heaven and earth that made her this entitled?
“You don’t need to know who I am, my dear. Considering the fact that you might not be leaving this place alive, you should be focused on begging me,”
A wave of fury slammed through me at her threat. It was irritating and I’d gotten tired of everyone trying to ride on me just because I was younger and was Dmitri’s wife.
“I won’t do that because there’s no need for it. What is wrong with all of you anyway?” I fired at her.
She clicked her tongue loudly. “Be careful, lady,”
My lips curled into a smirk, knowing that she was watching me. “Why should I? You are the one who should be careful after all you’re kidnapping a woman just to get back the heart of a man that doesn’t love you,”
“He loved me!” She screamed and banged her fist against the table wall.
“If that was the case, why isn’t he with you right now? Even his mistress had a better chance than you,” I chuckled, enjoying how rattled she was.
“Enough, you bitch!” Her voice was breathy and harsh. “I’ve been trying to be lenient with you but it’s obvious that you don’t want it so I’ll teach you a lesson that you will never forget. I’ll damage you in the most horrible manner that even Dmitri’s love won’t be able to heal you,”
Trepidation wounded around my chest like a cloak, but I masked my nervous expression with a sly grin. “No matter what you do here, Dmitri will come for me and together we’ll unmask you. He doesn’t joke with me and if you touch a single strand of hair on my head he will destroy you,”
She didn’t respond instead the light in the room went off, save for the dim halogen bulb that was fixed at the middle of the room.
‘What’s going on?’ I muttered under my breath as my breathing became hitched.
“Now you’ll understand what I meant when I said that I’d make your life a living hell,” Her voice echoed from the speakers accompanied by a mocking laughter that caused the hairs on my skin to rise.
Immediately the spotlight was fixed on me with three buff-looking men advancing toward me. They leered at me as if they had been served the most delicious dinner ever.
“What are you going to do?” I questioned, not bothering to hide my fear.
The men exchanged glances while forming a circle around me. The man who was formerly at the front knelt before me, caressing my thighs hungrily.
“You’re so beautiful and it’s got me wondering how you’ll taste in my mouth,” His fingers played with my zipper and I shoved his hands away from my body.
“Don’t touch me,” I roared.
“Oh, sweetheart, we are trying to make this easier and memorable for you but if offend us, you’ll be at the receiving end of our anger and that won’t be nice for you,” He sneered.
“You are disgusting. Get your filthy hands off me,” I spat at him and the next thing I felt on my cheeks was painful slap that made me dizzy.
He got up from his feet and snapped at the other men who covered my eyes and my mouth. “I guess you want it the hard way then. This is going to be fun,” He snarled and tore my blouse into shreds.