Chapter 13

My body felt numb the next day, but I ate some of the food Dolores brought me.

I didn't miss how concerned Dolores looked when she noticed I was barely eating. I was also less talkative and not as inquisitive as usual. Usually, Dolores and I would chat for bit. I would ask her questions about her life or about Alejandro's childhood. This time, she commented on how I hadn't moved from one side of the bed. She was right, as the only time I got up was to use the bathroom.

When nighttime came, I didn't want to stay alone with my thoughts, but Dolores had already taken my barely eaten dinner away. I decided to sit down and write. I was disgusted and could not process what was happening to me.

If Alejandro had decided to take me right there, on top of the table, surrounded by wine bottles of all ages, I would have let it happen. Worse yet, I had wanted it to happen, while his girlfriend was apparently upstairs waiting for him. I had opened my thighs to him, hungrily. I had trembled in anticipation of his touch and felt the tremors of what it would have felt like to have him inside of me, pushing and pulling until we reached satisfaction.

What I imagined was blind desire for me had just been a traitorous ruse on his end to satisfy his pride. He wanted me to know that all it took was one touch from him to get me to do what he wanted, even as his prisoner. For some reason, that mattered to him. That was why he had brought up George.

I couldn't believe I had slapped him. I had never slapped someone before, and I regretted it. All I wanted now was to leave, go back home, and forget I ever met him. I wanted to go back to thinking that passive happiness with George would be enough, that passive desire for sexual satisfaction was just how it was.

I wanted to un-taste his dark, hypnotic self and un-smell his intoxicating scent.

I wanted my ignorance back, my unawareness of how my body could come alive with just one look, just one touch, tortured by anticipation.

I had a career waiting for me that I hadn't gotten to start. I didn't know how long I could continue to take this sweet and torturous confinement with this man. While I had intended to be the one to seduce, I feared I was the one falling for my own trick.

The next day was almost the same. After a shower, I was back in bed without the will to do anything else. Alejandro had not requested my company, which was for the best, despite the infuriating sadness I felt at not having seen him in two days. All I could think of were ways to escape or to find out why I was here in the first place.

Dolores forced me to eat half of a sandwich during lunch, but I didn't touch my dinner. When she came back in to take my tray, I asked her to please take me to the library so I could return a book and grab another.

My best guess was that Alejandro wasn't home, and I was hoping for some alone time in the office. I wanted to take a look around, see if I could find anything that could shed some light on my situation. Since Alejandro wasn't home, as had then confirmed Dolores, this was a good plan. Dolores didn't seem concerned about letting me explore in Alejandro's absence.

I took my time browsing the books. I would grab one, start reading it, and conveniently change my mind to try another one. Poor Dolores was being patient, but it was obvious that she wanted to go take care of her business. I ignored the sense of guilt I was feeling. I was, of course, abusing Dolores's kindness, but I didn't know what else to do.

Desperate measures were required.

Eventually, Dolores told me to stay there and not to go anywhere else. She had just received a message about a delivery she had been waiting for all day that she had to go pick up. Feeling like the worst person in the world, I gave her my most innocent smile and pretended to be absorbed in my new read.

As soon as I heard the office door close behind her, I walked to Alejandro's desk. My hands were starting to shake, my heart threatening to jump out of my chest. I wanted to run as much as I wanted to search through everything. But I knew I couldn't cower. I needed answers. I had to be my own savior.

I pulled on some drawers, but they were locked. Of course. There was a cell phone on the desk, but it was locked too. Although, I could see that there were some text messages that had come in earlier that Alejandro had not yet read. Knowing I wouldn't be able to get any information from it, I put the phone back down.

I continued opening anything that was on the desk. I paused when I saw something shiny hidden by the computer screen. My heart skipped a beat. It was my engagement ring. What the hell? Why would Karina give it to him?

I kept it in my hand but started going through the documents on the desk. Nothing jumped out at me. I was about to retreat and give up when I noticed a piece of paper peeking out from under the keyboard. There were two pictures.

The first one was a picture of what looked like over twenty decent-sized diamonds coming out of a bag with the letters MFG. The bag looked familiar, but I couldn't tell why. I muffled a scream when I saw the second picture—a dead man on a wooden floor with blood pouring out of his head from what looked like a bullet wound. I suddenly felt nauseated and terrified.

As I was about to continue looking around, I heard someone at the door. I panicked but managed to put the documents back under the keyboard.

As I was trying to take a step back, I knocked down a decorative box that was on the desk as well the phone. The ring fell from my grip.

Before I could fix anything, I saw Alejandro enter the room, staring at me with rising anger. Before I knew it, he was next to me, grabbing me violently by the arm. My eyes were wide open with terror, and I couldn't see straight. I felt both cold and weak.

"What are you doing?!" he shouted.

"Nothing!" My stomach churned when I stared into his eyes. He looked enraged.

Alejandro looked around and saw the mess I had made. He saw his phone on the floor and grabbed it without letting go of me.

"Did you use my phone? Did you?!" he barked, shaking me even more.

"Stop it! Stop!"

"How dare you look through my things?! Do you realize how dangerous this could be?"

"Todo bien?" asked Juan as he entered the room—with no mask.

Alejandro, lips curled back in fury and jaw clenched, pushed me toward the floor violently with a look of panic in his eyes. I fell on my side on the hardwood.

"Todo bien," he said, turning toward Juan. "Get out of here," he brusquely ordered. "We will talk tomorrow."

It seemed like Juan hesitated. I couldn't see him, but one look at Alejandro"s face and I knew Juan would know better than to argue. I heard the door close as Juan left.

"Mocosa mimada," accused Alejandro, grabbing me by the arm to make me stand. "Don't ever, ever dare come close to my desk ever again!"

I wanted to cry—or better yet, disappear. Alejandro was livid. His face looked distorted with anger and panic. I was scared. Would he finally hurt me?

Alejandro shook me again. "Tell me! What did you see?! Don't make me ask you twice!" I needed to process my thoughts, but he wasn't letting me, so I let anger invade my thoughts instead—the only weapon I had.

"Let me go, Alejandro! How dare you treat me like this! I am not your child, nor am I your property!"

Alejandro looked shocked. He apparently expected compliance, and I was not giving in.

"You are mine! You are under my roof, and you will do as I tell you!"

"No! No! Let me go! You are no one to tell me what to do! Let me go back to my room!"

"No, no." He shook his head in frustration. "Your insubordination has consequences, and I will teach you to listen, for your own good!"

He pulled me by the arm. I tried to fight him, but he was too strong. He took me to the foyer, and I started to head toward the stairs, but he redirected me by pulling me farther to the back. We were headed in the direction of the kitchen.

"This is what I get for treating you as a guest in my home, but no more!"

"Let me go!" I cried, desperate, but there was nothing I could do to set myself free of his grip.

When we got to the hallway to the old bedroom, I understood that he was taking me to my old cage. I started screaming louder with boiling tears rolling down my face. Alejandro ignored my pleas and took no pity on me.

He got to the hallway, opened the room's door, and shoved me in. I tripped and fell on the floor. Alejandro walked in, looking as if he was coming to help me stand, but he stopped mid-step, hesitated, and walked out.

By the time I got up to open the door, it was already locked. I screamed and hit the door with every ounce of anger I could muster up.

I let myself fall to the floor, feeling completely beaten and defeated. After crying myself to resignation for an hour, I went to bed. At least there was now a lamp in the room. My arm was bruised from the fall, and I could still feel Alejandro's burning fingers on my now angry skin.

I had never seen Alejandro so enraged. He looked possessed and was either overtaken by blind anger or some sort of terror. He perhaps was terrified that I would find out something of importance.

I thought back to the picture of the dead man. Maybe that was what he was so angry about. Maybe he was a vile murderer, and he had killed this poor man in the picture, surrounded by his own blood. I felt like throwing up. I forced myself to close my eyes, unclasp my fingers, and lie on my back, focusing on my breathing.

I could feel panic rising through me like poison, and I needed to take back control and not throw up.

I forced myself to take deep breaths and to think of when my nanny used to take me to the ocean when I was upset, the sound of the waves usually calming me down, the vast ocean reminding me of how small my problems were in the grand scheme of things. After ten minutes of breathing exercises, I was able to calm down. My body felt heavy, and I had no strength left to move. Eventually, I fell asleep.