Naked and Bound (1*+)

Three

She had to know the truth.

Three weeks had passed since the arrival of her s*x toys and Victoria was getting edgy day by day. They had seen her most vulnerable state and she was anxious if they would use it against her. She may have touched them intimately or kissed them thoroughly, but she hardly knew these men her father had unceremoniously dropped on her lap.

Yet as the days turned into a week, nothing special happened. Besides the little changes in her routine with Hugh charmingly forcing her to eat her breakfast and dinner, Victoria's life passed by as she worked harder managing her farm. Keeping herself busy made her forget about her situation.

Stefan, on the other hand, had something different in his mind. He endlessly poked at her conscience, tweaked at her little pure heart, by ignoring her all the time but casting accusive glances her way whenever he had a chance. Victoria had pretended not to notice. She tried with all her might to convince herself that she had no responsibility for any of this.

And yet before she could stop it, her guilt had already bubbled above the surface, urging her to do something.

"This is crazy, Molly," she murmured, referring to a cow who gnawed at her breakfast with a look of blinding detachment. Victoria wasn't aware though. She was too busy scrubbing Molly's hip as she continued, "How would I come up with a solution if I don't even know what the problem is?"

In response, the cow let out a pitiful moo towards her direction and proceeded to take as much hay as she could inside her mouth. Victoria continued babbling and poured her concerns to the clueless cow. She can't seem to say it fast enough, stumbling word after every word.

One thing was sure: her father was at the bottom of this chaos.

Vaguely remembering her mother, Victoria had no one to look up to but her father. But after losing his wife, Mr. Reed had seemed forgotten he had a daughter to take care of. He was consumed with his desire to retaliate. To get even. His enemies had taken the love of his life too early and unfairly that he wouldn't--couldn't--let it pass. He would have his revenge up until his last breath. What use of all his power and money if he couldn't protect his family?

Years of being neglected, at age seventeen, Victoria harbored feelings of betrayal, rage, and longing towards her father. But Granny Paula had explained all of it to Victoria. She had retold Mr. Reed's life as if he was a wounded king trapped inside his fierce love for his queen.

"Your father loves you dearly, Tory. He just had an odd way of showing it. I hope you understand. You're his one and only princess."

Victoria's lips curved with the memory of her grandmother smiling wistfully as she touched Victoria's cheek tainted with black and blue color, aftermath from the tragic accident she had forgotten.

But, then again, Victoria surmised that she didn't need any s*x toys. Where in the world did Mr. Reed get the idea that she needed it?

In ten years, Mr. Reed forbade her to be in close proximity to any man.

It was her grandmother that was concerned with her non-existent romantic liaisons. Before Granny Paula died, she had tried setting up blind dates behind Mr. Reed's back. He would probably go ballistic if he ever learned about how Granny Paula had managed to do it.

No princess should forever be hidden in a palace.

Victoria tucked Granny Paula's words close to her heart.

That's why with firm resolve she didn't feel, Victoria blurted out the solution she'd been toying in her mind since last week.

The cow suddenly let out a defiant moo.

"Yeah, I know. But, Papa, would understand." She said, trying to convince the cow as much as herself.

Victoria loved her father a lot. But she can't tolerate his overbearing attitude. She was old enough to have her own decisions. Ten years of isolation was enough for Victoria to patch herself up with courage and develop a tough backbone she didn't have before.

This time, Victoria learned how to be mean and actually mean it.

"Need any help?"

Victoria's body jerked involuntarily at the sound of a man's voice. Her soul screeched in fear and almost left her behind.

So much for building courage.

Hugh blushed furiously. "I'm sorry to scare you. I never intended to but people always are whenever I'm around. Must be the scar."

Instead of looking at his scar, Victoria's eyes went on Hugh's free hands and fought the urge to flee. For the past three weeks, the three of them had an unspoken agreement that Hugh and Stefan's wrists will be bound at all times.

Until now.

Hugh noticed it and saw the beginning panic in her eyes.

He sighed exasperatedly. "Never mind. I'll just go."

Turning away from her, Hugh started to walk back to the farmhouse. Dejection weighed down his shoulders.

Without thinking, Victoria called his name out. She hoped she wouldn't regret it later.

But Hugh was already striding back at her, trying unsuccessfully to stop a smile that seemed to be escaping from his lips.

Victoria ignored the rapid beating of her heart.

"I appreciate any help you can give." She said before going back to grooming her cow.

Victoria absently went silent as stone. Despite the fact that Hugh was more harmless than Stefan, she still tensed whenever he got too close. Relaxing when he was far away. She was acutely aware of his every movement. Calculating if he has dangerous intent towards her.

But all he did was work.

Discreetly, Victoria watched him a couple of meters away. His black crew neck shirt was damp from perspiration. She could vaguely see the sweat traveling from his wide forehead down to his temple. It didn't seem to bother him as he continued enthusiastically talked to her horses, praising them so sweetly she secretly wished to be a horse. And as if to tease her more, Pru, her favorite white horse, let out a happy neigh.

Seeing only the side of his face, she realized that Hugh was actually handsome. Unlike Stefan, Hugh constantly had a boyish grin on his face. Amusement danced in his blue eyes. His perfect jaw lacked the rugged edge that develops in age. Strands of his blondehair escaped from the knot at the back of his head and bounced around his neck like riot curls of ink. 

He looked like a charming pirate. The kind who seduces you at night and sweeps you off of your feet.

Victoria shook her head rapidly and pushed her sinful thoughts out of her mind.

"I have two brothers." Hugh suddenly spoke.

Victoria's hand stopped in mid-air, chicken feeds sadly forgotten inside her hand. She saw Hugh leaning on the chicken coop's doorway. He was far away enough not to trigger her panic attack. But close enough that she could see the hideous scar across his right eye.

She was proud of herself that this time she managed to compose herself. She kept her face emotionless.

Hugh tried again. "I'm the eldest. Next was Luigi. And the last was Ico." He paused when Victoria suddenly took away the sack of chicken feed and gave her full attention to him. His chest thumped painfully. "Ico was the best son. He never failed to make my mother and me proud of him. He is now a police officer, you know, and has to move in Indiana. Boy, was he good-lookin' in a uniform that girls fell for him so easily. Must be the reason that he got married so early. There's even a baby on the way. At thirty-two, I never knew I'll become an uncle first before a Daddy." Because Hugh was smiling so widely, Victoria mindlessly returned it back. "Now, Luigi was a real pain-in-the-ass. As soon as he reached his teenage years, he gets in and out of the rehab. Drugs. Theft. You can say that he was the worst son of the family."

"How about you?" She said. "What kind of son are you?"

Hugh looked surprised. 

She smiled, unjudging eyes stared at his insecurities. 

Hugh kept hesitating but she waited so patiently he wanted so much to answer her question.

He replied, "I don't know. I'm always away from home. Working my ass off. You see, my father killed himself when I was eighteen. I had to help Mother put food in our bellies."

An awkward silence fell.

Eventually, Victoria said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

He shrugged, trying to look indifferent, while his eyes hardened in fury and contempt. An emotion unnatural to his cheeky face. "What can I do? My father was a weak man."

Victoria tried to say something. But his eyes weren't looking at her anymore. He was lost in the past that only he can see. She listened as he shared how cruel it was to be the one to find his father's dead body face down in the middle of their master's bedroom. Gun in hand.   

She tried to be gentle as she said, "There's no such thing as a weak man, Hugh. Only a man who lost hope."

Hugh said nothing and unsuccessfully hid the hope in his eyes. Refusing to blame him all his life, Hugh had always searched for a reason why his father had left him. On why he pulled the trigger and put a bullet in his head. On why he had become the man Hugh least expected him to be.

A weak man.

Hugh desperately wanted to believe her. He wanted to salvage whatever love he still had for his father.

But the damage went deeper than he thought.

No man should leave his family behind.

Hugh straightened and put his hand inside his pants' pockets. "So, what do you want for lunch?"

Victoria blinked. Gone was the man with merciless blue eyes. Hugh's stance instantly changed. His lips lost some of its cynism. Even his brows curled playfully. He became his charming, easy-going self so swiftly that Victoria wasn't sure if she, indeed, saw a dangerous man beneath.

But he was gone the moment she recovered.

Maybe Hugh was not harmless after all.

* * *

"Getting cozy?"

Hugh lifted his eyes and saw Stefan. He sat on a chair on the other side of his table.

Hugh picked up his glass of brandy and gulped a mouthful. "Go back to sulking in the library."

Stefan set his own glass of brandy in front of him. He spoke in a conspiratorial tone, "I saw the two of you working happily on the farm. Wanna know what surprises me?"

Hugh ignored him.

"Your hands are free."

Hugh stood up. "I don't see why should I care."

Steel gray eyes followed Hugh. "I think it's time for you to tell me everything you know."

Hugh, for once, did look at Stefan Krowe. Mr. Reed had warned him about the other man who would protect Victoria. Stefan had served as a Navy Seal for two years. But resigned from active duty after learning the murder of his parents. Rumors had said that Stefan was the one who hunted the man behind his parents' deaths.

Hugh was certain if it wasn't just rumors.

"Follow me."

Hugh took his glass and refilled it with brandy. Barefooted, he made no sound as he prowled towards the living room. He stopped when he reached the glass wall.

The night peered back at him.

"When Victoria was six-year-old, her father was trying to build a company offering high-quality, modernized security system to any establishments in Chicago. He was young and ambitious. To say he was thrilled to be on top was an understatement."

Hugh caught Stefan's reflection on the glass as he stood behind him, brandy in hand.

He continued, "It took less than a year for his company to be successful. He was not ambitious anymore. Mr. Reed was now young and powerful. A dangerous combination, I always say."

"Huh. He must have felt invincible."

"Exactly." Hugh sipped the hard spirits. "At first, he gained only a few enemies. But he ignored their warning. He's unstoppable. Doing whatever he wanted with the power he's not ready to handle. And the next thing he knew, he lost his wife. Victoria was twelve at that time. He left her to his mother so that he could plan for his revenge." Hugh looked at the moon hiding behind a string of a cloud. "And then, Victoria was kidnapped six years later."

"He must have gone crazy," Stefan said, his eyes had lost its coldness by a few degrees. "I would be if it was my daughter."

Hugh nodded in agreement. "He nearly lost his mind, especially when he didn't know what exactly happened in two days that she was abducted. Victoria couldn't remember anything."

They were silent for some time, keenly aware that they were thinking the same thing. Her abductors must have drugged her.

After a few heavy sighs, Stefan spoke. "So to protect her, Mr. Reed confined her here for years?"

"Yes."

Stefan whistled. "Why are we here, then?"

"A year ago, her grandmother died, leaving Victoria her all on her own. I know that this farmland was heavily monitored that no one can get in and go out without being detected. But no security system was impenetrable."

"So, we're the plan B?"

Hugh lifted one shoulder. "Maybe. Mr. Reed wasn't really particular with my job details. He only ordered me to stay close with Victoria as much as I can."

"How did he find you?"

"It was me who found him." Hugh smiled bitterly. "I needed the money for my mother's surgery."

Stefan's hand gripped his glass tighter than he intended. "How did he find me?"

"I honestly don't know." Hugh waited for a few beats before saying, "But he did say one thing about you."

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

"You're a lot like him."