Between Love and Sacrifice

CHAPTER THREE: TRAPPED IN A CORNER

I couldn't sleep in his room that night. Instead, I went downstairs and collapsed on the couch, crying bitterly and feeling the absence of my parents.I felt uncomfortable in Mr. Alexander's mansion, and I kept murmuring to myself, "I must quit this job."

I sat on the couch, unable to sleep. It felt as if I should disappear into the hospital to make the payment. The thought of my virginity loss made me cry bitterly, and I counted the ticking hands of the wall clock, wishing I could fast-forward time to vanish from the mansion.

Just then, my phone buzzed. I was surprised to see Sarah’s name on the screen at such an early hour. I glanced at the wall clock; it was already a quarter past two. I stared at the phone.

Why was Sarah calling now, after I had done what I shouldn't have? As the call was about to end, I wiped the tears away from my cheeks with my left hand and picked it up.

“Hello?” My voice was low and filled with sadness.

“Amelia, I'm so sorry for not picking up yesterday. I wasn't with my phone throughout yesterday, I was looking into what you told me about Andrew’s health and made some inquiries,” Sarah said, while giving detailed excuses

I didn’t respond, just sniffling into the phone.

“Amelia, are you listening?” she asked, her voice tinged with worry.

Still, I didn’t reply.

“Talk to me! Is it too late? Please, Amelia, tell me nothing bad happened!” Her curiosity turned to urgency as she bombarded me with questions.

After a moment of silence, I finally spoke.

“Sarah, it’s too late,” I said sadly, tears streaming down my cheeks. The more I recalled my encounter with Mr. Alexander, the more the tears flowed.

“Amelia, tell me what happened to Andrew! Please!” she shouted over the phone. Her voice echoed, shaking the phone in my hand.

“Andrew is unconscious and on oxygen. That’s why I called you back yesterday, but…” Sarah interrupted me.

“But what? Amelia, tell me!” she yelled, her voice filled with urgency.

“Sarah, nothing has yet happened to Andrew…” I tried to explain, but she cut in again as I wept bitterly.

“Nothing bad will happen to him now and forever, I pray in the Almighty's Name,” Sarah reassured me, but I couldn’t control my tears and blurted out.

“I slept with …” I froze as I saw Mr. Alexander's figure appear in front of me, only wearing boxers. I hadn’t even noticed when he arrived.

“Hello, Amelia? Hello? Are you still there?” Sarah’s voice echoed through the phone as Mr. Alexander yanked it from my ear, turning on the loudspeaker to listen to Sarah. He got angry and switched off the phone. I shot him an irritated look and hissed at him.

He moved closer, as if wanting to enter me, covering my tiny body with his energetic frame while staring directly into my eyes. I held his gaze, both of us locked in a tense standoff until he finally spoke.

“Who are you reporting me to?” he yelled.

I didn’t answer. He moved even closer, his forehead touching mine, his gaze becoming more intense, eyes turning red.

“I said, who are you reporting to?” he repeated in a low tone, but I remained silent.

“Amelia, I’m asking you for the last time: who are you reporting to?” he demanded again.

Still, I stayed quiet. Then he leaned in to brush his lips against mine, and when I realized what he was about to do, I pressed my lips tightly together, turned my face away, and shouted.

“Leave me alone! Leave me alone!” I yelled.

“You’re a r****t! Leave me alone!” I used my small hands to hit him on his broad shoulders and chest, which was covered in excessive hair. It felt like hitting a wall. My hands began to ache, and he easily overpowered me.

Before I knew it, he lifted me from the couch and headed toward the staircase, taking me back to his bedroom.

“r****t, leave me alone!” I yelled.

“I’ll show you that I am what you’re calling me,” he insisted.

I kept yelling, but nobody came. Mr. Alexander was the only person living in the mansion; his workers only stayed during the day and left for their separate apartments in the compound at night. The compound was so large that I didn’t even know how many buildings were in it.

I continued to shout with my tiny voice, “Somebody, please help!” But my voice faded, and no one responded. He pushed me flat onto his bed, scanning me from head to toe.

“Shout again! Go on, how dare you!” he shouted.

He moved to the corner of the room, grabbed a bottle of red alcohol and a cup, and set them on the glass table. He opened the bottle, poured the alcohol into the cup, and started drinking. He poured and drank nonstop. I got up from the bed and headed for the door, but he grabbed my tiny hand with a grip like an electric shock. I struggled, but he lifted me back onto the bed.

He locked the door, holding the key in his hand, and went back to his drinking. I sat on his bed,my voice barely above a whisper.

My thoughts were consumed by worry for my younger brother, Andrew. “He mustn’t die!” I kept thinking. I desperately needed to find a way out of the corner I was trapped in. I glanced up at the wall clock; it was already past three. I knew I had to leave this house as soon as the first light of morning appeared, but I was stuck here with my "womanizer boss."

I wracked my brain for options. I scanned the rooms, searching for any possible escape from his mansion. Every exit seemed tightly secured, fortified with an impenetrable security system. The idea of harming him flashed through my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

This was a billionaire I was dealing with!

Attempting anything rash could mean I would end up rotting in jail.

I felt trapped, my options dwindling as time ticked away. My mind raced, trying to come up with a plan, but nothing seemed feasible. I was overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.

When I realized there was truly no way out, I turned to him and resumed my yelling, hoping against hope that someone would hear me or that he would come to his senses.

“Let me leave! My brother is dying in the hospital, you r****t!” I continued to hurl insults at him, but he was too busy drinking. He gulped down the entire bottle in front of me before walking back to the bed.

“You’re going nowhere. You belong to me tonight,” he murmured.