Entrapped

Chapter 3.

Her entire body trembled when sobs left her from mouth continuously, one after another. Her throat ached in exhaustion that made her sobs turn into hiccups. her eyes were puffy and red but they had stopped tearing up anymore, her tears seemed to dried up.

She mourned over her husband though a part of her still believed that all of it was a nightmare and she would soon wake up in Mason's arms but the other part, a more rational one knew it was reality. All of it was as true as the existence of nature.

She couldn't believe that the life and fate she had left behind had caught upto her. She couldn't believe that the domineering fate she thought she had already won the battle of freedom against had ruined her life. Her past had finally caught her up and killed her husband, a man who didn't even know what wrong he had done to deserve to get killed.

Mason, the man who taught her what love felt like from the very first moment she met him. He was the one with the kindest smile that could cheer you up with his toothy grin, the kindest heart she had ever met was treated brutally and had received cruelty.

She blamed herself for what happened to him, he accepted her mysterious existence with open arms and he got rewarded by the devil with death, a cruel death.

She had always been terrified of him and who wouldn't be after all he was the heir of the underworld who would soon take over his throne although Xavier had always talked to her nicely but the dangerous aura he had around himself always made her alert. She had heard his stories about torturing his enemies, she was aware that he was a dangerous man yet all these things never made her hate him but after what he did to the man she loved, a seed of hatred had started growing in her heart.

The knob of the door was twisted and the door was pushed open followed by a cracked voice and she was finally blessed with a source of a light in the dark room she was kept in.

Tiara, when woke up, found herself in a dark room, she was laying on something that could hardly be called a bed. Her head was throbbing in pain and she felt tired as she tried to process why and where she was but all the questions she had in her mind were answered when her mind started recalling everything that had happened before she passed out.

Her eyes instantly teared up when she remembered Mason laying on the floor, lifeless and ever since then she kept crying for him; sitting in a corner of a room, hugging her body tight to herself. The light was switched on in her room and before her eyes could accommodate the sudden change in the dark atmosphere, she was harshly pulled up on her heels with a sudden and rough tug on her arm.

she whimpered when she felt the tight grip on her arm and she looked up to see a bulky man who without saying anything started dragging her with him with long strides.

"W-Where are you taking me?" She asked even though she knew the answer, she knew she had to face her fate now. She knew it was er time to face the wrath of Blacks.

The man kept quiet and kept dragging her like an animal and Tiara followed him as best as she could because she knew there was no point in struggling as it was Black territory and she was nothing more than a traitor here who would be punished to death either way. It wasn't like she had no will to live, she had. she always had and her will was so strong that she betrayed Xavier Black and ran away because that time she had a reason and that reason was love that empowered her enough to take that step but now the dynamics were different, she was exhausted both mentally and physically. Her body had no power to fight back.

Tiara looked around the gigantic place, a place she used to run around; Black mansion. a place she never wanted to be a part of but was one.

She felt a sudden push on her back that caused her to fall, her head hit the floor slightly and out of reflex she instantly held her head and let out a whimper.

She realized the presence of people and slowly looked up and the person who was standing before her made her breath hitch in fear. Her whole body felt a domineering shiver that his presence oozed.

She tilted her head slightly to look at the other person standing behind that dangerous man and when her eyes focused on that aged man she felt like crying.

"D-Dad" She whispered; her eyes teared up looking at her old man. His presence gave her comfort, she knew he would protect his little princess like he always had but that hope seemed to shake in her when her father looked away from her.

"Tiara," Alejandro Black stared at her with anger filled eyes as he continued "do you know why are you here?" he asked and Tiara kept looking down. She had been living around Alejandro since she was a child and she was always afraid of him because of his dangerous personality and the fact that he was a Mafia leader but the fear she felt at this instant was nothing compared to what she used to feel.

Her heart was beating, so fast that she almost feared that it might just come out. Her throat went dry and she gulped her own saliva but despite her fear she knew she had to answer him as if fearing and respecting Alejandro Black was a natural reflex.

"Ye-es I d-do." She answered meekly and closed her eyes and wished for death so that she could be saved from the torture that was to come upon her.

"She is to be whipped a thousand times, right now and right here." Alejandro announced angrily, the hatred in his voice was loud and clear. The anger for betraying his son, Xavier and the hatred because he wouldn't be able to keep the last promise he had given to his late wife.

Tiara gasped at the said punishment, it was utterly cruel and atrocious for her. She instantly looked up at Alejandro, daring to look into his blazing eyes with her tearful one and her tongue got tied because she had never seen him this much angry.

She looked at her father who kept looking down as if Alejandro's punishment for his daughter didn't affect him a bit. "D-dad no p-please!" she pleaded to her father who stood frozen to his place like a stone.

She heard the terrific sound of the whip getting raised in the air and before she could process anything she felt the first strike on her back. She screamed in agony when the whip pierced it's way on the delicate skin of her back, the night gown she was wearing didn't help her much as it was made up of satin and was torn instantly when the whip hit her.

All the people, the people she grew up with stood unbothered when she broke down in sobs before them and the person that disappointed her the most was her own father who was letting her daughter to be treated like this in front of him, standing there in one corner like a coward.

"I haven't asked you to stop, have I?" Alejandro roared at the man who was given the task to whip Tiara who had stopped hitting her once, giving her time to cry and wail out. "Hit her as hard as you could and continually without any mercy!" Everyone trembled in fear when Alejandro yelled, they all had seen worse but when it came to Tiara everyone thought that killing her right away would be better than punishing her this way.

The man who was holding the lash gulped and looked at Tiara's father, Dante and then at Alejandro and nodded at him and raised the whip once again that and it went up making a piercing sound in the air and finally came in contact with her body, pricking her skin to drew out blood.

Tiara screamed at the brutal hit, her skin where the lash had touched her seemed to burn in agony and she felt the strap of her night gown tearing away with that forced, the satin material seemed to slip away from her body and she instantly brought her hand to her chest, holding the shred piece of cloth in place.

She cried in pain when she was hit again and then again with so much force that not only her body shivered but she felt her soul trembling in pain and humiliation.

Luca, who was standing at one farthest corner looked away seeing her condition but her screams were loud and clear and he couldn't ignore them but he knew he couldn't go against Alejandro Black because he stood no chance against him. He wanted to pull his gun out and shot Tiara right on her head so that she could be saved from this torture but his hands were tied by the rope of loyalty to Blacks, but when he could no longer endure her painful screams he slowly, without gaining anyone's attention went upstairs to Xavier's room because he was the only one who could save Tiara from the torture she was in, either by killing her or stopping his father.

Luca didn't care which way Xavier would choose but he, for sure knew that Xavier would save her from the brutal punishment.

He impatiently knocked on the door and when Xavier didn't answer he barged in but was disappointed when he was nowhere in sight. He moved to the bathroom and couldn't find him there as well.

"Where are you, Xavier?" Luca cursed under his breath but suddenly an idea came to his mind and he started running out in the hallway until he stood at the last room of the east wing, he knew that no was allowed in this room as Xavier had forbidden everyone to step inside this room but seeing the criticality of the situation, he decided to take the risk and opened the door with trembling hands.

Luca had assumed this room to be dark like the way Xavier liked it but it wasn't, in fact it was bright with cream-colored walls. He slowly stepped inside and saw the different pictures and painting and the only similarity between them was that they were of Tiara's, from her childhood to her school graduation and lastly, he spotted Xavier, in the middle of the room blankly gazing at one of the picture in which she was smiling brightly.

Xavier couldn't sleep, he tried to but failed. The pain he felt in his chest was suffocating him slowly yet painfully. Every time he closed his eyes a picture of her would appear in his eyes, a picture where she was covered with marks given by Mason. Her eyes, where he had always wished to see love for him, were looking at Mason with love and care and that broke his heart.

When he failed to get rid of her thoughts and the pain of betrayal, he stood up and decided to get out for some fresh air but when he took a step out of his room, his mind quickly drifted back to her and his feet automatically started moving towards the east wing as if they had mind of their own and he found himself in that room where he had painted her paintings as a souvenir to his feelings and emotions.

He moved in and stopped in front of his favourite painting of her so far where she had smiled brightly at him after ages when he had supported her decision of going to England for her further studies and a bitter feeling came to him when he realized that it was the first step of her betrayal.

"Why, Tia?" He asked in a broken tone, staring right into her green eyes he let his emotions take control over him. He grazed her cheek slowly and then her blonde hair. His touch was gentle and eyes filled with love when he looked at the painting as if she was really in front of him.

Xavier kept standing in front of her painting for hours, unaware of the time as he needed to release all the emotions he had bottled up out of his system. He didn't want to see her because she was the one who had caused him pain yet he found himself in front of her painting that was giving him peace.

"Xavier?" He was pulled out of his trance that had him captive for hours when Luca called him. He clenched his fist when he realized that Luca was inside the room.

"Why did you come here? Didn't I-" Xavier shouted turning around with anger blazing in his eyes but was interrupted by Luca.

"Tiara is-" and Xavier didn't wait for Luca to complete his sentence because the discomfort and hesitation he sensed in Luca's voice gave him the idea and he ran outside, without listening to him.

He ran fast as a fear gripped his heart making his inside to churn, he quickly climbed down the stairs and moved to the main hall and the sight in front of him made his blood boil in anger.

He saw her on the ground, her head hung down, being whipped again and again she screamed her lungs out in pain, her body writhing in agony. Each hit held the power to make her entire body tremble with the effect. The lashing had caused her thin satin nightgown she was wearing to ripped apart and in the name of clothes she only had those shards of ripped gown. her entire back was almost on display that had turned red due to blood while she held her night gown tight to her chest, afraid it might fall down. It was so humiliating for Tiara to be like this in front of all the males.

A growl escaped his mouth when he heard her scream again and those continuous sobs made him clenched his fist and with gritted teeth he came to her rescue, holding the whip in the air to prevent her from getting hit again.

"How dare you bastard!" Xavier growled at the man who was whipping Tiara, he looked at him like he would burn him alive under his furious gaze. He gripped his neck and started choking the man who struggled to free himself from Xavier.

"Leave him, Xavier!" Alejandro yelled at his son and Xavier did but not before pulling the whip from his hands and kicking him on the stomach causing that man to be pushed to the floor.

Xavier turned berserk as Tiara kept sobbing and wailing in pain just a few meters away from him and he gripped the whip tighter and raised it in the air and started whipping that man who had dared to hurt Tiara.

"How dare you to hurt her!" He exclaimed, a demonic auro surrounding him and started to hit harder making that man to start grunting when the blood oozed out of his body.

"Xavier stop this instant" Alejandro ordered Xavier to turn around, he looked at his father with raged filled eyes as he knew it had happened because of his father.

Xavier threw the whip away and slowly came closer to his father, he maintained his eye contact with him and said gritting his teeth together, "No one is to touch her!" he announced loudly and looked at each and every person present in the room to see if anyone would dare to defy him.

Everyone nodded as they knew that going against him meant death and when it comes to defiance Xavier was worse than Alejandro to give punishment. "Now eyes down!" Everyone looked down at their feet instantly except for his father who was not afraid of his son.

Xavier didn't want any male to look at her like this, where her clothing was not appropriate and her body was exposed. He felt jealousy taking place in his heart seeing all these men around her. Xavier knew it was so humiliating and she would feel insulted and he didn't want anyone to make her feel that.

Xavier finally looked at the sobbing Tiara and his heart ached seeing her pain. the brutality his father had shown on her didn't go unnoticed by him, he saw the bruises that whipping had left on her back and how much bloodied her back had turned due to the skin pricking wound. He noticed that even her blonde hair had turned red, smeared with her own blood.

Xavier kneeled down at her sobbing figure, her head was bowed down and he slowly lifted it by putting a finger under her chin. "It's okay," and in response more tears came out of her eyes and she wept like a lost child.

He slowly tried to scoop her in his arms but she instantly backed away, afraid of him that he might hurt her more after all she was the one who had broken her promise and betrayed him and Tiara was aware that Xavier was known as a merciless beast in the underworld.

She looked up at him with her dull green eyes and pleaded in a broken tone "kill me already!" she said that to him because she didn't want to get through this torture, it was too much of her and she couldn't bear it, not anymore.

He felt a pang of hurt when she said that in that painful voice and shook his head and helped her to stand up on her feet but as soon as she stood up, her mind started to feel dizzy. Everything around her seemed to shake and she fell in the lap of darkness that provided her comfort and helped her to hide from the cruel reality.