Trapped In Sin: Ava’s Story

The Haunting Of Love

Ava POV

Loud banging on my door yanked me out of a deep sleep. I sat up feeling disoriented and groggy, I blinked against the darkness.

The relentless knocking intensified, sending a surge of panic through me as I scrambled out of bed.

I had completely forgotten that I locked my door—something Esmeralda despised. My room was in disarray, with lingerie and makeup scattered everywhere. I opened the door to find her glaring at me, clearly not amused.

“You insolent girl.” she spat, delivering a swift slap that caught me off guard. The blow was sharp, her ring tearing into my lip, leaving a trail of blood. I felt the sting, and the humiliation, but I clenched my jaw, refusing to give her the satisfaction of my tears.

She barged into my room, her eyes scanning the clutter with a look that sent a chill down my spine. Each step she took was punctuated by the sharp click of her heels, her designer dress was moving with calculated grace. “This filth is disgusting. You’ve not only disobeyed me but also broken the house rules.” she hissed.

I lowered my gaze, the weight of shame pressing down on me. Work had consumed my days, leaving little time for myself, let alone tidying up.

But she wouldn’t understand. “Kade’s here, he’s eager to see you again.” she announced. “Clean this mess up, and meet him in the room downstairs.”

I should’ve realized she was here strictly for business—what other reasons would bring her here? “Okay, Esmeralda.” I murmured, my voice tinged with resignation.

She gave me one last assessing glance, before exiting my room with the air of royalty, despite lacking the lineage.

I exhaled slowly, gathering my thoughts before tackling the mess in my room. Methodically, I put everything in its place, transforming the chaos into order.

Afterwards, I treated myself to a refreshing shower, letting the water wash away the lingering tension.

Still, a sense of dread loomed—Esmeralda’s wrath was inevitable, and I could already sense the storm brewing.

~ ~ ~

Later That Day

Pain lanced through my spine as my back arched involuntarily. Kade’s grip tightened in my hair, yanking my head back with relentless force. His movements were brutal, each thrust a merciless rhythm, that left no room for reprieve.

I clamped down on my lower lip, the metallic taste of blood grounded me, I stifled the cries that threatened to escape. The room was filled with the harsh cadence of grunts and the raw, unrelenting sound of skin meeting skin.

“You’re mine to enjoy.” Kade whispered in my ear. His words were noise, I was solely focused on the end.

Kade’s thrust became rougher and faster, I cried out when he landed a firm smack between my shoulder blades, just as he came undone. Our sweat mingled. Beads of sweat clung to our skin, slick and warm. He pulled out of me harshly, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Each time I surrender a part of myself, I brace for the silence that follows—cold and absolute. It always leaves me feeling like a convenience, not a choice. Kade didn’t need to articulate it; the silence conveyed everything. I was merely a body, a fleeting moment, not someone to be valued.

I laid motionless at the edge of the bed, every part of me aching. My breath came in shallow pulls. The mattress held Kade’s shape like a wound that hadn’t closed.

His scent clung to the air, thick and choking. My thighs throbbed with the echo of him, and my lip stung from Esmeralda’s strike.

Kade zipped up his jeans without meeting my eyes, muttering something about being “useful.” As if I were a mere object. It felt like I was just a favor from Esmeralda, a transaction completed. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me in utter silence.

I exhaled sharply, the air rushing from my lungs like a dam breaking. The expected pain didn’t come—not right away. My body had adapted, and numbed itself to survive over the years. But deep - down inside me, my soul still screamed.

I wrapped the sheet around myself, curling into its thin comfort. A shiver coursed through me as the lingering taste of blood, and perfume clung to my throat. My skin felt foreign, stretched taut over a body I no longer recognized.

Esmeralda would be satisfied if she knew how much I hated myself—and that was the worst part. Her earlier words still echoed in my mind:

“You should be grateful, Ava. He could have anyone, but he still wants you - even after everyone else has had their turn with you.”

They laughed - those perfect, painted dolls she called daughters. They were laughing even louder when Esmeralda hit me in front of Kade, and told me I should be thankful that David wanted anything to do me.

I wanted to scream, and let them all know how much I loathed them. But that will only land me in the dark room, so I held my tongue, and took the insults with a grain of salt.

The moment David backed out, Esmeralda’s wrath shifted to me - as if I planned it, just to spite her.

When I locked my door and refused to entertain her guests, she acted like I set fire to her reputation.

But there were three other girls in this house, all dressed in silk and smiles. So why was I always the one expected to play the w***e?

After my shower earlier, Esmeralda turned me into something to display. She dressed me like bait. And said it was for Kade, but I knew better. She wanted me to be the temptation in the room, the silent offering.

Those disgusting men stared at my body, while she unbuttoned my dress like she was peeling back wrapping paper. I wasn’t a girl to her - I was a product. Something to be unwrapped, evaluated, and sold.

Crying never fixed anything. No one noticed. No one cared. So I stopped doing it. But tonight, alone in the dark, something cracked.

I let it all out. And as always, I did the only thing that makes the pain subside - I slept. Not to rest. Just to disappear.

———

Heat bloomed behind my eyes, a pulse rising in my throat - and then I felt him. Not just near.

Smoke, shadows, and that commanding aura. He was everywhere and nowhere, threaded into my breath like a secret I couldn’t forget.

His palms traced my back with a steady pressure that spoke of worship - but also ownership. His lips brushed against the healing wounds at my throat, gentle, but thick with hunger.

There was no cruelty in the way he touched me, only want. When his fangs skimmed slowly across my pulse point, my breath caught and my back arched, instinct surrendered to desire.

In one blink, the cold stone and suffocating silence were gone - replaced by silk sheets, golden firelight, and him. He pulled me into the heat of his bare chest, muscle and shadow wrapping around me. I barely breathed the words: “This isn’t real… you’re not real.”

There was a long silence before he finally decided to speak. “Funny. You say I’m not real, but you’re in my room, and in my bed, with your heartbeat screaming louder than your lies.” His words hit like velvet over iron.

My eyes dropped to the thin slip of silk clinging to my skin - something I hadn’t been wearing before. Something that didn’t exist until now.

The room itself pulsed with a quiet hunger, as if the walls were breathing me in. “You’re not real.” I said, barely above a whisper. “You just something my subconscious conjured up… This is a dream.”

He laughed - but it wasn’t warm. It was cold, sharp, and wicked. Before I could flinch, he dragged me against the heat of his bare chest.

His voice slid into my ear like a knife dressed in velvet. “If I’m just your subconscious, then every filthy thing I do to you started in your mind, Ava. Don’t blame the dream when it’s your desire that built me.”

He gripped my chin and lifted, forcing my gaze to his. I barely breathed. Crimson obsidian eyes held mine, endless and inhuman.

His midnight hair fell across his face like spilled ink, A perfect contrast to the brutal elegance of his bare chest. He didn’t look real. He looked like power sculpted into a man. Like a God that crawled out of a myth just to haunt me.

His lips hovered just above mine, too close, too tempting. That dangerous flicker in his eyes made my knees weak and my pulse beg with need. “Be a good girl… and admit it-“ He brushed his lips over mine, ever so slightly. “You built me to ruin you.”

I jerked awake, breathless and shaking, the echo of his words still crawling down my spine.

I scanned the room, it was still dimly lit, and cold - but something had shifted. It felt as if the shadows themselves had reached out to me, whispering a promise too ancient to name.

I don’t know his name, but his face is seared into my mind. I can’t let it go. I’ll search until I uncover the truth. Maybe it’s the dreams driving me, or maybe it’s impulse, but I need to know the truth about him. And I won’t rest until I do…