Chapter 14
1018 Words
***CONTENT WARNING: SCENES AHEAD MIGHT BE DISTURBING TO SOME AUDIENCE. READER DISCRETION ADVISED***
(Sanya's POV)
Servants scatter like frightened birds, pressing themselves against the walls, their faces pale with shock and fear. But not one of them moves to help me. Not one of them speaks up to tell their Alpha to stop. They just watch, silent witnesses to my humiliation and suffering.
Footsteps thunder from different parts of the house. Tara appears first, her face twisted with malicious anticipation rather than concern. Then Marcus, his expression cold and disapproving as always, as if my very presence offends his sense of propriety. John comes next, his eyes wide with shock, his face pale. And finally Mira, who smirks at the sight of me being dragged by my hair.
I try to push myself up, try to get to my knees at least, to preserve some shred of dignity. But before I can, Tyron returns.
He's carrying a bucket. Ice water sloshes inside it.
My heart stops. No. No, no, no.
The last incident of him blasting me with a water hose is still fresh and clear in my head.
I scramble on my hands, trying to distance myself as much as possible.
But my attempts prove futile, as Tyron dumps the ice water on my head without hesitation.
The cold chills me to the bone. I shriek. The sound that comes out of my mouth barely human. Ice cubes scatter across my body, sliding down my nightgown, catching in my hair, sticking to my exposed flesh with a bite so intense it's as if my skin is being peeled off. The water soaks through my thin fabric instantly, drenching me completely.
And the cold. The cold is so unbearable I can't even think, can't form coherent thoughts beyond the desperate need for warmth.
"Tell me!" Tyron roars. His voice filling the entire house, echoing off the walls, making the servants flinch. "What is the name of your lover?"
I wrap my arms around me, my teeth chattering against each other. I can't speak even if I wanted to. My lips won't form the words, my tongue thick and useless in my mouth.
But even through the cold, even through the pain and the humiliation and the fear, one thought burns bright and clear in my mind: I can't tell him.
If he finds out Aaron is Jake, his new Beta, the man he just hired, the man he praised and trusted... I can't even imagine what he'll do to Aaron.
To me.
"Tell me!" Tyron shouts again, his face purple with rage.
I keep my mouth shut, clenching my jaw so hard it aches. And this time, it's not because of the cold.
After a heartbeat, Tyron chuckles, the sound dark and ominous, when he storms away. I hear his footsteps fade into the kitchen, cabinet doors opening and slamming. He's getting more ice. Oh God, he's getting more ice.
I try to crawl away, but my body won't cooperate. My limbs are shaking too violently. The cold has seeped into my bones, into my very core, and I can't make my muscles obey my commands.
Tyron returns with another bucket. This one is even bigger than the first.
He dumps it over my head without a word.
I shriek again, the sound tearing from my throat involuntarily. More ice cubes cascade over me, burying me in cold. The water pools around me on the floor, so cold it feels like it's burning my skin. I'm shaking so violently now that I can't control any part of my body. My lips are going numb. I can feel them frosting over.
"Give me his name!"
I can't. Not even if it kills me.
He goes for a third bucket.
This time when he dumps it, I don't even have the strength to scream. I just curl into myself, shaking so hard, my vision starts to blur. The edges of the room go dark.
Is this it?
Is this how I'm going to die?
Through my fading consciousness, I see Tyron still standing over me. His face is twisted with rage and disgust, as if my refusal to answer him is the greatest offense anyone has ever committed against him.
Tara stands beside him, her arms crossed, watching everything with cold satisfaction. Mira is smiling openly, enjoying the show. Marcus looks on with disapproval, but whether he disapproves of Tyron's methods or simply of my existence, I can't tell.
And John... John looks away, his jaw clenched, his hands balled into fists at his sides. But he doesn't speak up, doesn't intervene, doesn't do anything to stop his brother.
I close my eyes. The cold now almost bearable. My body has stopped shaking as violently. I can't feel my fingers or toes anymore. The darkness at the edges of my vision spreads, creeping inward, promising relief from the pain and the cold and the humiliation.
Aaron, you abandoned me once. Now I'm about to lose my life because of you again.
The thought drifts through my fading consciousness like a ghost.
If you had just come that night, if you had just kept your promise, I wouldn't be in this situation today.
I wouldn't be married to this man. Lying on this floor, freezing to the bone, dying to protect you from his wrath.
Why did you even come back?
Why couldn't you just leave me alone?
Though Tyron Stone isn't a good man, the real culprit for my misery is Aaron Knight.
He is the true cause of my suffering. Meeting him in this life is nothing short of a curse. I curse the day I met him, the day I fell in love with him.
But even as the resentment and anger burn through me, I know I won't tell Tyron who he is.
Because despite the betrayal and the pain Aaron caused me, I can't be responsible for his death. I can't be the reason Tyron hunts him down.
So I stay silent.
And the darkness grows as I hover between the edge of life and death.
- Writer
