Moonlight deception

Chapter 3: Hope 2

Sophie's fear intensified as Megara's deadly stare bore into her soul. "What will she do to me? I've been caught, no, this was a terrible idea." Sophie's voice trembled, "I... I... uh... I was...." She was at a loss for words, her mind racing with terror. She turned to look at the man standing behind her, but her gaze met empty space, and she gasped. "H....." Before she could finish her statement, a slap landed on her face, and she felt searing pain as Megara dragged her by her hair.

"You useless thing, don't struggle, walk, or I'll drag you in, and you must pay for letting my hands touch you... Do you know how much you disgust me?" Megara's voice was venomous, her words dripping with malice. She stopped, then locked eyes with Sophie's tear-filled blue gaze. "I hate you so much, I despise your very existence. You're lucky I can't kill you, or else I would have given you a slow and painful death." Sophie's tears flowed like a river, her heart shattered into a million pieces.

"W.....w...why do you hate me s...s..so much? I haven't done anything," Sophie asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Megara's laughter was like a cold breeze on a winter night. "You don't know? Don't act dumb, what am I saying? You're already dumb" (she tightened her grip on Sophie's hair). "I derive joy from seeing your pain. I want to make you suffer forever. If you want to play dumb... I don't care, but you will suffer. Your life will be filled with sorrow and tears. You will never know joy. I will rip off anything that makes you happy".

As Megara dragged Sophie across the room, the sound of her own whimpering filled her ears, a haunting melody of despair. She stumbled, her knees buckling, but Megara's grip held strong. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and cut flowers mingled, a stark contrast to the darkness in Megara's heart. Sophie's thoughts swirled in a maelstrom of fear, her mind racing for an escape, but none came. She was trapped, at Megara's mercy, and that was a terrifying thought. Megara's grip tightened, and Sophie's vision began to blur.

Sophie's heart raced as Megara dragged her into the opulent living room, where Megara's mother, Mrs. Tao, sat poised on a plush sofa, her eyes fixed on Sophie with disdain. Megara threw Sophie to the floor, and she landed hard on her shoulder, wincing in pain. Megara's heel dug into Sophie's back, and she cried out.

"I've brought the useless thing, Mom. You could have sent the butler, but now I've had to touch her with my own hands. I'm dirty now," Megara said, her voice dripping with malice, as she stepped on Sophie's back.

Mrs. Tao's gaze never wavered from Sophie's tear-stained face. "Don't worry, dear. She'll be punished for it. Now, to the main business. I know you want to be freed from us, right?" Sophie's fear spiked as she met Mrs. Tao's cold gaze.

Megara's eyes widened in protest. "Mom! What?! What are you saying? You can't free her".

Mrs. Tao stood, her eyes fixed on Sophie. "You'll be freed, but only if you agree to our condition." Sophie's heart sank.

Mrs. Tao then looked at Megara with a mischievous smile, " She will be freed only if she can clean up the mess, don't you think it's fair, huh, darling?"

She then faced Sophie and her smile slowly disappeared, "You're going to marry a disabled and dying man. You'll have a child for him if you want to be completely free. Refuse, and you'll stay here, enjoying the lavish mansion and your...work." Mrs. Tao's smirk twisted her face.

Sophie's mind reeled. "How can I give birth to a disabled man's child? This is a trap. They know it's impossible, but how can I refuse? They'll make my life a living hell." Tears streamed down her face as she thought.

Megara's laughter pierced the silence. "Why are you making her decide, Mom? A slave has no decisions but to obey their master. She'll go to his place tomorrow and sign the papers. It's final."

"You are right, dear, you are always right, she has no right to make decisions, so, it's settled then. Take care of her, I'm off to bed, princess" Mrs. Tao said to Megara, then glared at Sophie before leaving.

Megara glared at Sophie with so much hate. "You'll go and sign the papers tomorrow. Don't think you have a choice about your life. It's owned by me. You'll give birth to that man's child before you're free. And you know that's impossible because he is dying, you will become a widow so early, isn't this good?(She laughed) so your life still belongs to me anyway." She lit a cigarette, her eyes never leaving Sophie's face.

As the smoke swirled around her, Sophie felt her hope dwindling. She was trapped, with no escape from the Tao family's cruelty.

Sophie's heart lay in shattered pieces, like the fragments of a broken mirror, each shard reflecting a piece of her shattered soul. The question "why" echoed through her mind like a haunting refrain. Why did they hate her so? Why did they delight in her suffering? The more she thought about it, the more her frustration grew. Memories of her life, twenty-two years of laughter, tears, and moments, were shrouded in an impenetrable fog. She couldn't recall a single detail, no matter how hard she tried.

As she crawled away to the store to tend to her wounds, a sense of unease settled over her. She felt an intense longing to escape, to leave the Tao family's cruelty behind, yet a part of her felt trapped, unable to break free. Her mind was a jumble of conflicting emotions - peace and impatience, fear and determination. As she treated her wounds, her thoughts grew hazy, and she dozed off, exhausted by the turmoil within. In her dreams, she searched for answers, but they remained elusive, hidden in the shadows of her forgotten past.