Imagine Being Loved By Me

Chapter 5

When she awoke again, her skin felt different, softer. 

It took her a moment to realize it was because she was covered in the robe the man found in the back of the wardrobe. She paused, realizing that he had handled her body again while she was completely unconscious. She had experience with being physically manipulated against her will. There was always an ache that she could feel deep in her bones afterward. This was not that, she was certain, but there was still a burning shame inside that pressed her whenever she was exposed in front of a person. 

Let alone a strange man. 

She knew that she couldn’t afford to be ashamed of herself nor could she allow her fear to hinder her from trying her best to survive this new situation she was in. 

With her circumstances, she needed his help with everything, but at the same time, she wanted to hold on to any feigned dignity she could despite the fact that the general did everything he could to strip it away from her.

That wretched man abused her in ways she couldn’t have even imagined, in ways she was sheltered from ever knowing about. His end goal was to break her and make her into his brainwashed doll that only pleased him. He wanted her to be someone slightly less than human, but still mewling for him at every turn. Every day into night, she battled with him mentally, not letting him get into her mind and twist how she felt about herself, about her family, and about her neighbors who he assured her weren't searching for her.

And he very nearly succeeded. 

Everyone she was ever surrounded with cared about her well-being. They looked out for her, supported her, and protected her when she needed it. She realized, as she suffered alone and in silence, that she had taken the amazing people she had in her life for granted. It wasn’t until she was without them and constantly having to battle the mental torture of that disgusting man that she realized she had to wrestle within herself to hold on and get back to them.

His constant pressure was a weight almost too heavy for her to carry, and she stumbled so many times holding it up from crushing her.

She was so close to giving up and letting him have more than just her body, she was exhausted from resisting him mentally. But she was given a second chance when he was killed, a chance that was quickly snatched from her when she realized that no one would free her physically from this prison.

So now, even as she lay there in the room surrounded by the dimming light from outside, she realized that the only way to freedom was if she found it for herself. She had to get her health back, and maybe, she’d be able to convince this strange new man to let her leave if he was thinking of holding her hostage.

~

Liam paced back and forth as his mind ran in thought over the things he managed to catalog from the paperwork so far. He was impatiently waiting for a pot of soup to warm as he ran through his accomplishments. 

In the short time he’s been there, he’d say there was much accomplished, but even more to do.

He managed to clear out the office, though he hadn’t even begun to organize all of that paper.

He matched light bulbs to every necessary room in the house, so there was finally light.

He brought groceries and even took one day to do meal prepping for himself.

There was also the success he had with the woman upstairs. 

He started to feed her small bites of lightly seasoned and sweetened oats he boiled. It was something that was healthy and would help her feel full. 

It did take a while to get her comfortable enough to allow him to feed her. 

A whole day, to be exact. 

And even then, she only managed a couple of bites before she was exhausted, but she managed to drink the water he gave her throughout the day. 

Though barely, she was gaining strength. 

He noticed she stayed awake much longer than she could the first two days of caring for her, and he believed she would be speaking to him soon. She cleared her throat multiple times when in his company, as if she had something to say, but she never went through with it. One of these times she will. He was sure she had plenty of questions.

He, too, had many questions about everything that was happening within that mansion. From finding a woman chained to the wall to the things he discovered in all the paper he was organizing. Yes, they managed to destroy some key points of information, but the few bits he could get his hands on were painting a disturbing picture. 

From what he was gathering, it was something Pirates wouldn’t be able to handle alone. That may be the easier and sometimes quieter route, but if his understanding was correct, creating chaos wouldn’t lead to peace with this one.

But, if it was simply because of all the money this general was hoarding, then that would be a different story. 

The Ruling Class worked in a way that was never absolute. Sure, they wanted absolute power, but they achieved that by letting smaller individuals believe they had a chance to rise again. They would even let those smaller clans rebuild sometimes, just to do what they usually did, create mayhem. Usually they would use Earth Pirates for such a role. However, if they were looking for access to more control through monetary means, then they would call on the Cardinals. 

They were the people whose faces were directly connected to money and control, all to make more money and have more control. 

However, if The Ruling Class' true goal was to squash all other clan uprisings, then killing this one general wouldn’t be enough. They would need to assemble more forces to send a message. And sending in Pirates, whether that was the fleet he belonged to or another, would only create flames that weren’t easy to put out. 

For The Ruling Class, that was the easiest thing for them to do. That was why the Space Pirate Fleets were such an elite program. Every man had a role, but the end game was always to pillage and ransack an unsuspecting clan, colony, or tribe until they were begging for an end. To hit quickly, steal, destroy, and get out, all for The Ruling Class to come in and put out the flames and establish a rule as a savior to end the chaos. 

He’s seen it work on many occasions and has personally been a part of them. It was like clockwork, every cog and every mechanical turn led to the full machine working as it ought to be.

It was a job Liam enjoyed in particular, especially when in comparison to what he was doing now. Being able to be off-world, in other galaxies, seeing all that life had to offer was always a dream for him, one that came true.

But sometimes, he reminded himself, when living the dream there would always be something that would bring the dreamer back down to Earth.

It just so happened to be, for him, the one planet he tried to avoid the most.