Chapter 22
1292 Words
Ayra’s POV
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I sat by the window, my knees pulled up to my chest, chin resting lightly on top. Outside, the guards were scattered across the compound, moving in calculated silence. Alert, structured, intentional.
For a week or more, I’ve been confined to this room, soft sheets, calming walls, and a window that opens to a world I’m not allowed to step into. Every corner of this place screamed wealth… class. A mansion. A fortress.
But whose?
I bit down on my lip, picking at my fingers out of nervous habit. No one had given me any answers. The maids that came in barely looked me in the eye, let alone answer my questions. Cold. Distant. As though they were instructed not to speak to me.
Or maybe it was just me been fidgeting when they walk in so they acknowledge me weird.
And the nurse? Always smiling politely, avoiding every question I asked. “Rest is what you need,” she’d say like it answered everything. The doctor was no better. Empty reassurances and empty eyes.
And yet… I saw him. That day. By the door. That face. Cold, striking, unforgettable. Leon Kael.
Was it just my traumatized brain playing tricks? Or did he really bring me here?
Or worse… had I already been sold?
The thought alone made my stomach twist. Was I now property? Trapped again, just in prettier cages?
I forced my eyes to scan the room. The soft scent of roses lingered faintly. Even that felt mocking. No chains. No yelling. Just… silence.
And it scared me more than the noise ever did.
Was I saved… or just transferred?
I looked back down at the guards, heart pounding with the same question echoing over and over:
Whose house am I really in?
I let out a long sigh, trying to steady the constant unease rolling through my chest. The silence of the room was loud enough to swallow me whole.
Then—a knock.
My body flinched instinctively, heart skipping as I turned slightly but didn’t face the door. I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when the air around me still felt unfamiliar… unpredictable.
The door creaked open and soft footsteps entered. I didn’t dare turn. I already knew who it was.
A maid.
Without a word to me, she placed a tray down on the table near the window. I could hear the clinking sound as she collected the untouched food from earlier.
“You should make do with this till lunch is served,” she muttered, almost under her breath, her tone flat. She walked out again, leaving nothing but silence and the faint scent of buttered biscuits in her wake.
Only when the door clicked shut did I move—rushing toward the tray. My stomach let out a low grumble, a soft betrayal. I placed my hand over it gently, pressing against the ache.
Still… I hesitated.
I stared at the food like it was poison. Who brought me here? Why was I being fed? I didn't even know who I belonged to now—if I was even free.
I’d read enough novels, watched enough stories. Girls who were captured… fed potions in food… drugged to submit. To want. To obey.
I shook the thought from my head, forcing my gaze back out the window. The urge to leave this room scratched at my mind, clawing through the fear. I closed my eyes and whispered to myself,
“It’s fine, Ayra. Dad isn’t here. Marla isn’t here.”
I took slow steps toward the door, hand trembling as it wrapped around the handle. Just one twist and I could step out. Breathe something new. Feel freedom.
But just as I was about to turn the knob,something inside screamed.
Just—just what if danger was waiting on the other side?
My hand dropped instantly, and I staggered backward in fear, my breath quick and shallow. I ran back to the door and locked it tight, then closed the window halfway. That’s when I saw them.
Three… no, four black, shiny sleek cars rolling out of the compound.
I froze. For some reason, I could feel eyes on me, watching. Studying. My eyes darted around the room, across the compound, but I saw no one. Still, I turned away quickly, my chest tightening.
Just before I drew the curtain, my gaze caught a man down below—his face marked with a scar across his cheek.
And suddenly… Marla's voice echoed in my head.
“You think you can disrespect me?” I saw the flash of the knife again. I remembered dodging, purely by luck.
I swallowed hard, panic crawling under my skin like ants. I didn’t feel safe anymore. Not in this room. Not in this mansion.
Without thinking, I rushed to the bed and crawled under it, curling in the only place that felt hidden, protected.
Then the memories came, crashing in like a tidal wave.
*You’re useless. Only in life to take, never to give.*
*You look disgusting. Go eat with the dogs.*
Laughter. Finger pointing. Isolation. Mocking.
I slammed my hands against my ears, squeezing my eyes shut.
“Stop!!” I screamed out loud, my voice raw, cracking.
But the voices didn’t stop.
BANG! BANG!
The sudden loud knock on the door made me jolt like I’d been struck. My entire body stiffened.
“Are you okay in there?” A deep voice called through the door.
But all I heard was him.
My father's voice… thundering through the house… banging, screaming. “Open this damn door, Ayra!”
That night. That room. That lock being twisted until it broke.
“No, no, no—” I whimpered, backing away from the bed.
I stumbled to the corner of the room and collapsed like a leaf, curling into myself. My fingers clamped over my ears, trying to shut it all out.
Please not again. Not again.
“Don’t come near me,” I kept whispering through shaky breaths. “Please… don’t come near me…”
The sound of a key twisting in the lock sent a chill down my spine.
Click.
My eyes flew open. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. Sweat coated my forehead. I looked around, breathing fast—desperate.
The door opened slowly, revealing a few people: a maid I had seen before… and the nurse.
But then—his face flashed before me.
That familiar fury. The way his eyes used to burn with hate.
“Dad” my voice came out raspy.
Behind him, Marla, sneering.
Guards. A hand raised. A slap. A scream. My scream.
And now—here. Again.
“Don’t come near me!” I screamed at them, voice cracking. I stood quickly, heart racing, hands grabbing whatever I could find—pillows, books, a glass.
I threw them. One. Two. Everything I could reach.
“Leave!!”
Tears burned as they rolled down my cheeks, and I screamed again, lost in the spiral of panic.
Then… everything stilled.
The sound of steady, heavy footsteps filled the room, different from the chaos.
The others moved away. I heard them greet someone.
Then silence… heavy and thick.
I forced myself to look up. My breath caught.
There—standing still as the wind blew faintly from the open door—Leon Kael.
No anger. No mask. Just him.
He was real.
My eyes shook as I stared at him, hope flickering like a weak flame.
“Please…” I whispered, voice barely audible. “Let this not be a dream. Let it be you… Hope…”
And with that, everything gave out.
My knees buckled. My vision blurred.
I slumped to the floor—into darkness, yet again.
- Writer
