Page 16 of Captive Heart

"I hope I am making myself clear, because I don't want you to be upset by any misunderstandings," he told her earnestly. "I did not say that I don't want you, or that you are no good! Understand?"

She looked at him for a long time, but he waited her out, his eyebrow raised in query, so she knew he was waiting for an answer.

Eventually, she nodded, although he noted she still seemed unsure. Well, he could work on that.

"Maybe we could do it properly, with a contract and everything, if that would make you feel better," Melody asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely not!" Micah refused in no uncertain terms. "I refuse to validate your subjugation by endorsing it with a contract," he replied, knowing all too well that the use of a contract was one of the tools Masters often adopted to authenticate the feeling of 'ownership' within the slave mentality.

"I do not need or require a slave, but I do want to help you recover. You are your own person, Melody, and you’re in charge of your own life and your own decisions; no one else. I will tell you that as many times as I need to for you to start believing it."

She didn't look like she believed it right now, but Micah wasn't deterred. He knew it would take time for her to accept this new reality.

"Now, while we have only just met and don't know each other at all, I would like to try to be your friend."

"Friend?" Melody repeated as if the concept was a foreign one.

"Yes, friend," Micah reiterated with his most reassuring smile.

10

Melody felt like she was in some kind of weird alternate reality.

As free as it appeared to be from pain, she actually felt kind of scared… as if she'd been set adrift. Never mind completely overwhelmed!

Maybe he had drugged her after all. But then why would he do that if, as he said, he didn't want a slave?

Melody. The man had allowed her to have a name again. For a short time, she really had drawn a blank there. It had been so long since her name had been used, she'd had to think of it before she could say it. That, alone, made her sad. She remembered how she had promised herself to always think of her name, even though Master said she didn't deserve one.

In her head, she’d been determined to remember herself, even if no one else did. When had she lost sight of that?

As the months turned into years, filled with nothing but fear and desolation, she had somehow lost touch with herself, becoming the animal Master frequently told her she was no better than.

He'd managed to grind her down after all, despite all the internal promises she’d made to herself.

And what did she do now? If there was no master to serve, then how was she supposed to exist? Did this man know? Could he show her how?

Melody felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, and that was foreign, too.

Oh, there had been tears all right, but usually only in the face of the most severe pain - when she could no longer hold them back. But not at all if she could damn well help it.

And yet here she was, in relative safety as far as she could tell, and already, there were tears right there, trembling on the edge, just behind her eyes, waiting to tip over.

How was it that this man, with the scarily muscled body, the carelessly tousled hair, and the face of an angel, could bring her to the brink of such an emotional release with nothing more than his words when it had taken Master's most brutal beatings to break her that way in the past?

"Master said no one would ever care about me. That it was pointless to run because nobody would ever help."

"He was wrong!" Micah insisted. He needed her to believe it, and it was becoming increasingly clear he also needed to break her deeply ingrained psychological ties to the monster she still referred to as Master.

It was vitally important that he sever that recognition of her abuser as someone who was still in control. Of him remaining an entity who still held any kind of power or jurisdiction.

Micah really needed Melody to start thinking of the man in different terms, but that was easier said than done.

The easiest and most obvious way—by having her refer to him as Master instead and giving her a strong experiential alternative to break her current mentality—really wasn't a road Micah wanted to walk down.

"There are lots of people here who want to help you," he told her instead, in order to back up his assertion. "Xavier, the doctor who came to check on you this morning and left the medicine for you, will be back later to see how you're getting on. And the four men who own this business also came by while you were sleeping and agreed that you could stay here to recuperate if that's what you want. The choice is yours and yours alone."

Melody could feel the panic welling up inside. All these new things to think about, all the decisions he wanted her to make. She could feel the tears prickling once more, but this time, their reason was different again.

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