Page 5 of Dirty Behavior

Tell me the real reason. Tell me why.

Don't I deserve that at least?

How does a girl cope with being torn from her family, told she was sold, and not know the true reason as to why?

I couldn't.

“I just want answers. Give me a good reason, tell my why my father would put me through this.” Softening my face, I felt the tears building and balancing on my lids.

I couldn't take it anymore.

“All you need to know is that this is your home now. The sooner you obey me, the easier things will get.” Loosening his grip, Remo sat beside me on the bed. “I can give you things, Ivy, I can give you anything you want, but you have to do as I say.”

“I want my family, I want my life.”

“The life you knew is over. This is your life now.”

“Why? I just need to know why.” Streaking down my cheeks, the tears fell like rain slipping freely over a smooth surface. I couldn't hold them in, I couldn't stop them.

The pain swept in, consuming me as the adrenaline faded and realization set in; I wasn't going anywhere.

“Because your father got in way over his head, this was his only way out.Youwere his only way out. Now you belong to me.”

“Let me talk to him, let me call him and hear him tell me himself.”

“No.” The word came out harsh, his face pulling tight, eyes thinning. “You will never speak, see, or hear from him again. And I don't want to even hear you mention his name.” Standing, Remo spun and headed towards the door. “Get some rest, tomorrow we start your training.” Slamming the door, the lock flipped into place.

The sound of the metal locking became the sound of my death.

I was caged.

And my family's lives depended on my survival here. I didn't doubt the seriousness of his threats. I knew he meant what he said. Remo would kill my family if I didn't do as I was told.

That was the moment I died. Ivy didn't exist anymore.

Tomorrow I was going to be someone else, someone I didn't recognize. I had to adapt to this new world that was forced down my throat.

And that meant I had to forget everything I knew, otherwise I wouldn't make it out of here alive.

I couldn't bemeanymore.

But I was a survivor.

Adream, my dream.

This was what I slept with when I closed my eyes. I relived each and every bruise, every harsh punishment, every lesson.

I knew all the scars and rough patches that made up Remo's hands, I knew how his eyes changed when he thought I wasn't obeying.

Days and days of repeated training, kneeling when he walked in, keeping my eyes down when he came into the room. Learning to hide my pain and live deep within myself was the only thing that kept me going.

But everything that came with those moments and these memories made me the woman I am. I was stronger, smarter, wiser. It prepared me for what was to come and what I would face with Dante.

It gave me the desire to keep going and the motivation to live.

Would I change it?

That's a question I couldn't answer because it led me to the man I love.

But revenge would be sweet, no matter how it tasted.

Remo would have his day.

And my nightmares would eventually end.

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