Page 75 of Tainted Serenity

As time passes and the drug wears off, I’m able to move my toes and fingers, yet still unable to get away because of the restraints. I take in my surroundings, noticing how dark the room is apart from the moon shining down through the gaps in the windows, causing the space to be filled with an ethereal light. Even that is an illusion, as if nature itself has decided to team up with Arthur to torture people.

“Why?” I croak out.

Esther only smiles at me, a deranged, twisted expression on her face. “I didn’t sacrifice myself for you, if that’s what you think. I wanted to win.”

Nausea rolls in my stomach at her words.

She circles me, trying to unnerve me, before leaning down to whisper in my ear. “You were always his favorite doll,” she spits out the words, anger glinting in her eyes. “And when you’re gone, that will be me. You took my father from me.”

Her fingers trail my cheekbone, and I try to breathe regularly, but all I want to do is rip her fingers off from her hand. Finally, she steps away, staring at me with hatred fuming in her irises.

I take in Arthur’s relaxed form as he sits down on a chair before me, both feet on the ground as he leans back. The costume he’s wearing is so eerily similar to how Frederick used to dress that it gives me chills. Not a single part of it is wrinkled, and his black shoes are just as shiny. They are more alike than Arthur would ever dare to admit, and that makes a smug smile spread over my lips.

“You can leave now.” Arthur directs his words to Esther, and she obliges without question.

Arthur stands up, the chair creaking underneath him. Instinct takes over, making me struggle against the leather ropes that are tying me to the chair, but I cannot move. I have to run away from here, but it doesn’t fucking work.

“My sweet Naya. Did you really think you could escape me?”

There’s a sinister smile on his lips, one that has haunted my dreams for years upon years.

“You are more like your brother than you think,” I struggle to say, taunting him with a quivering voice.

I inspect his face and notice how irritated he becomes, his blackened eyes darkening from the rage overtaking his very being. I can do nothing to stop the slap from hitting my cheek, leaving a stinging feeling while my head is thrown to the side from the force of it. I spit out, the saliva landing on the floor, which is now illuminated by the moonlight through the windows.

“When I first saw pictures of you from Emilio Ricci, I knew you would be the perfect candidate for my program.”

That sinister smile is back, one that is too far wide to be normal, causing spider-like shivers to crawl down my spine.

“My contemptuous brother did a good job when he bought you, but Emilio Ricci did an even better job when he bought you from Frederick.”

Arthur spits out his brother’s name with such hatred, staring at me as if I am his brother. My blood freezes to ice as coldness washes over me, making my shivering even worse.

I was sold and bought multiple times, precisely like a doll would when it changes its owner.

An uneasy feeling settles in me, as if a violent storm brews inside me, preparing itself to strike. That is all I will ever be—a doll, nothing more, nothing less. A human-sized doll that has no other purpose than to be toyed with, tortured, and manipulated. Unless I put a stop to everything.

The moonlight outside enables me to see the blood that has dried onto my wrist where I scratched it too much, and Arthur seems to notice because his eyes drift toward me with a smirk hinting at his lips. I glare at him, feeling myself trying to breathe as deeply as I can and not let panic overtake me.

Never once do I close my eyes, not even blink, as I observe Arthur and calculate his every move. If I could just pull my hands through the leather rope, I could wrench myself free from the straps holding me tied to the chair. I need to get him to keep talking; it will keep him busy and away from noticing my attempts to get out of the restraints.

He lays a wrinkled hand against my cheek, full of protruding veins and liver spots, just like Frederick. I try to move my head as far away from him as I can, but it doesn’t work, and my hair falls over my eyes, obstructing my vision.

This time, I close my eyes and breathe out deeply, secretly trying to get out of the restraints that keep me captive. Sweat beads my forehead as I work, and I have to stop as he circles me, hoping he didn’t notice what I was doing. Hoping he doesn’t notice the way my heart is beating erratically fast.

“Too bad you had to ruin everything.”

His spit flies as he hisses at me, the saliva landing on my cheek as disgust fills me.

“You could have been so much more. The perfect doll to my collection. I could have earned millions of dollars from you by selling you, and you had to ruin it!”

He grabs a bunch of my hair near the scalp and pulls so hard that I can’t help the whimper that slips from me. My scalp starts burning, and it feels as if someone has set it on fire. I keep breathing through my nose, feeling involuntary tears brim the corners of my eyes from the impact.

After what feels like forever, he finally seems to cool down as he backs away, taking in every part of my body. From the tights on my legs to the dress seam at my thighs. He takes everything in with an appreciative gaze, observing the way my black dress hugs my curves and makes my breasts appear fuller. I suddenly regret choosing the dress, and I visibly want to become one with the floor just to get away from the devil in front of me.

Holding the rest of my body perfectly still in an uncomfortable position, I continue to struggle against the leather ropes as the burning feeling comes back, my wrists twisting and turning while doing so. I grit my teeth, hoping he won’t notice me as he continues walking with his hands behind his back. He’s too caught up in himself to notice that something has changed.

I breathe in through my nose, breathe out through my mouth as I continue to struggle, all the while the leathery ropes dig deeper into the flesh that encircles my bones. It hurts so fucking much, but it’s a pain I can’t think about, can’t be bothered to feel.

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