He should appreciate this tragic beauty rather than be moved to pity and compassion by it. Hadn’t he seen through her scheme long ago? She had deliberately tempted him to take the bait, hoping he would give up early, and he could see through her desire for death at this moment. How could he allow her to manipulate him time and again?
“Do you want to die?” He teased her hair with the gun’s muzzle. “Unfortunately, this time I won’t let you have your way.”
Her ashen eyes reignited with disbelief and rage. “Why?! You won’t kill me…”
He curled his lips into a smile, putting the gun back into the drawer. “You look so pitiful; how could I bring myself to do it?”
His hand delved into her black hair, lifting her face, his thumb caressing her rosy lips. He untied the strap bound to the headboard, the other end still tied to her hands, forcing her body to turn towards him like a military dog on a leash. His gaze scrutinized her, and even he found it hard to believe that this woman still held an allure for him. His voice was slightly hoarse, “I’m giving you a chance to live. I want you to warm my bed every night.”
“No, I am not a prostitute.” Her voice was not loud, but it was resolute.
He suddenly yanked the strap tethering her, as if teaching a disobedient dog a lesson. She was forced to half-kneel, his icy blue eyes were mere inches away, the chill emanating from them seemed capable of freezing a person instantly. “You ungrateful bitch, for the sake of survival, haven’t you given up your dignity? I despise hypocritical women the most.”
“No, I am not a prostitute.” She didn’t know where her courage came from, but she stood her ground against him.
“Hmph, very good.” He let out a cold laugh. She could hold her ground and was not afraid of death, much braver than when she first arrived here. This was somewhat interesting; he never compromised with his opponents, but this time he decided to take a step back. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Since you don’t plan to exchange your body, what do you intend to do?”
She could play the piano, dance ballet, and sing, but she didn’t want to reduce her skills to mere tools for his pleasure; that was no different from being a prostitute. “I have hands; I can work.”
“You want to be a maid?” He found it hard to imagine this delicate young lady could do any work, but it was a good way to slowly torment her. “Then let’s make you a maid. Since you’re a maid, there’s no reason for you to stay in my bed.” He suddenly yanked her hair, dragging her off the bed and all the way to the door. Her hands were still bound, unable to control her body as he roughly pulled her, her body repeatedly colliding with the hard furniture and door frames, leaving bruises and scratches.
He paid no heed to her cries of anguish as he dragged her to the top of the stairs on the second floor. “Abigail, come here.” Before his words fell, he seized the strap binding her, forcefully sweeping her up and throwing her down the stairs. The force was so great that she tumbled down step by step, feeling as if the world was spinning.
Maid Abigail rushed over and saw her curled up naked at the bottom of the stairs, her body covered in injuries. The latest wound was from when she rolled down the stairs, her forehead hitting the floor, blood oozing out.
“From now on, she belongs to you.” He stood at the top of the stairs, resembling a king issuing orders to his subjects below. “Don’t let her be idle.”
“Yes, Boss.” Abigail replied expressionlessly, bending down to untie the strap binding her. “Get up, you stupid Chinese woman. Go to where you belong.”
Khanyi struggled to get up, her body covered in wounds, unable to tell where it hurt the most. Abigail handed her a set of gray maid’s clothes and led her to a small iron door at the end of the basement corner, unlocking the rusty padlock with a key.
“You’ll live here from now on.” Abigail pointed to the dark room behind the iron door. “Hurry up and tidy yourself up; look at you in that state. In an hour, come to the laundry room.”
Khanyi crawled inside, a musty smell choking her, making her cough. This was a storage room, large but filled with a chaotic mess of items.
