Chapter 99


    Chapter 99 Chapter Ny Nine


    Sydney’s POV


    I hadn’t seen Dn for two freaking weeks. Two weeks of blessed silence and freedom from his


    sickening touch and mind games. But I knew the reprieve wouldn’tst.


    That day, after the dumb test with the unloaded gun, he showered and then we had breakfast to-


    gether. An awkward, tension–filled meal where I struggled to keep up the facade of a lovestruck


    woman while hiding my revulsion. When we finished, he brought me to an impressive mansion on


    the outskirts of the city.


    He said just a sentence, a sentence that had me twitching my lips into a weird smile to stop myself


    from scoffing. “You are now my woman, this ce will be your home from now on.”


    On the surface, this would have been ideal, as I never wanted him around in the first ce. But I


    needed him close to get to know more about him, make him fall for my act, and most crucially, to


    monitor his every move. Distance would make achieving my goal nearly impossible.


    Besides, I was starting to get paranoid that this twisted n might not go exactly as I’d envisioned.


    Maybe it was a stupid n from the start, because in this huge, garish mansion, I wasn’t the only


    woman he had stashed away. I was just one of many.


    How wonderful it would have been if the other women were simply maids meant to serve me and be


    at my every beck and call. But no, the other women were all Dn’s lovers – some of whom.


    seemed genuinely, disturbingly in love with him. Sad, empty souled creatures. And all I had in this


    gild- ed prison was just a single room to call my own. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    I was starting to get desperate. I had thought I was ying a finely–tuned game of love with the


    bas- tard, stringing him along until I could strike. But now, it seemed I was just another of his many


    y- things, easily discarded, and I had never really gotten anywhere near his twisted heart.


    Worse, I couldn’t even have the utter peace of mind I should have expected, because the veteran


    members of his harem were obviously jealous of the newpetition. They tried to bully me as the


    newest concubine, so I was usually in the middle of a shouting fight or physical altercation. There


    was no way I would let them bully me and go unpunished.


    I


    Besides, it was another way of proving to any watchful eyes that I actually loved Dn, even when


    he wasn’t present. I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve yelled with dramatic vigor “Dn is all


    mine, you bitches!” Who knew who among them was his spy, reporting back my every move.


    But I got tired of the wing and backbiting after the first three days, as it seemed to be the only


    thing the women did. It was like a mindless chore – they woke up, bathed, and then came out of


    their rooms solely to fight and scratch at each other, struggling to win Dn’s fleeting favor and


    maintain their meaningless status. I started to outrightly ignore their sneers and bitter words. They


    were meaningless gnats, unworthy of my attention.


    I didn’t entirely me them though. With Dn wearing Lucas‘ beautiful face, I could understand


    why some woman might be drawn to his physical appearance alone. Because there was absolutely


    no way any woman in her right mind would ever fall for his vile, abusive personality unless she too


    12.13


    Chapter 90 Chapter Ny Nine


    was just as mentally unwell.


    I didn’t want to participate in their vapid game anymore. I was afraid that if I did, I would get hope-


    lessly trapped in the unreasonable struggle for dominance and utterly forget why I was actually here


    – my thirst for justice. Who knew if there was even another garish mansion filled with more dispos-


    able women somewhere. It would be a fruitless, infinite fight.


    So one day, I simply tried to leave the mansion altogether. And strangely, though thankfully, no one


    stopped me as I calmly strolled out the front gates and into the grounds. Perhaps this istion from


    him was another of Dn’s twisted tests?


    I suddenly found myselfughing like a crazed person once I made it back to my room – the single


    room that was assigned to me in this den of depravity. This had to be Dn’s new gauntlet, no


    doubt.


    Perhaps I was inadvertently making progress and regaining his trust, bit by bit. He seemed to be


    try- ing to prove some sadistic point by allowing me freedom to leave. He was loudly stating that


    whether I chose to stay or go, it didn’t truly matter because he had an entire stable of disposable


    women to rece me with at his beck and call.


    It was such a contradictory and ludicrous game he yed. If he was truly trying to im he didn’t


    care if I left for good, then why did he make me tear up my own passport before our journey? Per-


    haps he was certain that no matter where I ran, I had nowhere permanent to go and could only in-


    evitably return to the mansion, utterly dependent on him. I guess that knowledge alone satisfied the


    sick bastard’s ego.


    Ha! What a deranged mind game was this? Some twisted way to train obedient pets? Or perhaps it


    was merely his idea of fun – learning just how to instill discipline and loyalty in his mindless human


    ythings. Or maybe in his demented perspective, we were all simply pests to be toyed with until


    he grew bored.


    But I didter leave the grounds of the gaudy mansion for my own reasons. I simply walked straight


    out the gates and eventually found an old bicycle to borrow. Utilizing my uncannily urate memo-


    ry, it wasn’t difficult at all for me to navigate through the surrounding forest and locate Lucas‘ grave


    in a remote clearing.


    ? parked the bicycle a respectful few feet from his grave and started to clear away the weeds and


    overgrowth from the makeshift mound of earth marking his final resting ce. I worked steadily,


    feel- ing an odd sense of calm.


    I wasn’t scared at all to be out here alone. In fact, I found myself almost reflexively chatting with Lu-


    cas about the most random, inconsequential things, just like when we were little children and he


    was alive. Talking to the silence was strangelyforting, like he could still hear me.


    My heart felt heavy with a mncholic ache at the happier memories of him, which were


    now over- flowing behind my eyes and threatening to spill over into tears. But I watched what I said


    carefully, mostly just recounting our times together and rying stupid jokes or anecdotes that I


    knew would have made Lucasugh uproariously – I hoped he wasughing wherever his spirit


    now resided. Be- cause I had no doubt that Dn almost certainly had someone tracking me


    without my knowledge during this unsupervised outing. Or maybe there was already some kind of


    locator or recording de-


    Chapter 99 Chapter Ninely Nine.


    vice nted on me or in my belongings.


    “You remember that time when I first saw you?” I smiled heartily. I imagined that Lucas smiled back


    at me like he always did, waiting for me to narrate how our first meeting had unfolded again. “I was


    stuffing my face with all the nice food in your kitchen like the glutton that I was when you wheeled in


    and stared at me.


    He wouldugh uproariously at this point, just like he did when I first told the story years ago. I could


    almost hear the warmth of hisughter echoing through the trees.


    Then I covered my face with my hands, feigning embarrassment. “Goodness, I hate to imagine what


    a slovenly sight I must have looked like back then.”


    in


    In my mind’s eye, he would give me that long, thoughtful look of his that always made butterflies go


    wild in my belly and my face flush red. Then he’d smile that beautiful, crinkly–eyed smile and say


    that kind voice I loved so much, “You looked cute, Syd. As cute as can be.”


    Hours slowly passed as I sat there, reliving our happiest moments together and making new imagi-


    nary memories with Lucas to fill the void of his absence. I tried my best not to dwell on those


    agoniz- ing final days where heid bedridden and miserable in the hospital. By the time I finished


    carefully clearing all the weeds and growth from his grave mound, the sun had set, casting long


    shadows through the trees.


    Not wanting to leave just yet, I decided to make him a little flower wreath before departing, just like


    the ones I used to make for him when we were kids. I gathered some wildflowers growing around


    the area, even using some of the weeds I had pulled up. Tired but focused, I sat cross–legged on


    the forest floor and started weaving the flower stems together into a simple circlet.


    Once the wreath waspleted, I smiled sadly at my handiwork, running my fingers over the bright


    petals. “I’m sure he would have loved this one too,” I whispered. He used to treasure every little silly


    craft I made him, no matter how ugly or lopsided I thought it looked.


    I sighed heavily and just sat there for several long seconds, the fragile wreath resting in my hands


    as I stared silently at the patch of disturbed earth that was his final resting ce. Then, so quiet I


    could barely hear my own voice, I murmured, “Lucas, I will definitely avenge your death. I swear it.”


    With those words lingering in the still air, I ced the flower wreath on his makeshift tomb, gently


    pressing it into the sand so that it would remain in ce, a bright spot of color adorning his grave.


    After taking onest long look tomit this moment to memory, I retrieved the bicycle and slowly


    pedaled my way back in the direction of the mansion and its upants. An odd sense of mn-


    choly hung over me, but also a reinvigorated sense of purpose.


    When I arrived back at the garish pce, the women who were milling about stopped what they


    were doing and just stared at me in surprise. They seemed utterly stunned to see that I had actually


    returned of my own free will to this gilded prison. The ones who had managed to forge some kind of


    alnce or friendship in the midst of all the petty drama and constant jockeying for position whis-


    pered amongst themselves, no doubt wondering what could have brought me back. But I simply ig-


    nored them all, keeping my face an inscrutable mask as I strode past without a word.


    That night, after ensuring the door to my room was locked, I drew myself a long, calming bath,


    dous- ing my tired body with all the nice scented bath washes, oils, and scrubs I could find stocked


    in the


    12.23


    Chapter 99 Chapter Ny Nine


    opulent bathroom. Surprisingly, my private chambers were extremely well–appointed with luxuries.


    The other rooms were probably equipped simrly to keep Dn’s human pets cated.


    Once I was freshly bathed, i slipped into the fanciest, most preciously delicate lingerie set I could.


    find in the massive wardrobe that came with the room. I squirmed a bit as I carefully pulled on each


    lace and satin piece, wondering with a twinge of disgust if these intimates had ever adorned the


    body of some other poor woman he had used and discarded before me, even though the tags and


    la- bels were still pristine.


    With my preparationsplete, Iid myself down on the plush bed, posing myself artfully among


    the mound of pillows, and calmly waited for his inevitable arrival. Perhaps adopting a mask of


    seduc- tive vulnerability would help regain what little trust he still had in me after my solo outing.


    I was nearly starting to doze off, my eyelids growing heavier by the second, when the door to my


    room was abruptly pushed open from the outside, causing it to m into the wall with a resounding


    bang that made me jump.


    I sprang up from my half–asleep repose into a seated position, clutching the bed covers to my


    chest. It took a few moments for my eyes to readjust and process the figure standing in the now


    open doorway. There was a gloomy, almost pained expression on Dn’s face – unless I was


    mistak- ing it for something else? Hurt, maybe?


    Whatever stormy emotions were flickering across his features, I knew better than to show any out-


    ward satisfaction or gloating. I resisted the urge to smile triumphantly, instead keeping my expres-


    sion one of wary caution as I waited for him to make the first usation.


    “You said you loved me, didn’t you?” he growled in that low, menacing tone of his. “Then why did


    you


    go to him again?”