Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 35602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
I have a feeling my loyalty will mean more to him now. At least it's one positive aspect of my personality, which I'm sure he hates by now. And yet I can't help the sinking feeling that even running away from him won't help me, that even getting out of this dungeon won't save me from his cruel desires. Because the thing is, I've been craving him ever since the moment I left his home. And from the moment we were reunited, I've wanted him again. My skin crawls with a mixture of fear and desire every time he's next to me. And I know there is not much time left for me to fight it. I don't know whether I'll be able to run away again, but even now as I sit in the darkened dungeon my desire to do so wanes.
I have no doubt Xavier meant what he said about keeping me chained in here forever unless, I give up Ivette's location. But what am I supposed to tell him? I don't know where she went, I don't know even know the names of her children. Even though we were quite close, we never shared identifying details about ourselves with each other. After all, Ivette knew I could be tortured and forced to give up the information about her whereabouts. We were careful. But even though I'm not sure whether I'm strong enough to keep her secrets, everything she's told me is in the back of my mind, silently warning me that even with the smallest amount of pain I could be forced to give up everything I know.
Time passes excruciatingly slowly, like molasses dripping from one second to the next. I stopped counting long ago, and there is no way for me to tell how long I've been in here. I assume it's been a few hours when I finally sit down on the floor, dirtying my dress even more.
The once pretty yellow cotton fabric is soon stained with the grime of the underground dungeons.
Later, a person appears wearing a hood and a mask underneath it. I don't know who it is, and they don't speak a word to me. They just shove a plate with a sloppily put together sandwich towards me. There's a water bottle too.
Before I can speak a single word to the stranger, he's already leaving.
I'm hungry, so I attack the food ravenously. I take a bite of the sandwich, relishing the taste of it on my mouth. The bread is fresh, but there's nothing on it except a thin layer of butter. The water feels good sliding down my parched, raspy throat.
I have a feeling I'm going to start screaming soon. Not because I'm hoping to get somebody's attention, but because it's so quiet in here, it's messing with my head. Now I know what Xavier meant when he said people go mad in solitary confinement. Once I finish eating, I fall back on the ground and stare up at the grimy ceiling where mold is growing. I try to force myself to sleep, but the rest doesn't come and my eyes stay open. Even more time passes, but I have no way of telling whether it's minutes, hours or days. I can only discern the time by the growing pains of hunger in my stomach. I don't know how often they're going to feed me, but the butter sandwich I had wasn't enough to sate my hunger.
My mind races with too many thoughts to count as I wait for the next meal to come, preparing myself to speak to the guard. But somehow, in the middle of it all, I managed to fall asleep, nightmares stealing me away from the real world.
When I wake up, there is another water bottle and another piece of bread waiting for me. With tears running from my eyes, I have some more to drink and eat. I don't know how long Xavier is going to keep this up, but we both know I'm not going to last long. Even though I was trained to be an assassin, I'm used to the luxuries of life that many people never get to experience. Taking those away from me will ensure my demise. If not in my body, then at least in my mind, I can already feel myself breaking, and I have no idea how long it's been. I think about two days, maybe three, have been spent locked in here. With no way of escaping in no way of speaking to anybody, I decide to pass the time by talking to myself.
I don't know if Xavier has any filming or recording devices in here, so I pretend I'm talking to Matilda, my little sister, instead of Ivette. I don't want him getting any information out of me that I don't give him voluntarily.