I groan as he picks me up again, grabbing a towel as he carries me through his closet and into his bedroom. He strides across the room and heads towards a door directly opposite the one we just came out of.
I lift my head as a burst of adrenaline sends me into panic.
“You're okay.” He laughs and I despise him for mocking me. “This is yours.”
My closet appears to be as large as his, but it has considerably fewer clothes. Its white walls, racks, shelvesand drawers look oppressive and intimidating, and I stare dumbfounded as he lowers me into an ottoman.
Enzo opens a drawer and pulls out some sweats, tightening his jaw as he hands them to me.
“I dislike casual attire, but you're sore. This will do today. There's some lingerie in the top drawer.”
I nod, and he turns, leaving me to dress. My fingers tighten around the jersey sweats and my body shakes uncontrollably. I'm not okay. I'm barely hanging on. I'm about to burst into tears and I don't want to give him that. I don't want him to know he's close to breaking me and I slowly make my way to the chest of drawers, surprised to find plain black underwear inside.
I dress quickly and pretend I'm taking my time, snatching moments to myself.
Moments away fromhim.
There's no escaping Enzo and as much as I want to believe it was all some crazy nightmare, I know it isn't. I saw him with my own eyes and I felt him inside me.
He was hard, but occasionally soft. Filthy but arousing. Painful but pleasurable too.
I'm confused, upset, and dazed. Mostly because my body liked most of what he did. It was new and dangerous, but the danger only made it more exciting. More exhilarating. It was despicable, but part of me loved every disgusting, demeaning thing he said.
But it wasn't what I wanted.
It wasn't how I'd imagined my first time would be.
And now, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think. I don't know what I'm supposed to feel.
“Don't overthink it,” Enzo says, walking toward me and handing me a hairbrush. He's dressed immaculately in a crisp white shirt tucked into his tailored chinos. “You'll be happier if you accept your life for what it is now. I won't let you go, Adriana. Not when you’re so damn beautiful and your cunt's so fucking perfect.”
I brush my hair over my face, hiding the blush that's spreading across it. It's obvious I'm taking an unnecessarily long time and when I'm finished, I notice Enzo staring at me with that look of his. The one that startled me because he's consumed by lust.
“This way,” he says, marching towards another room.
I follow, slowly, tentatively.
“This is yours, Adriana.”
The bedroom is smaller than his, but perfect. A delicate shade of pale grey with a comfortable bed and an entire wall lined with bookshelves. It's soft but clean, girly in a grown-up way. A perfect space to retreat to.
“You may use it when I'm not here or when I permit you. While it's yours, Adriana, understand that everything in this house is mine and I will enter this room whenever I want.”
So mine, but not mine.
A retreat, but only a partial one.
A safe space he can invade whenever he wants.
“Do you like it?”
I nod and bite my lip, using pain to hold myself together.
“Good. If it isn't to your liking, ask and I will have it changed.” Enzo walks towards me and grabs my upper arm in a gesture that should be comforting. It's not. It's terrifying andI flinch. “You'll be more relaxed once you've learned the rules. Less afraid because you'll understand what I'll tolerate and what I won't.”
I blink, nod and shake my head, utterly repulsed while strangely comforted. At least they’ll be a framework. Some guidance. A despicable, disgusting set of rules to follow, but ones that will keep me safe until I escape this hell.
“We’ll discuss them over breakfast.”
