Page 6 of His Wicked Obsession
Chewing on my lip, I open my mouth to speak when I hear it again. Hello, darling. Slamming my hands over my ears, they ring, and I start humming as I rock back and forth in the corner of the sofa I’m sitting on. He can’t help you, it says, spinning my panic out of control.
“Stop it,” I hiss. It laughs, but there’s no humor. “Just stop!” I shout. “Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!” I scream, squeezing my eyes shut painfully.
“Bella?” the doctor's voice penetrates, but I can’t focus on him. I need to get the voices to end. I can’t stand it anymore. My eyes open, searching until they land on the pencil in his hand. He shouts for help while trying to prevent me from taking it from him.
Kicking his shin, he lets go just as the door bursts open, and two men come rushing in, Lude on their heels. Before I get the chance to jam the pencil into my ear, I’m tackled to the ground and restrained as a stabbing pain registers in my arm and then a burning sensation before growing lightheaded.
The voice laughs on and on, mocking me as my weightless body is lifted and carried to another room where I’m strapped to a bed. Unable to move or fight, I’m now a prisoner in a new kind of hell.
Low-pitched buzzing irritates me from the forced sleep I was drugged into. My stomach roils from both hunger and whatever medication they injected me with. Staring at the stark-white ceiling, not a tile out of place, as the fluorescent light does its best impersonation of a bee by humming, I attempt to calm my erratic heart.
My life has admittedly been pretty crappy, but even this is new for me. First, I had assumed my parents were dead, then we were given to that disgusting church. My sister was assaulted, violated, and I was forced to witness her deterioration as she fought against the demons inside her head for years; then, we were sold and separated.
Those first few years were terrifying, never knowing if the Vella brothers planned to violate us further, despite their explanation to us so early in our relationships with them. In the end, I grew to trust Lude and, eventually, Natan; they proved themselves to be worth that, at least. I believed Lude when he told me on our wedding night that he would give me anything my heart desired and wait for me to be ready for him as a man.
I depended on his truthful word so much so that I committed myself to him wholly. It didn’t matter that there was no love. I never believed love was the be-all and end-all to life and relationships. At that point, his word was enough.
Until I saw Bria with Maso.
Until I felt Donato’s penetrating gaze light up my body like I belonged to him.
Even then, I didn’t waver in my loyalty to Lude. Except for that kiss. And still, I ran from what my heart and body were screaming was meant for me.
Now, here I am, hearing voices. Drugged. Restrained to bed in a windowless white room, feeling crazier than I did before.
I’ve never given into regret in the past, but as my eyes burn and my throat constricts, it’s all I feel now. I regret not taking Donato up on his offer the first time we spoke privately. I regret not listening to my body when he held me so lovingly as we danced on the beach. I regret not saying yes when he begged me to be his, to let him be the one to give me everything I’ve ever wanted.
I regret my loyalty and commitment to Lude Vella because I confided in him my worst nightmare, and now, I’m chained like an animal with no way to escape.
Closing my eyes, I turn my head away from the door when I hear voices and jangling keys, and whisper a prayer to my sister, “Please, Bria, find me,” as silent tears leak down the sides of my face onto the crisp white sheets covering the bed.
Days blend. Hours mix and mingle. I count higher and higher with each second, and still, I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Men come and talk about me but never to me. Nurses come to draw blood and run tests. Women come to feed me and allow me three minutes to brush my teeth and use the toilet three times a day.
I remain strapped to the bed. No walking. No freedom. No voice.
Is this what Bria felt like for so long? Unable to trust anyone with her thoughts, so she remained silent. I feel fresh heartbreak for the pain my sister was put through.
Hearing the greasy wheels of a cart rolling down the hallway, I know it’s medicine time. Twice a day, I’m fed a cupful of pills. One cup makes me complacent and lethargic, the other knocks me out.
Because the last dose put me to sleep, I assume it’s morning, but I don’t know for sure. Everything blends together, and it’s possible they could be tricking me by giving me the sleeping pills in the morning, or maybe it’s the evening. I wish I could tell. I’m tired of the concoctions, and I yearn to have just a little bit of information.
As the door opens, I keep my eyes on the female nurse coming in. She whistles a faint tune, and a smile crosses her face when she notices I’m awake.
“Good morning, Bella. How are you feeling?” I snort at the ridiculous question.
“How long have I been here?” My voice cracks from how dry it is.
She frowns and pours me some water in one of the paper cups. “Drink this.” She helps by holding it to my lips as I bring my head up.
Swallowing greedily, the room-temperature liquid feels amazing sliding down my throat. Licking my parched lips, I ask again, “How long have I been here?” My voice is slightly more assertive this time.
I’m presented with a lie-filled smile. “A few days.” It’s been longer; I’m sure of it. I can’t gauge how long after I arrived that they started giving me pills, but I do know I’ve taken the ones that make me fall asleep at least four times since I began counting.
“Where’s Lude? Where’s my husband?” I’m hoping he hasn’t betrayed me like I’ve convinced myself. It’s hard to know anymore.
“He had to leave,” she tells me as she brings the cup of pills over. Snapping my jaw shut, I turn my head and refuse to take them. “Come now, Bella, don’t be like that. You’ve been so well-behaved so far.”
Glaring at her, I say, “I want my sister or my husband. Now.” I know for sure that Bria would not allow this to happen to me. The love we have for each other goes beyond the bond of sisterhood. When I hurt, she hurts, and vice versa. This would kill her.