I saw Alberto get up from his chair and walk over to me. Kneeling down, he grabbed my face. “What are you thinking about, love?”
He tsked when I didn’t answer. “Don’t tell me you are thinking about Alessio?” he taunted to my face.
I swallowed hard as his words hit me right into the heart. He chuckled, his face right next to my ear. “Did you forget? He gave you to me.”
No.
He didn’t give me away. He loved me. I knew that. Alessio would come for me.
“He handed you to me like you were nothing. Do you really think he’s coming to save you?” he whispered into my ears.
I closed my eyes tightly, trying to block his torturous words. I didn’t believe him. I didn’t.
I believed in Alessio. In us.
“Love, look at me,” Alberto demanded.
I didn’t have any other choice but to look at the devil. He had all the control. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw Alberto’s face soften. His eyes changed to a lighter shade as he looked at me almost lovingly.
“Don’t you see? I’m the one who cares about you,” he said, trailing a gentle finger down my cheek.
Fear rocketed through my chest, squeezing me until I couldn’t breathe. I knew what he was doing. Alberto always did that. He would change right in front of my eyes. Going from a monster to a gentle man.
He did that to play with my mind. To trick me into believing what he wanted. To make me believe he actually cared.
At the beginning, it worked. But now I knew the truth. It was all a game to him. There was not even an ounce of humanity in him. He was a monster.
“Everything I have done is for us. For you. I have always protected you and kept you safe so my enemies wouldn’t hurt you,” he continued.
I tried to shut him out. I really did, but his taunting words rung through my ears, refusing to leave.
“Alessio doesn’t care about you. He never did. But I do. I’m here for you.” Alberto leaned forward and placed a kiss on my cheek. His lips moved to my lips, and he kissed me. Almost sweetly and apologetically. “You’re my queen.”
I whimpered and shifted away. I thought he would hit me, but he didn’t. Alberto rubbed a finger over my cheek instead. “You’ll see that he never cared. He’s not coming for you, Ayla.”
I wanted to scream. Stop it! Please stop it.
He was lying. Alessio cared. I was his Angel. He would come for me. I trusted him.
Alberto continued to whisper in my ears as his hand wandered up my bare thighs. They went under my dress, his touch soft. But the softness was deceiving. The softness only held the promises of pain.
“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. Now that you are home, you are safe. He can’t hurt you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt a finger probing me through my lace panties. Pain. All I felt was pain. This couldn’t be happening again.
Maybe it was just a dream. A nightmare. But I knew it was real. This nightmare was my reality.
He grabbed my thigh possessively, his fingers digging into my skin, leaving his marks. I sniffed as my tears continued to run down my cheeks.
I didn’t say anything. I knew how it worked with Alberto. As long as I stayed quiet, it wouldn’t be as bad.
And then suddenly the gentleness was gone. The back of his hand smacked across my face, and my head knocked against the wall. I screamed as agony pierced through my head and neck.
Alberto gripped my hair and shook me. He yanked me forward until the shackles bit into my skin painfully. I cried out again, the pain too intense for me to bear.
It didn’t hurt just physically. My heart was hurting too. I was breaking inside, slowly losing myself to the darkness that surrounded me.
“Did you really think I would go gentle on you, love?” he spat into my face.
I shook my head, my stomach cramping violently at the unspoken promise in his words. My heart throbbed, and I was paralyzed.
His fist made contact with my face, and my lips cracked open. I didn’t scream this time. I just waited because I knew what was coming next.
“You betrayed me, Ayla. You are making me do this. This is all your fault,” he said against my neck as he ripped my dress.
I shuddered as his hands groped my body. As he touched me, Alberto placed kisses over my face. A mixture of gentle and pain. He was giving me both, trying to confuse me, trying to trick my mind.
“I’m going to fuck you and show you exactly who the fuck you belong to,” he growled into my ears.
My heart sank, and my mind went blank.
I resisted at first. Something I had never done before. But that only angered him more. I didn’t want him. I only wanted Alessio. I wanted my Alessio’s touch. Instead, I was forced to feel the monster’s touch.