Forced Love - 2 (A dark romance tale)

Chapter 42

'You are a monster AND I will forever hate you', I spat angrily at a hurt Drake.

He remained silent and looked down in anguish. There was a long silence, making my palms sweaty and my heart beat faster. Am I going to get beaten again? Oh, how scared I am of him. Before my head had time to worsen my anxiety, he cleared his throat.

'Um, your family will see you in a few minutes. I will leave you all alone then. Please take care of yourself, my love. You are my life.' With that said, he stood up and walked towards the door. He looked at me one last time before closing the door behind him.

I wiped away my tears and gulped more water down my sore throat. Just as I thought Drake changed, he ruined everything. There is no hope for my life anymore. I'm stuck with this man forever. Trying to escape is futile and will only result in the murder of my loved ones. What a fate mine is. I wonder how my family is... I hope he didn't let his anger on them. They are innocent and deserve none of this.

Before I could further worry about them, the door busted open, making me slightly jump on my bed. I glanced up to find my parents and brother in tears...

'My baby... Oh, what that monster did to you. My poor baby', she started crying as she took slow steps towards me. She opened her arms making me run towards her. We hugged each other tightly as we both cried, thinking of our unfortunate destiny...

My papa looked sad, yet furious. He didn't utter a word, but his pain was visible despite him trying to look strong for his wife and children. My papa is a brave, strong, and smart man. He has always supported and respected his family, unlike Drake.

My brother came running to us and hugged both of us tightly. He starting sobbing uncontrollably. 'Sissy... will we ever get a good life?' he asked inconsolably, making my heart scream in pain. The truth is no, we won't ever live a happy life, but I can't tell that to my little brother. It's already too much for him. He had to watch his sister get raped, beaten, and watch a man get murdered. My poor little brother.

I kept quiet and tried to hold back my sobs. Eventually, papa broke down too and hugged us all tightly.

'It will get better, don't worry. It will. It just has to...' he spoke as his voice broke down by the end...

We all cried, hugged, and tried to reassure ourselves of life that we would only happen in our dreams.

After about two hours, a soldier came in telling my family it was time for them to go. I looked at them with teary eyes. I took this moment to get a last look at my little world. I don't know when I will get to see them again. They all looked miserable, with puffy eyes and dark circles from lack of sleep with stress. At least Drake was kind enough to give them nice clothes and food. My brother told me about the pasta he ate in the fancy hall along with the court's men and women. Plus the daily warm baths he has. Those things made me happy.

I gave them all one last tight hug and kissed them before they left the room, leaving me alone to my depressing thoughts.

The room went quiet and boring when they left. To not let anxiety take over me, I tried to stand up and walk but stumbled on my own feet. Thankfully, I caught myself with a table next to me. I slowly trudged towards the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. I couldn't recognize myself in the reflection. I had a big bandage on my head and my skin looked pale with blue bruises along my neck. There were small wounds along my arms and back. My blonde hair was tangled badly and my blue eyes look dull. In summary, I looked horrible.

I slowly removed the bandage to discover a half-healed big wound on my head. Picking up my hairbrush, I started slowly untangling my hair as I stared at my pallid reflection. I braided my hair and pinned it up, careful to not touch my wound.