What you saw felt like a nightmare. The man was sitting in a chair, belt in hand, dawning another mask. This one had a frown. His chest was heaving as he spoke through gritted teeth.
"Come here."
You felt your stomach drop as you attempted to explain.
"I wanted to–"
"Don't make me repeat myself."
Your eyes were glued to the floor as you walked toward him. He patted his lap.
"Sit."
You did as you were told as he forced you to meet his eyes.
"Trying to escape?"
"No, I–"
He shushed you.
"You did something bad and bad behavior must be punished. If you do as I say this will be over before you know it."
He brushed your hair behind your ears and cupped your face.
"I hate to reprimand you, I really do. But the rules are the rules."
Tears fell from your eyes.
"No crying sweetheart. It will only make things more difficult. Now, lay on your stomach over my knee."
As he said this you put two and two together. You moved off of his lap and slumped to the ground onto your knees, begging him not to hit you.
"Oh, little one, this only makes it harder for me. Up you go."
He lifted you off of the ground and put you on his knee. Your back was now arched as you began hearing the sound of his belt moving. Even if you did do something wrong it didn't warrant a beating, but all you wanted to do was show him the picture. At any moment the belt would strike you.
"Please, don't!"
To your surprise, the man froze. You took the opportunity to get the picture.
"I wanted to show you this. It's for you."
There was a silence between the two of you as he took the picture. The man threw the belt to the ground and fell to his knees. A sudden sob from him made you jump. Just moments ago, you were in this same position. Your heart sank. You hated seeing people cry, even if that person was your kidnapper. You kneeled in front of him to be at a similar height.
"This is for me?"
You nodded yes.
"No one has given me a gift before. This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
He turned his head away and took his mask off, switching it for the sunglasses that you saw him in when you first met.
"I can't stand to look at you in the eyes after what I've done Y/N."
Your good nature prompted you to place your hands on his face and wipe his tears from under his glasses. As you were about to pull them away, he held them there as he looked at you in disbelief.
"How can someone be so sweet? Let alone so sweet to someone like me?"
You gave him an honest answer.
"Everyone deserves kindness."
The man pulled you forward and kissed your forehead. He then stood up and cleared his throat.
"I'm going to put this beauty of a picture upstairs and clean up. You get back downstairs, and I'll see you in the morning darling."
The two of you went in separate directions when you heard him mutter something.
"This girl has made me soft."
