one battle wound too many // sima shi x reader

chapter eighteen

The absence of warmth awakens me. Slowly blinking the sleep from my eyes, I am only to be met with blinding sunlight until I turn my head. Like anticipated, Shi is not in the bed, but rather kneeling on the opposite side, looking at me with lidded eyes.

"Good morning, kitten," he greets, with the new nickname that he had grown fond of over night. "Did you sleep well?" Sima Shi is being way too nice compared to his behavior yesterday, I know that. So trying my best to play obedient house wife, I nod and smile timidly.
"Good." Shi grins, and he stands up, revealing that he is in full dress. I realize we must have slept in, and I still have yet to bathe or clothe myself. I swing my still blanketed feet out of bed and stand up, only to have my knees wobble uncontrollably, and I fall to the ground. Shi's laughter infuriates me.

"Hahaha, that's great then. Because if you were able to walk, then I did not love you properly last night and I'd have to try again."

Images of last night flood my mind, a lot of them containing a side of Shi that I had never seen before. Then come the feelings of a thousand new bruises, across my chest, between my legs, and on my neck. These will surely be difficult to cover out in public.

"Well..." I begin in an attempt to break the silence. "I suppose I should get ready for the day..." Sima Shi does nothing, simply folds his arms across his chest and continues beaming at me. And I don't get too far, minus my unsteady legs, before something yanks on my ankle, pulling me to the ground. Rolling over, I am met with a metal cuff latched onto my ankle bone, the chain reaching the bed post and only allowing me to go that distance.

Only then do I feel Shi pressing in behind me, lips grazing the shell of my ear.
"Well, beloved...? Don't you like it? I think it suits you very well..." He claims in a deep whisper. I, on the other hand, am terrified of this new Shi, evident in how quickly my heart is thudding against my chest. He takes my silence as confirmation, and he stands up, roughly tousling my hair.
"I'm glad you like it," he says happily, moving towards the door.
"Wait!" I shout. He turns around, his smile faltering for just a moment but returning quickly.

"What is it, princess?"
The words get stuck in my throat when I see something flicker dangerously in Sima Shi's eyes.
"You...You're not going to leave me here...Are you?" He chuckles behind a hand, looking up at me from under long lashes.

"Of course I am," he confirms. His eyes blaze with something I can't identify, stealing any coherent thoughts in my brain.
"But I won't be gone for long...I just need to make sure you won't run from me again."

This is unbelievable. My own husband chained me up like a wild animal.

"But can you at least let me bathe first...? I'm still covered in..." I glance down at Shi's dried fluids, on my chest and abdomen and between my legs. He crosses the space between us easily and kneels down before me. Shi threads his fingers into my hair and pulls harshly, pulling out a yelp. He places his mouth next to my ear again.

"Do you not enjoy bearing my essence? It marks you as mine, and no one else's...I think you wear it pretty well."

He releases my hair, and when my head drops forwards he steals a quick kiss from my lips.
"I'll return soon, okay, beloved?" He asks as he moves toward the door again.
"Why are you doing this to me?!" I demand, throwing myself to the ground in a deep bow, pushing my forehead into the floor. I don't hear Shi make any movements towards me, but he simply laughs once more.

"I don't have enough time to make love to you, the way I want to, at least. As much as I enjoy seeing you on your hands and knees, covered in me...I do have matters to tend to."

The soft hiss of his paper door is acid in my ears.
"You can't leave me here!"
I protest, raising my head, hoping to catch his gaze. He turns around to look at me, both smile and eyes hostile.

"Watch me."
And the door closes.
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AN: Yandere! Sima Shi you can fight me on this.