Chapter 47 Delilah
DELILAH
This stupid fucking cunt doesn’t die. Next time, I’ll have to remember she keeps the guards in the basement.
As soon as I manage to escape the restraints she’s made of my own body, I’ll kill them, then take my time with her.
The bruises have yellowed, but the welts from her whipping are still an angry red as I balance on the back of a chair on the tips of my toes.
My hair is wrapped around a metal hoop, hanging from the light fixture in the piano room.
At least Rowan has fucked off. There are only so many ways I can block my senses with my arms tied behind my back.
Hearing him fuck his mommy is worse than seeing it.
It pisses Helene off when I mention it, so I smile through the pain as I shout, “I always thought that limp-dicked cunt was a motherfucker! I guess I was right!”
My laugh scrapes my dry throat but it’s worth it when her face contorts in anger.
“You had the nerve to call my child defective?” I say, still laughing. “What does it say about you when your son wants to fuck his own mother? He begs you to breastfeed him when you’re an old, dried-up bitch?”
The bottom of her stick is broken from my fight with her guards. The sharp metal cuts into my calf as she prods me.
“Does powder come out, now that you’re so old?” I wobble as she continues prodding me and my neck aches from the movement. “Or do you mix it with water for him?” My laugh turns to a snort when her face turns red. “Is it like milk powder? Oh, that’s not very powerful of you, is it?”
Something has snapped inside of me now I have nothing to lose.
My baby isn’t there to keep hope alive, Kane has left, so if I can’t have a future of knowing they’re safe, I’m going to make sure this bitch knows how insignificant she is.
She can’t hurt me without using someone else, because there’s nothing more painful than my hope being crushed.
Not my scalp burning from how long I’ve been forced to hang from this hoop.
Or my muscles aching from being stretched for so long.
Now, I’m indestructible.
She opens her mouth, but I shout, “Shut the fuck up! I don’t allow you to speak. When I want to hear your pathetic, whiny fucking voice, I’ll tell you.”
It’s so easy to get under her skin. As long as I keep speaking over her, taking her power away, I win.
And because she’s weak, she cocks her arm back to strike her cane into my calf.
The sting is sharp, travelling up my leg while she smiles.
I have to push my nails into my palms to stop myself from rubbing the sting away with my foot.
“You are not the one in control,” she grits.
“Really?” I hum, tallying everything I’ve done. “You wanted Asher to be here. I killed him. You have an obsession with twins. Guess who didn’t have twins? Oh, what else is there? You wanted Ruby to marry your fuck budd—Actually, do you prefer if I call him your son?”
Her arms shake as she forcefully breathes in.
“Okay, we’ll stick with fuck buddy for now,” I amend. “Ruby didn’t marry him, did she? Which was because of…”
She’s weaker since I stabbed her. I should have slit her fucking throat, but it was the first time I ever stabbed anyone.
The weakness and anger make her even funnier, so I answer for her since she’s clearly struggling.
“It was because of me, wasn’t it, you senile bitch?
Yeah, it was.” My voice is airy like I’m speaking to a child.
“And then you tried to make Kane hate me. He hated me so much he had to have me again. Not just have me. He kept me away from you. He made a life away from everyone, refused to join you because that hate made him mine. That hurt your plan, didn’t it?
Poor old Helene was trapped on her little island without any friends because she’s a decrepit little cunt with dead thi—”
The air whistles as she smacks her stick into my thigh with so much force the metal visibly bends. I can’t hold back my scream as I’m forced off the small wooden edge of the chairback I was balancing on.
Something in my neck clicks as my hair is pulled tighter around the hoop.
I don’t know if it’s due to the abrupt drop or how long I’ve been forced to stand on the tips of my toes, but I can’t feel my legs.
They dangle below me as she continues beating me with the stick.
Each strike is harder while she moves around my body, forcing me to swing by my hair.
I pinch my eyes closed, screaming over whatever bullshit she says. If I can’t move my body, I can stop myself from hearing her. Air hits my exposed ribs without a corresponding strike. I stop screaming to see if she’s dropped dead like I’ve been wishing for.
She’s alive when I peel my eyes open.
Kane glares down at her with his hand tightly wrapped around her broken stick.
Lenny smoothly removes his suit jacket, covering my nakedness without touching me.
He uses the empty sleeve to tug me back to rest on the chair as I watch Kane to see if he’s going against his plan.
This is too much; it has to be. He has to know there’s a threshold of what I can put up with.
“Don’t hit her stomach.” He slowly lets go of the stick. “It’s the only part of her that’s useful.”
Helene hasn’t managed to make me cry with her torture or her taunts.
It’s Kane’s coldness that destroys me. My tears burn, thickening my throat as I croak, “Fuck you.” All of his anger is directed at me as he turns.
Without any thought of the damage it will cause to my scalp, I kick out, screaming, “Fuck you! You don’t get anything from me! ”
He catches my ankle as he stretches forward, snatching my jaw so tightly I’m forced to grind my teeth. I twist my hands to free them, but it only makes my body ache even more while he spits, “You are nothing. I will take whatever the fuck I want from you because you are a whore that belongs to me.”
He rubs one of my thick tears against my lips as he becomes even crueler, dropping my ankle to push his fingers through my matted hair. The strands snap but he doesn’t stop attempting to get through it.
Lenny doesn’t stop him either. I look out of the corner of my eye as he stands there without any emotion on his face like a statue, refusing to look at me.
“Get her down,” Kane snaps as his thumb continues harshly rubbing my lips, pushing my tears between them.
“You may do what you need here,” Helene says.
Kane drops his hold on me like I’m nothing and walks out of the room, leaving me with Helene.
Death seems more enticing, so I goad her as I gesture to Lennox.
“Do you fuck this one too?” Her lips curl up in disgust like her sons aren’t identical.
“Or is it just your defective son who needs mommy’s rancid cunt? ”
Rage takes over her features as she quickly raises her stick, but Lennox brackets my side, stopping her from striking me as Kane’s steps get closer to the room. He speeds up, barking, “Enough!”
Helene stumbles back as he roughly grabs her elbow to pull her away from me. “She was sold to me. That means she belongs to me until she’s served her use. I’ve told you before, no one will punish my wife other than me. That includes you.”
He moves faster than I can anticipate as he wraps his arm around my waist and brings his other hand up to my hair. There’s something shiny in it, but it’s not until I hear the metallic snip of the shears that I realize what he’s doing.
My hair.
He’s hacking through my hair.
I scream in pain. More pain than when she was hitting me.
It’s mine, my hair on my body, but he cuts through it without any care.
I fall forward, hitting his chest as soon as I’m cut off the hoop.
He just cut my hair off. All of it is gone.
The heat emanating from my sore scalp doesn’t detract from the new breeze I shouldn’t be able to feel.
My wrists are tugged, then my arms limply fall to my sides as a deep sob erupts through my body. I’m shifted up, held against him as he turns, forcing me to see Helene’s smug face when I don’t have the energy to fight her anymore.
It’s just hair, but it’s another choice I don’t get. I’ve put up with everything else. They drug me, beat me, fucking rape me—I survived it. This is different. I’m going to spend years remembering this moment without being able to hide from it. I’ll always be able to see they won.
My sobs choke me, black spots dancing in my vision as we get further away. My hair. It was mine.
When we enter the room with the marble painted wall, Kane becomes softer. He kisses my cheek and whispers, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t get you down without cutting you free.”
“I hate you,” I splutter.
“I know.” He rocks me while I mourn the loss of another part of myself. “You’re okay now. No one will hurt you again.”
My arms are dead weight, so I push my face closer to him as I mumble, “You did.”
“I know,” he whispers back, stroking my back. His hand moves further up, brushing my nape, causing me to whimper with the reminder. He doesn’t touch my raw scalp though. He gently lifts the collar of the jacket to cover my neck before rubbing down my back.
The welts on my legs make me hiss as he traces the edge of my reddened skin.
Each mark is catalogued as his breathing becomes harsher.
I don’t know if my body and mind are overwhelmed with pain or if I’m too dehydrated to cry, but my tears stop as I look at him.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why she did it? ”
“There isn’t a reason. Nothing you do will ever fucking mean you deserve the shit we’ve all put you through.” Kane gently tips up my chin. “You deserve more. Never forget that, okay?”
“She killed my baby,” I whisper.
I don’t know why I’m telling him when I thought I’d keep it to myself, but I need this pain to leave.
He doesn’t point out I’m not a mother as he kisses my forehead.
“I’m sorry.” In the next breath, his anger comes back.
“Fuck this. You’re not fucking staying here.
” His touch remains gentle as he sits me on the bed while cursing. “I’m not losing anyone fucking else.”
I’m more comfortable with his violence than when he’s caring so I watch him as he grabs the bag Lennox left during his last visit.
The few items of clothing I have are inside.
Before Helene restrained me, I would fold and refold them to keep myself occupied.
Kane fucks my system up as he pulls out a hoodie, a pair of sweats, and three pairs of socks.
My arms are still numb so I can’t grab them out of his hand as he kneels in front of me. “We’re going to play one more game, koukla mou. Remember it’s pretend.”
A pained groan leaves me as he lifts my hand to kiss my knuckles. Everything hurts. Even my teeth and the small amount of hair left on my head. But he gently gets me dressed without applying any extra pressure to my aching body.
I know what he needs to do so I drag my broken body to the other side of the bed and pull the collar out of the gap between the mattress and the bed frame.
The key for the chastity belt is wrapped in the chain, but it’s useless since Helene cut the belt off me.
I like what it represents though so I pull it over my head, tucking it under my hoodie.
“Did…” Kane starts, then clears his throat.
“It doesn’t matter now that I’m leaving.” I sound stronger because I’m a hopeful idiot.
I can’t lift my arms high enough to put the collar on, so I place it in his hand as he stops beside me.
He kisses my neck before wrapping the cold metal around it, then loosely holds the leash with my bag in his other hand.
This might not be the vision of freedom, but it’s the closest I’m going to get to it as Kane walks me out of the room.
The leash remains lax until we walk through the kitchen, where Helene’s standing in the doorway, looking from the bag in his hand to me. “Where do you think you are taking her?”
Kane tightens his hold on the chain, dragging me forward as he drops the bag, stepping closer to her. “You put your hands on what belongs to me,” he grits, taking another step. “How do you expect her to get pregnant when you reverse my training?”
She meets his steps with her own, herding us backwards so I’m pushed in the corner of the kitchen. There’s a faint bloodstain on the bottom of the fridge door, which I focus on—I wasn’t weak then.
“This is not a discussion,” she snaps while Kane gets bigger.
“She is shackled to me, not you. So move the fuck out of my way.” He reaches for something on the counter as he pulls me in front of him. “Or I’ll kill her to stop you from having a bond.”
The links of the chain push into my jaw as he roughly grabs my face, pulls until I’m looking at the ceiling, and fits something cold above the collar. I can’t make out what it is with his fist blocking the view as the sharp point digs into my skin.
This crazy fuck is holding a knife to my neck.
“Do you think I won’t do it?” he dares, pressing the knife deeper into my skin.
“I made her life fucking hell. Tortured this pathetic cunt. By the end, she didn’t even know her own name.
Then I left her in one of our guard’s beds for them to do whatever the fuck they wanted to her.
After that, she was meant to die in a burning building, but you saved her.
So if you think there is anything stopping me slitting her fucking throat, it’s the bond she promises, not my emotions. Move the fuck out of my way.”
When he says it like that, I really am stupid.