The voice was sharp and commanding, but I was suddenly filled with a sense of relief. Who could that have been? My mind raced as I raised my head, my eyes meeting those of Ethan, who was standing by the door, fury burning in his eyes.
"Get up," he ordered, his voice like a whip crack. Without thinking, I obeyed, rising to my feet. I felt like a puppet, my strings pulled by an unseen force. "How could you disrespect your wife like this?" he demanded, turning to the man who had put me in this situation. "Do you have no respect for women?"
"You have no right to interfere, Ethan," the ruthless said, his voice dripping with disdain. "This is between me and my wife, and you have no right to stick your nose in our business. Or is she sleeping with you too, since you seem to know so much about our private affairs?" His words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I couldn't help but react. I was furious at his accusations, his insinuation that I was a "cheap slut." I couldn't let him get away with saying that about me. "I am a not a slut and I can never be one and let's talk about you?,
"What kind of man brings his friends to shame his wife in front of them?" My voice trembled, anger and hurt mixing together. I felt humiliated, like I had been stripped bare in front of these strangers. Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks, but I fought to keep them at bay. I wouldn't let him see me anymore.
"Do you have no respect for anyone but yourself? Can you not consider the feelings of others? Don't you feel bad when you make people feel bad, just to satisfy your own selfish desires?" My words tumbled out, laced with anger and hurt. Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
"You don't talk to me like that," he said, his voice cold and hard. "I am your master, and you are my servant. You have no right to question me, all you have to do is obey my orders. What do you think I am, a fool? I know you were not a virgin when you came into my house. Shall we discuss that?" His eyes were like daggers, cutting into me, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable.
"You know that was just the perfect time to cut down your throat for ever coming into my house. You have not been a virgin, but for some unknown reason, I let you live. I allowed it to be a secret between the both of us; I made sure no one knew about it; should we even say more?" He moves closer, shoving my hands into his. "If I wanted to waste you, I would have done that a long time ago, so don't ever play smart with me; I am your master, and so shall it be," he whispers into my ears, pulling away angrily.
As the man vanished, the silence that remained was deafening. I turned to face the crowd, and I could feel their eyes on me, filled with shock and confusion. I felt exposed, vulnerable, like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
"What are you all staring at?" I snapped, trying to regain some semblance of control. I turned on my heel and fled, my feet pounding the floor as I ran. I could hear the footsteps behind me, closing in.
"Oliva, please stop running. You're only going to hurt yourself," the voice called out. I recognized it immediately. It was the voice of someone I trusted.
"It's easy for you to say that, but you weren't the one humiliated in front of everyone. I was the one who had to dress like a stripper and serve a group of men who were laughing at me. You don't understand the humiliation I felt, the shame and anger. And while I appreciate your help, please just leave me alone for now. I need to be alone." I ran off to the garden, the only place where I felt a sense of peace and calm. I needed time to process everything that had happened.
Ryan pov….
How dare she speak to me like that in front of my friends? They'll think I'm weak, that I can't even control my puppet.
She definitely crossed a line, but was my reaction too extreme? I wanted to punish her for her insubordination, but did I go too far? Did I lose sight of the bigger picture, and act out of anger rather than reason?
Maybe she did lie to me and make me look foolish in front of my friends, but why was that so important to me? Was it because I was afraid she might find out my true identity? Was I afraid of being vulnerable with her? Or was there something else going on, some deeper feelings that I hadn't yet acknowledged? This is all so confusing.
But even if she did lie to me, did I really need to react so strongly? Why did I feel the need to punish her, rather than talk to her about what had happened? I told myself that I didn't care about her, but was that really true? Did I feel something deeper than I was willing to admit? Or was she simply a tool to me, something to be used and then discarded? I had to be honest with myself, and figure out what I really wanted and why.
The loud knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I jumped, startled. "Who's there?" I called out, annoyance evident in my voice.
"It's me," said a voice that took me by surprise. My anger dissipated, replaced by a flood of other emotions.
I moved to the door and swung it open with a bang. "What do you want?" I snapped, my voice like a whip. I stared into Ethan's eyes, searching for some sign of what he was thinking. But his expression was unreadable, his eyes impenetrable.
"I came to warn you. She was nearly naked, for goodness sake. Even if you don't like her, you could have treated her with at least a modicum of respect," my brother said, his eyes blazing with anger. But I wasn't worried about his temper – I was more concerned about why he seemed to care so much about the woman I had treated so poorly. What was his interest in her?
"Wait a minute," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why are you so concerned about her? Are you interested in her yourself?" My words hit him like a slap in the face, and his expression shifted from anger to shock.
"What? No, I'm not!" he said, his words stammering as he looked away from me, his face reddening with embarrassment.
"Sir, there is a guest here to see you. He's rather... unusual," the maid said, bowing as she left the room.
I turned to face my brother once more. "We will finish this later," I said, my tone icy. I turned and walked out of the room, leaving him standing there, speechless.