When she saw the rifle in his hands, she shouted, but not loudly enough to wake anyone else. She started clutching her chest, gasping fiercely, tears streaming down her cheeks, as the bottle she was holding collapsed. He knew it was her, even if he couldn't see her well.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her. She took a few steps back as he inched closer. She shook her head sharply, panic taking over her entire body. Like it usually does when she is scared or nervous, her breathing tightened.
"I wanted to sip on some water. Please, master, don't shoot; I was very thirsty." She pleaded, taking a few steps backward as he approached her, the gun still in his hands.
"Didn't you have a kitchen in your quarters?" he asked, placing the gun against her head. She shook her head, closed her eyes, and made begging motions for him to let her go.
"Master, it was locked, I needed water, and..." He took the bottle from her hand before she could say anything more. His good eyesight allowed him to notice things in the dark.
"What is this, Lana?" The instant she heard her name, she froze. Their vicious master had just seized her, and she remained stunned. She didn't know if she would escape this time. She couldn't see his face clearly, but he could clearly see hers.
Her chest was pounding rapidly, and she was experiencing the same pain that anyone who engages in cardiac exercise experiences. She touched her pendant on her neck, muttering something quietly while Axel was watching her every mood.
"Why is a phone number printed on the bottle?" He asked surprisingly calmly. When she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She did not know what to think or say to him to get him to let her go, so all she could do was cry silently.
Axel relished the experience of seeing her in pain. Even though he had sympathy for her, he dismissed the emotions as a sign of weakness. Not even his sister was his weakness, and he does not want her or anyone else to be. He would have loved nothing more than to shoot her in the head, but he was unable to do so because he had vowed to his parents to take care of her before they passed away.
"Has the cat got your tongue?" He hauled her out of the kitchen by grabbing her by the head. He was going to give Jane a hard time because he could not understand why she had forgotten to lock his kitchen. He felt like he was ripping Lana's scalp off her head, and she hissed in pain.
He ignored her cries and went into his room with his hand on her hair. He threw her to the floor as soon as he locked his door, watching her tremble in fear.
"Please don't kill me! I just wanted to call my parents. I just want them to stop worrying about me. I just wanted to let my mom know that I am fine because she is pregnant. Please master!" She cried as she spoke, sitting on her knees.
"So, what do you expect to happen when you call them? So that the police could come get you and arrest me for kidnapping?" Seated on his couch, he asked, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it with a gun-shaped lighter.
"No, not at all. They would think of something else if I had been missing for days. I want to hear their voice; I want to tell them everything is fine." She cried out, tightly gripping her necklace. Since the death of her real parents, she has found comfort in it.
Axel stayed silent, watching her sob like a child. Normally, when he sees this, he either enjoys watching his enemy cry in front of him and constantly gives them more reasons to cry, or he despises seeing people cry, especially Fiona; he finds it annoying and would rather shoot the person to silence him or her.
To see Lana cry, though, was something entirely different. This is an experience he has not had in a while. He felt the attraction growing between them, so he tried cutting her off, but it did not work at all.
No one else would dare hurt her but him, and he wanted to be the only reason she would cry.
"When you call them and they ask where you have been, what will you tell them, huh?" he asked, puffing out the smoke in her face. This made her cough for a long time, trying to suppress the pain in her chest.
She was silenced by his question. All she wanted was to be free of him, and he pardoned her, but she was not sure how to respond to that question. But would he? There is no mercy for those who fall into his trap, as she had learned from other maids. He either killed them or imprisoned them in the dungeon.
"I beg you, Master; I promise to be good and do whatever you want. Please do not kill me, do not lock me up, do not torture me, and please spare my life." He was mildly amused when she sobbed.
"So this is what you have been hearing about me." With a smooth and richly deep voice, he murmured something that made her shiver. He will not keep puffing smoke on her face, which affects her in that spot. Her eyes were watering, her chest tightened, and her throat ached. That moment, he was torturing her.
"Are you willing to do anything I ask?" He asked, and she nodded, continuing to fiddle with her pendant while averting his gaze.
"What if I asked you for sex? Would you do it?" His expression turned sly as he enjoyed the response she was feigning. Her eyes grew wide, not sure if this was a joke or if he was serious.
"Anything but that, master." She said that, and he chuckled. She found it amusing because it sounded unfamiliar to her ears, but it was also heavenly.
"You are making choices for your master. Such audacity." He mocked, fiddling with the gun he was holding and the cigarette he was chewing.
"Please pardon me," Shrugging, she continued to be unaware of his next move against her. Was he going to starve her for weeks in a locked room? She continued to think, and the more of those kinds of ideas filled her mind, the more fear gripped her.
"You will be my personal maid from now on. Make sure you arrive here as early as six tomorrow. And the only time I will forgive you for being late is if you arrive at seven. But if you arrive so late, I will not feel sorry for you. Do you understand?" When he asked, she nodded and nervously gulped down her saliva.
"words!"
"yes, master. I will do what you asked me to do." She replied, almost frowning. Although he had spared her life, she was grateful for that. She was not used to waking up early, though, even though that was the idea. She does not think she could stick to the rules of waking up early, even though it was part of her punishment.
She did not want to bother him by asking about breakfast, so she stayed silent.
"And never discuss this with anyone else. You will not think it funny once I hear something like what happened, so I will not spare you this time. Leave my room now!" She could almost feel her heart trying to burst out of her chest, he said icily.
"Master, thank you so much; I swear I will not tell anyone." She made a quick bow before bolting from the room, leaving the bottle behind.
Grabbing the bottle, Axel looked at it and noticed the small numbers she had written on it. He did not know why he had chosen to keep the bottle.
The following day, Gwen gave a typical smooch on sleeping Lana's arms since she was refusing to wake up when she was tapped.
"Ouuu!" she exclaimed as the final smack snapped her back to reality. When she arose, Gwen was already dressed in her uniform and combg her hair.
"It is six in the morning; wake up." Gwen murmured as she observed her in the mirror. Ignoring what had happened the night before, Lana idly undressed, grabbed her towel, and headed to the restroom.
Gwen was surprised to see her running out of the bathroom, as if she had seen a snake in there. Her long, voluminous hair was quickly combed and secured in a high bun. She felt a little itchy when she put on her uniform.
"What happened, Lana? Why are you acting like this? You are not the type who is scared enough to rush to get ready. Besides, it is 6:15 a.m." She laughed when she saw Lana's embarrassed expression.
"I hate everyone." Wearing her flats, she mumbled under her breath and gave Gwen a quick hug before disappearing from the room, leaving Gwen perplexed.
Her eyes grew heavy following her morning shower. The smoke Axel had puffed on her face was mostly responsible for this effect. If she was granted another chance, all she wanted to do was return to her bed, sleep soundly, and wake up to hear from her loved ones that everything had been a dream.
She moved to his door and knocked gently, but there was no response. She knocked multiple times and got no response from him. It seems he enjoyed punishing her without any justification, and after she had stood there for thirty minutes, she lost her temper.
As she turned to leave at last, she noticed him and two of his bodyguards approaching from the other side of the corridor. His face was covered in a black nose mask, and he wore all black.
He appeared really menacing at that very moment, as if he could kill at any moment. Fear took the place of Lana's anger at him for making her wait for so long.
"Good morning, master," she greeted him, fumbling with her hands as she always does when she is anxious. Instead of responding to her, he had his bodyguard use a digital code to unlock his door.
She watched him enter, unsure whether she should enter. He had warned her not to enter unless he said so. She stood outside for a while, ignoring the aching sensation in her leg.
"You may come in," he finally said, making her feel a little better.
She noticed him exchanging guns with his guards and whispering something to them. That gave her the impression that he was more than just a CEO or businessman—that is, a dangerous man.
The men went away, leaving the two of them by themselves. Lana had the uneasy feeling that she might vanish at any time.
"Take off my coat!" he commanded coldly, giving her chills. With trembling hands, she walked slowly behind him. She has never done this before, but it has become her new duty.
"Do I have to force you to do this? Do not make me say it twice, Lana." She swiftly apologized after hearing him say that and removed his coat from his body. She was struck by the strength of his muscular arm as her hands brushed against his.
"Like what you sense over there?" It startled her even more that he asked with such abandon. She removed it quickly and held it gently. Lana was unaware that her cheeks were flushed.
"Go drop it in the laundry basket; it will be in the closet." She felt her mouth getting heavy, so she just nodded without speaking. She remembered the closet door she had opened to enter his room. She is always surprised by how she gets there.
"How does he wear all of this?" she wondered, looking at the neatly arranged clothes, those stored in clothes racks, his shoes, and accessories; it was more like a clothing store.
"Oh, the basket." She reminded herself as she walked around to find the basket. She was initially irritated because she could not find the basket he had asked her to locate. Gathering the courage, she emerged from the closet and noticed him seated on a chair that she did not believe she had previously seen, along with a sizable sketchbook resting on its stand. Was he sketching? She thought.
"Master, I can't find the basket." Hearing him sigh, she pouted. She attempted to glance at him, but she was aware that he would discover if she did.
"Go find it again." He interrupted, observing her scowl as she reentered and came out holding the coat.
"Master, I still can not find it." Observing her response made him want to smile. He could not resist enjoying himself while tormenting her in various ways. Wearing a stoic expression, he got up and walked towards her as she shifted back, his large frame dominating her small one.
"I will be the one making you cry this morning if I go in there and find it myself." He had just threatened her, so she forced herself to swallow the heaviness in her throat. She prayed in silence as she watched him enter; he was unable to locate the basket.
"I, Master." When Lana saw that he was holding the basket, she stammered, scared of what he would do to her. Seeing the sinister smile hiding behind his mask, she assumed this was some sort of practical joke.
"This is the basket that I am holding, right? How may I punish you today?" He mumbled, holding his chin, as she observed her expression of desire to cry.