I found myself in hospital. I had no idea what excuses they used but surely the doctors could see the truth from the patterns of my injuries. Vaguely I remembered seeing my parents visiting, seeming very stressed and upset. Yining, my sister's voice, rang in my ear.
"What's wrong with you? You ruined everything. You went too far this time. Look how badly you've been punished. Don't say this wasn't all self-inflicted."
Who cared about that? They had sold me into a family with a crazy father who thought he was still living in some ancient dynasty. I might have thought of protecting my family some, but when I realised that they had been in on this from the start, knowing the contents of the contract and what sort of life they were selling me into, my heart hardened. They had betrayed me first.
It would have been fine if it was just a normal, simple marriage to Jun Sihao. I could put up with that. If they had bullied me as a daughter-in-law and not crossed my bottom line, I would have put up with any mistreatment silently. But it wasn't a simple marriage. I was being treated as a baby making tool and a slave. I was told that I would be forced to be with other men. Alright if Jun Sihao was really impotent and Siming was needed to impregnate me. That was just barely crossing the line. But I was pretty sure Sihao was fine. Otherwise how had he tossed me in bed to the point I had been unconscious for more than a day? If their father got involved. Nuh-uh. That was it. I was out of here. And the way he expected me to behave and be all grateful for this opportunity? No thanks.
I was out of here.
Self-inflicted? That's right. All my new injuries were pretty much self-inflicted. I had purposely sabotaged myself in order to push the family and see how far they would go. How much did those boys love me? How much did the couple care? Where was the line in their morals? Now I knew. I had worked out where the boundaries lay, but that rebellious streak that had arisen in me didn't want to lie back down.
Suddenly, I didn't want to be the doormat they wanted me to be anymore.
I had to admit, this beating, the burns and slaps were all about as painful as being tossed about on the bed.
"Alright, we're taking her home whether you're willing to discharge her or not," Mr Jun's voice brooked no arguments. "She's been treated and you said she'd recover with some rest and so we're taking the young lady home now. Hospital fees are expensive."
"Mr Jun, she hasn't woken up yet," said a doctor, rushing in followed by two security guards. "We still need to assess her after she wakes up."
"You said she should be fine after waking up. You're just trying to scam more money out of me," Mr Jun complained in a growl.
I couldn't help flinching at that warning voice.
"Yina, you're awake?" Mrs Jun's voice said from by my bed.
Bother. Go squish a blow fly. I hadn't decided how I was going to play things yet. Whether I'd go the route of making more trouble or whether I'd be a good girl and then go make more trouble at home.
I turned my head to look at her with some wariness.
"Don't make any more trouble, please," she begged me in a soft voice. "He'll beat us all when we get home and cause trouble for your family. You can't be so selfish. Please, Yina, be a good girl."
I didn't know what to say to that. My eyes inadvertently began leaking tears when I hadn't asked them to. They'd all be beaten for my misdemeanours? That was how he controlled the family? In that case, I had to take the monster out.
"No, Yina, don't do it. Don't make things worse," Mrs Jun begged me, probably seeing the stubborn glint in my eye. "Even if this goes to the police, he has connections. I've tried it before. It only gets us into more trouble and he gets out free. It's one of his best friends and someone he has dirt on. They won't betray him."
It was like I was a balloon and I'd been popped. The rebellious air whined out of me.
If taking him out via the law wasn't an option, then what options did I have left? I needed to think again. Stall for time.
I closed my eyes again and burrowed back into the dark to do my planning. There had to be a way.
There was the sound of sobbing in the room. Opening my bleary eyes, I discovered I was back in the Jun residence. The sobbing was from Mrs Jun. She'd been tied to a chair. There was sobbing from Jun Siming. He had been stripped naked and was covered with red marks from the cane.
Jun Sihao was tied to his chair. His face was red and his fists tightly clenched. One side of his face was swollen.
No wonder he'd wanted to escape by ending his life. After seeing what Mr Jun was like, I wasn't surprised. I thought about how violent Mr Jun could become and suddenly felt suspicious.
"Jun Sihao wasn't injured in a car accident was he?" the words popped out of my mouth in a raspy voice before I could stop them.
The whole room froze and Mrs Jun's eyes looked at me with alarmed panic, begging me not to say anything more.
My eyes fell on Mr Jun's ugly, naked body and then the half smile on his face. This perverted sadist. I could see the answer on his face.
"There is a consequence for children who are disobedient," Mr Jun smiled at me in the ugliest expression I had ever seen on a human being. "I think you want to learn things the hard way. I was going to treat you like my daughter-in-law, but you refused. It's too late now. Since you want to be treated like a slave, I will let your fantasy come to life."
Suddenly, I realised what I had got myself into. I really had gone too far. I looked wildly around the room in panic, pleading with wide eyes for someone to save me from his beast in human skin, but none of them would look me in the eyes. Only Sihao. Sihao caught my eyes and I could feel his pain and feelings reaching out to me.
"No, no, Uncle, please," I blabbered, tugging at the ties that had bound my wrists and ankles. "Please, don't do this. Don't do this. I'll be good. From now on, I'll be good. I promise. Uncle, please."
Mr Jun ignored my pleading and his slightly pudgy and greasy hands reached out to touch my bare body. I flinched and jerked when he stroked and then pressed on my bruises. My limbs had been secured to the four bed posts. No matter what I did, there wasn't going to be any escape for me.
"No, no, Uncle, please. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Forgive me. I'm sorry. I'll be good. I'll be good."
My babbling turned into a scream.
I lay limp on the bed when Mr Jun was done. He got me. He really had. I was going to be mortally afraid of him forever after. I would be afraid of his presence and flinch at his touch. I wouldn't be able to raise my voice or treat him the way I had earlier. I had joined the family as another cowed being that wished for death.
"Siming," Mr Jun said and his voice made my skin shudder with fear and disgust. "Your turn."
"Dad," Siming looked at me, covering his pecker, looking desperate. "I can't. Not like this."
"Isn't she all you've dreamed about and jerked off to since you were a teenager?" Mr Jun snorted. "She's here now. What are you waiting for?"
"I love her and I like her and I'd like to, but Dad, not like this. She's my best friend. I can't hurt and betray her like this."
The cane landed on my breasts, making me cry out in pain.
"As long and as often you disobey me, she will pay the price," Mr Jun smiled. "Perhaps you'd like to see me humble your best friend and the girl in your heart beneath me again? Sihao, persuade your brother."
"Bro," said Jun Sihao in a low voice, "it's ok. I won't hold it against you."
"Yina," Siming looked at me with pleading in his eyes.
I couldn't muster up a smile.
"Come," I told him. "Better you than the nightmare beast on top of me now."
Then I screamed again when the nightmare beast punished me for calling him names.
"Still dare to disrespect me again?" Mr Jun slapped my face, making my nose and lips bleed. "Haven't had enough yet? Don't you dare lose consciousness or I'll beat one of the boys. Who do you want to suffer in your place? Your best friend or the man you love?"
"You," I spat a glob of blood, but it didn't reach him. Only fell back on me.
Ah. That wasn't received well.
I was still shuddering beneath him when he dragged Siming over and forced him onto the bed.
"Yina," Siming said in a desperate voice. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," I whispered. "Go for it, bro."
"Do you need me to teach you how it's done?" Mr Jun demanded and his cane landed on my breasts again, making me whimper in pain.
Siming's hands slid over my body and his lips kissed me gently. From my lips, down my torso to my bruised and swollen parts and back up again. His tongue brushed my bruises, leaving a cooling sensation behind.
"Close your eyes," Siming begged, kissing my eyelids. "Don't look at me like that. Please. I can't take it."
Siming was gentle and considerate, ensuring that I felt the pleasure as much as he did. We came together and his tongue dipped into my mouth, twirling with my tongue there.
"You should have agreed to marry me from the beginning," he whispered in my ear, "then we could have run away and escaped from this hell hole."
"How would I know if you didn't tell me clearly? If you had told me properly, I'd have done anything to save you," I murmured in a voice no one else in the room would be able to hear. We panted into one another's ears.
"Oh? So loving?" snickered Mr Jun. "Then you can go again."
The cane swish-cracked onto Siming's behind and he stiffened up. He hadn't pulled out of me yet and I felt the cane through him.
"Come on then, you two adulterers. Go again," Mr Jun caned Siming even when he began moving on top of me. Siming seemed to swell up to an even bigger size than just before. He seemed stimulated by the pain and wasn't as gentle as before. "Harder," Mr Jun ordered. "Harder. Teach the rebellious little slut a lesson. Teach her who's the master and what it really means to be a slave."
Mr Jun made Siming take me two more times. My consciousness was flickering by the time he was satisfied.
And then I saw Mr Jun untie Jun Sihao and carry him over, undressing him without a care for his son's dignity.
"Your turn," he told Sihao. "Look how ready you are already. This time, she will do all the work."
I was released and Jun Sihao was laid down in my place. Juices and liquid gushed down my legs when Siming helped to hold me up. Mr Jun and Siming positioned us and lined me up. I had barely any strength left and so Mr Jun had Siming climb up onto the bed to help me move. This position struck places I hadn't known existed. Siming helped me move my tired body but it wasn't good enough for Mr Jun. He dragged Siming away and then laughed when he saw his younger son was erect again. He controlled the strength and rhythm, taking the opportunity to leave marks around my neck and to play with my bruised breasts.
He made me cry out and beg. When Sihao was done, he laid me down on top of his son and hammered me once more. Once finished, he forced Siming to finish himself off inside me where he had been jerking off on the side.
All the way through, Mrs Jun sobbed.
I passed out before it was done.