Forged - [Donald Na x female oc]

[AE] - Chapter 28

Ray's whole body froze, only her eyes got slightly wider. She would have gasped, but she was too shocked.
She knew what the implications of what Donald told her to do were, and she was downright terrified.

"W-what?" her tone was so quiet Donald wondered if he had imagined it, however, the look of pure disbelief on her face and the way her chest stopped moving up and down confirmed it.

"You heard me right." Donald's tone seemed to have gotten a bit more human, but that didn't feel reassuring at all.
He seemed to enjoy her fear and knew that the more cheerful and calm he sounded about it, the more sadistic the whole thing would be. The harder it would be for her to accept it.

Ray took a deep but slightly interrupted breath, as she slowly and fearfully unzipped and then took her hoodie off. Her hands were slightly trembling, but that could have also been due to the beating she just took. Although, Donald knew better. He grinned at her.

Normally, she'd never feel bothered to be anywhere wearing just a top, but right now, she felt incredibly underdressed and vulnerable. The room wasn't even cold, but she couldn't help a small shiver.

Donald made sure to make it as obvious as he could that he was taking her look in, his gaze roving over her body.

He gestured for her to hand him her shirt, and after she did so without speaking a word, he carelessly and nonchalantly threw it across the room and out of sight.

Donald then stepped closer to Ray, as she fought the unbearable urge to step back and away from him. He very gently caressed a strand of hair out of her face, his hand then slightly trailing down her shoulder and arm.

Ray didn't move, but she felt incredibly uncertain at his sudden gentleness. She was scared to speak, as to not trigger him, but at the same time, she knew she still had it coming, no matter what she did. His sudden gentle touch was just another way to wreck her, emotionally.

Her mind and feelings were at war once again. All their history together made part of her believe it was alright, although she knew what Donald was implying right now.
And she hated him for it.
But again, in the same hopeless manner she hoped that things between them would turn out differently, she hoped she was wrong.

Donald's eyes were empty and dead as he looked at her, expressionless. He seemed almost bored with the whole thing.

He then suddenly sighed, as he seemed to have thought about something. With a straight face, devoid of any emotion, he broke the silence.

"Ray. All you had to do was say yes to me."

Ray swallowed the bile that was accumulating in her throat. She didn't reply. There was nothing she could or even wanted to say. She had refused him time and time again, and not just that.

"Why couldn't you just accept my offer and rule with me? I suppose you preferred to lie and deceive me instead. Must have been fun." His tone didn't sound like he was blaming her, it sounded more like a rhetorical question, a statement.

He looked at her for a while, presumably expecting an answer. However, upon receiving no explanation or at the very least a half-baked excuse, Donald placed both of his hands on Ray's shoulders, pulling her closer.
He seemed like he wanted her to acknowledge it, or maybe admit she did it out of duty and not her personal wishes. Secretly, Donald wished that what had been between them wasn't all ... a lie. The fact that she gave him nothing to work with annoyed the hell out of him.

"Now, how about you show me how good of a performer you actually are?" an evil grin plastered on his face.

Ray tried not to resist him pulling her, as she knew that would only make things harder for herself.

"What... do you mean?"

"I will give you one chance for redemption. Convince me to let you go. Show me how far you'll go to save your ass, Ray."
He grinned, a dishonest grin that told Ray she better give up any hope of leaving unscathed, unless... she played into his dirty game.

Ray stood there motionless, thinking about what she had heard. Donald was challenging her to entertain him. He probably wanted her to try to seduce him again or pay him some unholy and disgraceful favors.

She slowly shook her head no. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it. She didn't want to do it. If the context was different, she would have gone down and dirty in a second, but not this time.
She realized how stupid she had been to actually nurture feelings for him, even though they were short-lived and repressed.

"No?" Donald laughed cruelly. "What, you no longer want to lie to me? You seemed to really enjoy it, though... Keeping in mind that's all you've been doing ever since we met."

"I didn't lie to you... at least... not with everything..." Ray spoke in a soft tone, avoiding his gaze.

"Uh-huh. That's cliché, Ray. You can come up with better excuses than that." He seemed totally unimpressed.

"Donald, I'm not making it up."

He just laughed in her face, clearly not caring about any sort of excuse or explanation. He wasn't here to negotiate or discuss, he was here for revenge, for her sufferance.

"If you're telling the truth, you wouldn't mind looking me in the eyes, right?"

Ray almost sighed in anticipation, she knew that as soon as she'd meet his eyes, he would punch her again, who knows where.
She seemed a bit calmer than before, the shock of having her shirt removed having died down, so after a short moment of thinking, she once again slowly turned her head to look him in the eyes.

This time she didn't close them, nor was she hit again. Instead, Donald slowly used his hand to gently wipe some of the blood on Ray's face. He kept his hand on her chin as he spoke.

"I shouldn't have hit your pretty face."

The affirmation made Ray's skin crawl. It was definitely not a compliment, nor an apology, she knew as much.
These sudden changes between aggression and tenderness really put Ray on edge. She wished he'd beat her up and be done with it already. These little mind games he was playing managed to pull the rug from under her feet every time.

Donald smiled softly, his touch gentle. He almost looked peaceful and caring, like he had been some time ago to her, except genuine.

"I really do like your face, you know?" He slightly chuckled, making Ray's blood run cold. He spoke of her as an object, as a belonging of his.

"I don't want to see you all bloody, I know you can take a punch. What I do think would make your face look better, however, is... hm... Oh, I know!" He smiled again, his face looking so relaxed, as if he had never known problems or anger.

With one swift movement, he took a chair and sat in it. Then he grabbed Ray's wrist and pulled her closer to him.

"You know what that is, Ray?" he asked almost in a hum, clearly pleased with himself.

A/N
i wonder what bullshit he's gonna say again