Dark Chemistry |18+| (Under editing)

10 || Forbidden Feelings

"I looked into his eyes once_
And then I'm addicted forever "

✿

NATALIA

It had been a week since I last saw Nickolas, the last time he was a drunken storm of anger and aggression, so unhinged that I still shivered thinking about it. Since then, I was left to wander the labyrinth of this mansion like a forgotten ghost. Each day dragged on, identical to the one before: waking up late, skipping meals out of spite, and staring at the thick woods around the mansion that had become my prison.

Food was my last stand. I wouldn't eat. Not until they let me go. But that act of defiance felt weaker with every passing hour.

It's so fucking difficult for a foodie to eat nothing but water, juices and snacks everyday while dozens of delicious food items were waiting in the kitchen and the stupid fucking mouthwatering aroma was lingering everywhere.

Anna, the housemaid, would come at my door, with meals, her voice sharp as a blade, threatening me to eat, but it was hollow. She had no real power, and we both knew it.

Crying hadn't helped. Begging hadn't worked. Fighting, well... that had gone terribly wrong the first time. So now this was the last option.

I had tried to escape once. It had been a reckless, hopeless attempt. Guards surrounded the house, a small army of them, each more grotesque and terrifying than the last. They stood like statues, lifeless but watching, waiting for any reason to act. There were a couple of German shepherds standing before the main gate with the guards and another few couples of dobermans roaming around at the back of the house and in the garden.

The even worse part was, there were CCTV cameras in every corner and each floor, that means, they gave me a little freedom but they're watching me from everywhere. Even if I got past the guards and the dogs, the cameras would catch me. There was no blind spot, no place to hide.

So, I wandered instead. Like a prisoner pacing her cell. Searching for cracks in the walls that I knew weren't there.

I slept when I could, my dreams haunted by images of Nickolas, by the fear of what might come next. What was he planning? Why was I even here? It felt senseless, maddening.

Even the maids were pretty mute whenever I asked them about my family and Nickolas's work stuff. Every night, after sobbing and crying until my eyes give up, I fell asleep. And every evening, I'd stare at the familiar sight of the sun disappearing behind the thick woods.

This evening was no different. I stood out on the balcony, the cold metal of the railing digging into my palms as I leaned over, watching the sunset bleed across the sky. The estate stretched out before me like a painting, the deep woods casting long shadows as the sun dipped lower. The view was beautiful-painfully so. It felt wrong, standing in such a stunning place while my life crumbled around me.

My stomach growled, betraying me. I hadn't eaten a proper meal in days, and the hunger was becoming unbearable. The battle in my head was a losing one. I needed to eat, but doing so felt like surrender. With a frustrated sigh, I pushed off the railing and headed downstairs, deciding I would find something small- just enough to keep going.

Passing through the shadowy, dimly lit hallway, I descended the grand staircase, my steps echoing in the suffocating silence. The house was a masterpiece of darkness, as cold and tainted as Nickolas' heart. Every inch of the interior seemed to drip with malevolence. The walls were painted in varying shades of black and charcoal, absorbing every glimmer of light like a bottomless abyss.