Love in the Dark

Chapter 8 Bella and Cooper's dilemma

A shadow of a man steps into the light beaming down one Bella and Cooper who are both restrained by security that look more like mercenaries. The wandering is palpable with anticipation. She knows that voice that rang from the dark all too well. As if it's the voice she's known since she could remember.

"What do we have here?" asks Marcos, making his presence known.

Bella's eyes widen, knowing her secret has now been brought to the light. There is no point in hiding it, they are past the point of no return. Marcos walks over towards his daughter with a strut of confidence yet with a hint of malicious intent. He stops in front of her signaling for his henchman to let her go.

"Before I even ask, why don't you just explain yourself to me." Marcos demands

Bella gulps, her mind moves like a duck's feet underwater but the world around her is like the surface. She can't even think of what to say, and what she could say. There's no point she's caught but yet she must try.

"I went for a walk, and Cooper found me and offered me a ride home." Bella says, trying to explain with a hail mary intention.

Marcos grabs his chin curiously trying to grasp the context of his daughter's reaction. He laughs with a menacing undertone repeating his daughter's answer in a muttering tone. He looks at his daughter and smiles. Bella tries smiling back as if it would help the situation. Marcos caress's Bella's cheek looking into her eyes with a fatherly love. Bella sighs silently thinking she got herself and hopefully Cooper out of this situation. Cooper looks on from the ground as the three guards stopped beating him, and just held him pinned to the ground.

Within a blink of an eye Marcos backhands Bella hard across her delicate face sending her crashing to the ground. Cooper reacts violently seeing Bella lying on the ground by the hands of her own father. He begins to fight the three guards to try and get to Bella.

"You fucking coward piece of shit, hit me you fucking bastard." Cooper shouts while lashing around on the ground trying desperately to free himself. His efforts are thwarted by the three guards that were pinning him to the ground, they begin raining down punches on him as one guard rapidly kicks him in the ribs to subdue him.

Marcos walks over towards Cooper who's being held down forcefully against all his strength to resist. Marcos kneels down, and grabs Cooper's face to look deeply in his eyes.

"Now Cooper, if you want me to keep sending money to that shitbox orphanage you grew up on, you will finish your work and leave my daughter alone. Do you understand?" Says Marcos to Cooper as he wipes a small amount of blood coming from his lip.

Bella is still awake from the strike but plays dead as she hears her fathers demands to Cooper. Cooper looks up into Marcos' eyes who impatiently awaits his response. Cooper spits in Marcos's face before saying "Go fuck yourself."

Marcos, not entertained with Cooper's actions, wipes the spit from his face before standing and soccer style kicking Cooper across his jaw, knocking Cooper unconscious. Marcos puts his handkerchief in his pockets before ordering his henchman to carry Cooper back to his quarters. Bella now rises to her feet and sees Cooper's nearly lifeless body being carried away in the dark. She tries rushing to Cooper before getting stopped by a guard.

"Dad, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Bella screams as she tries to resist the guard with no avail.

Marcos goes over towards Bella who grabs her face with both hands and squeezes them tightly. He gets nose to nose with her, looking into her blueish eyes with his eyes now black as the night surrounding them.

"You think I'm going to have my only daughter whore around with some farmhand, like your bitch mother, you are sorely mistaken. I ought to have you killed like I did her." Marcos shouts directly into Bella's face.

Bella's eyes widen even with the restriction of her face from the strength of her fathers fat hands. She can't comprehend what her father just said, as if she got shot by a gun but the adrenaline in her body rushes and she isn't able to feel the life altering wound. She looks at her father not even being able to recognize that man that raised her. Marcos orders the guard to escort his little princess back to her quarter and make sure she stays there till further notice.

The guards picks up Bella from behind as he wraps his arms tightly around her waist. Bella begins kicking and screaming, unable to create words from the pure feeling of anger and disgust by what she now knows. Her father is a monster and she's the product of such an incomprehensible deplorable human being.

The guard kicks in the front door of the manor while carrying Bella who is still trying her hardest to resist and fight. Her eyes see Raul who enters into view to investigate the commotion.

"Raul help me please..." Bella cries and screams while Bella is being carried up the stairs against her will. Bella leaves Raul's eyesight only to turn around to the door as Marcos enters his manor.

"Raul I'll have a whiskey neat please." orders Marcos.

Raul looks at Marcos with fearing eyes as he is completely distraught by his actions. "Right away Sir." he says in response as he turns to the bar to pour Marcos a whiskey.

Meanwhile the guard carries Bella into her room before throwing her aggressively on her bed. The guard orders Bella to stay put like some sort of pet before leaving the room slamming the door shut behind him. Bella runs towards the balcony only to be stopped by a guard that is now posted on her balcony. She's trapped once again and she knows there is no easy way of getting out. The sense of that dreadful feeling when you know you have been utterly defeated sinks in and hits her soul like a tidal wave of pure destruction.

She can't help but helplessly sprawl onto her bed. She holds her hands against her head as she screams at the top of her lungs into her mattress. She lifts her bed as her eyes shift to her nightstand where stands the photo of her mother and her when she was younger. She grabs it as she rolls onto her back and gazes upon the photo. She thinks if only her mother was here she would understand. She holds the picture close to her chest tightly while Bella closes her eyes as the silence of the night now calms her and her mind wanders into the dark deep depth of her soul.

A vision is what she finds as she plays back to the day she had the photo with her mother. Rays of sunshine through a partly cloudy afternoon sky. Giggles of a young girl being chased playfully by her loving mother in a yield of tall grass. Flash forwarding to them laying on their backs looking up at the sky. The little girl looks at her mother who caresses her cheek.

"My sweet Bella, remember that a woman must always be strong and follow her heart." says Bella's mother in a loving tone.

Bella's eyes open as tears begin strolling down her cheeks.