HIS CAPTIVE

A GOOD GIRL...

With heavy steps, he approached. "WHO THE HELL IS THIS?"

I froze, scared and confused, trembling slightly; my eyes kept shaking.

"WHO IS THIS PERSON, MAYA?" he shouted again, while his parents stood silently, their gaze asking me that same question.

Rhys turned the screen, and my eyes closed as a tear slipped down my cheek in relief.

"M-Mom," I said, stuttering, and he fell silent, handing me my phone back. I held it with trembling hands.

"Y-yes, Mom..." I replied.

"Kai is waiting for you," she said, and I bit my lip, trying to suppress the sob that threatened to escape my mouth.

"I'll be a little late," I said, attempting to keep my tone normal.

"Why?" she asked, and my gaze wandered to all the people inside the house.

"I'm doing an assignment with my teacher," I said, following Rhys's lips as he spoke.

She hummed and said a cheerful goodbye, which I tried to echo, but she ended the call quickly.

Rhys stepped closer, cupping my cheeks gently with one hand. "Sorry," he murmured, and I replied, "I... it's o-okay," my words trembling.

Mrs. Brenden smiled at me and took my hand, leading me to the sofa beside her. She acted as if nothing had happened.

"How was your day?" she asked.

I was reminded of everything Rhys had done to me. Choking back tears, I replied, "Okay..."

She hummed and got up.

We all sat around the table, and they kept asking me small questions, trying to encourage me to talk, but I felt nothing but fear being there. Meanwhile, Rhys remained quiet, simply keeping me company, sitting beside me and holding my hand tightly under the table.

I felt... I didn't even know what to feel in that moment. The way Rhys had touched me—Kai hadn't even done that, despite us being married. Yes, we had married before truly understanding the meaning of marriage, but we had grown into it. We gave each other the chance to grow up, as my parents had advised. Of course, Kai wanted me to live with him, but my parents insisted that on her twenty-second birthday, we could marry each other. Kai had been furious—so angry—but after talking to me, his anger faded. He made me promise that I would always be his. This college decision had gone against Kai's wishes; he didn't want me to attend, but my parents wanted me to learn about real life and experience how the world worked. I couldn't say it was the same as before—maybe it was worse for me this time.

Mrs. Win asked the maid to bring me ice cream.

I let out a small sigh, wanting to say that I couldn't eat it because I had just recovered from a fever, but my voice failed me.

Holding the spoon, I began to take small bites when Rhys tugged my hand slightly down, making me look at him. He opened his mouth, and I knew what I had to do.

Grabbing another spoon from the holder, I dug it into the ice cream and held it toward his mouth. He released my hand, took the spoon from me, and placed it back on the plate before grabbing my spoon, digging it into the ice cream again.

"Now, butterfly," he whispered, and I nodded blankly, putting the cold ice cream into his mouth while Mr. and Mrs. Brenden watched us with dark sparks in their eyes.

Everything ended quickly, and Rhys was driving the car while I sat there, staring at my lap and playing with my fingers to calm my racing heart.

The drive was silent. Rhys held my hand like it was glued to his, only letting go to shift gears before pulling it back toward him.

I didn't know what was happening with him, how his hate had suddenly turned into this...

We reached near home, and he stopped the car.

"You were a good girl today," he said, leaning closer to me. His hand slipped behind my head, pushing me toward him, and his lips met mine again.

He kissed me once more...

I stepped inside my house, staring blankly ahead. Mom and Dad smiled, asking, "How was your day, sweetie?" I replied, just as before, "Perfect..."

"You should freshen up; I'll cook something for you," Mom said with a chuckle. It felt odd, but I ignored it and walked upstairs.

The lights in my room were off. My hand reached for the switch when someone suddenly pulled me inside, forcing me against the wall and gripping my neck tightly.

"WHO THE HELL WAS HE, MAYA?"

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