House of Trap

21 | Punishment

"Guess again," the voice responded with an eerie playfulness. It belonged to a male, one that usually cackled, or spoke comforting words to his friend. But now, it was deep and grim, making her uncomfortable just by hearing it.

Ashlyn intuitively pulled her blanket closer against herself. "How did you get in here, Jay?"

"You didn't lock your door," he answered in a matter of fact way.

Ashlyn felt her heart drumming against the insides of her ears. Something didn't feel right. Ho Seok just stood there, still. He didn't move or say anything. He only breathed and continued watching her from the shadows of her bed's end.

"W-what do you want?" She finally gathered the courage to question him. Perhaps she had better kept the silence, for now he began moving in reply.

One knee rested against her mattress, and soon the other one followed. He was closing in on her, ignoring the panicked breathing escaping her parted lips.

"I want justice for Natasha," Jay whispered.

Ashlyn's breathing came to a halt when she realized Jay was already in front of her face. She didn't know what to expect when he suddenly pushed her down roughly against her bed, his entire weight on top of hers. Her head hit the edge of the bedframe, but he did not care. He exerted some force when he aggressively pinned her wrist down against the bed. His body towered dangerously over her to keep her locked in place.

"Get off me! I can easily scream," Ashlyn tried to utter the threat menacingly. But her voice was shaking. Her body was trembling. He was aware of it.

"But you won't," Jay said with a mocking scoff. He then picked something up from his pocket.

Were those ropes?

"You'd be far more interested in what I'll have to say." He took one of her wrists and pushed it against the cold steel of the bed frame. Despite her weak resistance, he used the rope to tie a death knot, chaining her hand to the bed.

"What are you doing? Seriously, Jay!" Ashlyn tried wriggling her entire body, but Ho Seok was still a man. He was much more powerful than she was, and was completely immune to her pathetic slaps.

He then grabbed her other free hand and tied it to the other side of the bedframe. Her arms were spread far apart from each other. Then he got off to tie her feet together against the bed's foot so she'd be rendered completely powerless.

"Seriously! Let go of me. This is not funny. What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm clearing up a misunderstanding," Jay said calmly. He then climbed over her tied up body once again, this time smirking.

"What misunderstanding?"

"The one where you can't even trust your own boyfriend," he said, his tone was so detached from any emotion. He took out something else from his pocket now, but she couldn't make out what it was.

"I saw them cheating with my very own eyes!"

"Is that the only conclusion you could draw on?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if he had asked her for some help?"

Ashlyn's eyes widened in surprise. All the arguments she had laid out in her head to defend herself as a victim were suddenly nullified. Her heart began to constrict in fear. Had she been wrong all along?

"W-what for?" She stuttered. Her mind was unable to come up with a rational explanation for his theory. It couldn't be true. They were cheating.

"As foolish as Steven was, he loved you so much to the extend he was afraid you would leave him once you graduated," Jay said grimly. He was moving the object in his hand that resembled a cloth.