A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Recuperating in the Mountain Villa of the Big Boss

Xia Ling let out a scream and scrambled back into a corner. It was not until the shadow in the dark knocked into something, emitting a loud clanking sound, that she realized that there was a metal barricade between the huge shadow and her.

The huge shadow was a pedigree mastiff.

She had been afraid of dogs since she was young, let alone a large pedigree mastiff like this one. Pei Ziheng had bred more than ten similar mastiffs that stood guard in the surroundings of the bungalow to prevent her from running away. She never thought that they were able to be used in this way as well.

She was locked up in the dark room for an entire night with only the mastiff’s howling, constant crashing into the metal barricade, and sounds of its deep growling and attempts at biting at her to keep her company. She was terrified, cursing at Pei Ziheng with the most vicious of words, and then pleading with him in the most demeaning of manners. Eventually, she felt her voice grow hoarse with shouting and lay curled shivering in the wall corner, close to hysteria.

She did not know when Pei Ziheng finally opened the basement door.

All she heard was his voice from above, sneering. “Still interested to see what an animal is?”

Her quivering lips could not produce any sound.

His feet materialized in front of her face, and she heard him say, “Apologies, say that you were wrong and I’ll bring you out of here.”

She could not remember how she admitted her mistake, but she seemed to remember that he had bent over to carry her in his arms and brought her back to the bedroom they were originally in. That bedroom, too, was a prison, with cameras everywhere. There were chains, handcuffs, and security was extremely tight. Yet, the natural sunlight in the room and the softness of the bed gave her a sense of security that she never had before. She collapsed on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

She developed a high fever that lasted a week and had constant nightmares. In her nightmares, she saw the recurring face of the mastiff snarling at her.

When she recovered, she simply lay tamely in Pei Ziheng’s arms every night, tolerating his every hug and every advance without resistance. It was as if she was still the Xia Ling that loved him with all her heart, that worshipped him like a God.

As her memories faded away, the water in the tub slowly filled up.

The warm water covered Xia Ling’s entire body, wetting the open wound on her right shoulder. Her vision was a complete blur, tears flooding her eyes, the taste of saltiness by her lips. She gripped the bath towel tightly, rubbing it ferociously on her body, trying to wash off the stench of blood and animal on herself. However, even after her skin was red and painful from all the rubbing, the stench remained present.

Eventually, she threw the towel in the tub, curled up and hugged herself tightly.

The sound of flowing water circled in her ears, like a gentle, sad song. It seemed to be saying, if only she could go back in time, back to the time when she was 12 when the flowers were in full bloom. Back to the time when she could say no to that man’s outstretched hand so that everything could have ended in that glorious moment…

If that had been the case… it would be… the best.

Later, when she regained consciousness, she was on a bed.

She opened her eyes to an intricately designed ceiling, a beautiful and tasteful chandelier and feeling the soft covers of the bed all around her. She heard someone shouting out at her, and then mustered a lot of strength before she finally could hear what was being said—