Strip, ma bella

**Ivery Clark POV** 

My mind raced with every possibility, each more horrific than the last. The car hummed quietly beneath me, the gentle vibration doing nothing to calm my nerves. 

Silence stretched long and eerie outside, save for the occasional rustle of leaves against the car window. No traffic, no murmurs of distant civilization—just an unsettling void.

Strong hands grabbed my arm and pulled me out. “Come on,” Alrigo ordered, his tone as sharp and unyielding as steel.

I stumbled, my sense of direction lost under the blindfold. I could only hear his footsteps and feel the roughness of his hand gripping my arm like a vice. 

"Where are we?" I demanded, my voice trembling. "What is this place, Alrigo?"

His grip tightened, his voice low and sharp. “Walk, Ivery. You’ll know when I want you to know.”

"No! I want to know now! What is this place?" I yelled at him but then I felt his arms again—solid, unyielding—as he swept me off my feet.

"What the fuck!? Put me down!" I shrieked, kicking weakly, but he ignored me, carrying me forward with terrifying ease.

“Stop struggling,” he ordered coldly, his tone devoid of patience.

Eventually, his footsteps changed, muffled slightly as we entered something that wasn’t dirt—a structure of some sort? My heart hammered against my ribs.

A door creaked open, heavy and worn, followed by the faint creak of wooden boards underfoot. My heart clenched tighter. 

We were no longer outside.

“Alrigo!” I cried out again. And with shocking ease, he set me down and then pushed me backward until I hit something soft yet firm. A bed.

Fingers grazed the back of my head, and I flinched at the brief contact. The blindfold loosened, sliding away to let the dim room flood my senses.

“Where… am I?” My voice trembled as I looked around, the tension in my chest tightening with every passing second.

Alrigo stood by the edge of the bed, his hands stuffed casually into his pockets, watching me with that cold, unreadable expression.

"Does it matter what this place is?” he replied, his tone dripping with icy indifference. “It only matters what happens here. Don't you think so?" 

His words hung heavy in the air, a promise and a threat intertwined. 

Tears pricked at my eyes and I swore at him, "Cruel bastard." 

And yet, as he stared at me with that dark, heartless expression, there was a flicker—brief, almost imperceptible.

“You said you’d do anything, didn’t you?” His voice was smooth but dangerous, like velvet draped over a blade.

I flinched as he leaned down, his fingers brushing a strand of hair from my face with mockery in his touch. 

“Strip,” he commanded, the single word a demand and a dare all in one.

My stomach twisted, revulsion and terror swirling inside me. “What?”

“You heard me.” His tone was calm, too calm, and that only made it worse. "Strip. Right now." 

“Alrigo…” I whispered, shaking my head, my legs feeling as though they might give out beneath me.

“What’s wrong, ma bella?” he mocked, tilting his head. “This is what you're good at, isn’t it? Seduction. Lies. Betrayal. Why are you hesitant now?" His words cut deeper than any knife.

Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall. I couldn’t show weakness, not now. “You’re not the man I thought you were,” I said, my voice cracking under the weight of my despair.

“And you’re not the woman I thought you were,” he shot back, his eyes cold and merciless. “So, we’re even. Don't you think so?" 

“You lied to me, manipulated me. You had the audacity to worm your way into my life, into my bed, knowing full well the risks of betrayal. You’ve shown me exactly who you are, bella. A pretty face with poison in her heart.”

I clenched my fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms to stop myself from shaking, from crumbling completely under his merciless glare.

"And now, it's my turn." Alrigo said, each syllable laced with merciless conviction. “I will take everything you hold dear and crush it beneath my feet. Every dream, every hope, every moment of peace you dare to cling to—I’ll strip them all away. You’ll have nothing but my shadow looming over your pathetic existence.”

“Your brother’s plans are real. That makes you my *enemy* too.” His voice dipped darker, harsher, as if he were savoring the destruction he painted in his words.

"And you know what happens when you betray the devil? He doesn’t kill you outright. Oh no. That’s too simple. Too kind. No, he tears your world apart slowly—piece by broken piece."

“Destroy me, then,” I whispered, my voice trembling as much with rage as with sorrow. “Take everything I have. Break me, Alrigo. You’ve already turned me into nothing. What more could you possibly want from me?”

Alrigo’s lips curled into a smile, one devoid of warmth, one that sent shivers down my spine.

“Oh, bella,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery,“You think this is the worst I can do?" 

He leaned closer, his shadow looming over me, "You don’t even know the meaning of nothing yet.”

"Don't worry, I'll make you regret every moment you thought I could be anything other than what I am: ruthless, merciless... and yours only to fear."

“I’ll take your brother’s life if I wish. I’ll strip you of every hope, every dream, until you have no choice but to crawl to me. And when you do…” He tilted his head, the gleam in his eyes sharper than any blade. “That’s when I’ll have won. Completely.”

I bit my lip hard to keep from sobbing, but my body betrayed me, trembling under the weight of his words. How had it come to this? 

The man who had saved me from my nightmare had become one. His cruelty knew no bounds, and yet here I was, bound to him in ways I couldn’t escape.

He straightened to his full height, the weight of his presence suffocating, "You’re wasting my time now, bella. Didn’t you swear you’d do anything to save your precious brother? Now’s your chance to prove it." 

His voice was cold, slicing through the tense silence like a blade. “Or was that a lie too?" 

I felt the walls closing in, his every word another chain shackling me to his will. My breaths came in ragged gasps, but I refused to break under the weight of his cold, consuming cruelty.

He leaned down, "But I think you’ve forgotten, Ivery. You’re mine. The moment you stepped onto that auction, your life ceased to belong to you. I paid for you. I claimed you. Don't you think I need to start acting like the real master now? Hmm?" 

*What..!?*

The room seemed to darken as his eyes bore into me, his predatory stance radiating an authority that sent shivers down my spine, his words sharp as knives.

"Strip," he commanded coldly, his voice slicing through the suffocating silence. "Right now."

The breath hitched in my chest, but I stood rooted to the spot, desperately clutching onto the small shreds of strength I had left. 

My heart hammered, but the thought of Rowan locked away—his life hanging on my compliance—left me no choice. Anything for Rowan. 

Even if it meant surrendering myself to the devil incarnate.

"I see…if that's what you want," I said at last, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. 

I lifted my chin, meeting his venomous gaze head-on, daring him to see the unspoken promise in my eyes. This isn’t submission—it’s survival.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and aching, and slowly, as though each movement cost me a piece of my soul, I lifted the fabric. 

The soft rustle of the material against my skin sounded deafening in the stillness. I felt his gaze burn into me, consuming me, judging me, yet giving away nothing of what churned beneath his impassive exterior.

My heartbeat roared in my ears as the dress slipped from my trembling fingers to pool around my feet. And I was completely naked in front of him.

Alrigo stood still, unmoving, like a predator assessing its prey as his gaze traveled over my body.

His face was a mask of indifference, yet his eyes remained fixed on me, dark and unrelenting, a silent command.

"Now get it over with and leave me alone." I sneered at him.

Alrigo’s lips curled, slow and deliberate, into a smirk—a dangerous, dark thing that barely touched his eyes.

"How imprudent," he muttered, his tone dripping with venom. "Did you truly think I would treat you like some prized princess after everything?"

*What?*

Before I could brace myself, his hand clamped around my wrist, his grip brutal and unrelenting. 

With a single, merciless pull, he yanked me off the bed. Pain shot through me as my knees hit the unforgiving floor, the impact jarring enough to steal the air from my lungs.

"Shall we start differently from now on?"