Chapter 15

Remembering the self-defence tricks Jacques had taught me, I curled my body easily and went right to the floor, scrambling as fast as I could for the dagger.

No matter what, Lenard Lee had to go down tonight. Hearing his fast footsteps, I evaded his grasp in the nick of time as he made a powerful lunge towards me.

“Don’t come near!” I shouted, flashing the weapon in front of his eyes.

He just laughed.

“Stab me then! Go ahead, do it!”

He waved his hands at me with a sickening laugh. As he came closer, I held the dagger more firmly, swallowing hard. My hands felt clammy. I had never hurt a fly all my life, and it just scared me more of how I would kill him.

Earlier, I had stabbed the dagger in self-defence, but now that he was trying to get me to stab him, it just drove fear inside me!

“Don’t be daft. I’ll show you what a real knife is!” he said deeply, drawing out the folded knife earlier.

In my excitement, I didn’t have time earlier to give the dagger a proper inspection. It was my first time encountering such a weapon, and I had blindly believed Chanthara. But her words had sounded so realistic, though I really didn’t have a reason to trust her. Perhaps the temptation of killing my r*pist with my bare hands had led me to believe someone who was trying to use me!

He pulled me up effortlessly and dragged me towards the bed, pressing me against the frame from behind. Then he took out the knife again and ran it against my bare skin.

I held my breath again. He would not kill me now, was he?

Instead, the metal penetrated my clothes, leaving me naked again in his hands. I detested how he put me in this state again and again. I just couldn’t stand how he looked at me while I was nude. Every stare from him made me feel unworthy.

“No!”

He roped my arms to one bedpost, using a strip of cloth he had cut from the sheer curtains.

I loathed being bound, as it made me feel like a prisoner all over again. I thrashed at him as he pulled on my legs, spreading them far apart. His lustful eyes only told me one thing.

He ignored my kicks and entered me painfully. I lay there weakened, feeling how slow time passed, while he stayed in that position, ravaging me continuously until I ran out of breath. I knew there wasn’t any use shouting or even trying to bite him, because he was already the victor.

I only wished it would all end. 

“I told you I didn’t come unprepared. I hope that the extra duration of the drugs was enjoyable for you.”

Enjoyable? I felt I was being torn to pieces from his brutality. My only wish right now was that I could cut him up into pieces.

But to be crossed by that Thai gang just doubled my agony. I gritted my teeth to prevent myself from letting out a tear. He pulled up his pants and walked off, slamming the door shut behind him. I knew he would be back later. The room plunged into total darkness.

As I lay there thinking, I questioned how I could get myself hopeful of killing the bastard again.

It took me close to a year of therapy to forget my fear of darkness. I felt empty as I stared blankly at the ceiling of the room. Here I was, trapped again, with no way of escape. I had tried to attack Lenard Lee, and he wasn’t happy about it. The days after this would be torture.

But as long as he lived, I would never be free of my prison. I figured ways in my mind to kill him, but how could I even execute them? There was absolutely no way I could get that close to him to carry out my plan in the future. He was a smart killer. Also, I didn’t know if I even had a future.

I lost track of how long I was lying on the floor with my arms bound to the bedpost, staring listlessly into the void, when the door opened.

I drew in my breath.

But then I recognised a familiar voice. That voice who was the only hope in my darkness.

Jacques. He lost no time in cutting me free and lifted me up into his arms in a tight embrace. The part of me between my legs seemed to be rubbed raw, and when Jacques brushed against me, it just made me feel even sorer.

But I didn’t mind. I fell limp in his arms. To me, he was the Superman who rescued Lois Lane again and again. I was glad to see him again, and it never occurred to me to ask how he found me. Because I was truly exhausted.

…………………………………………………………………….

Jacques never asked me again to do the deed with him. Instead, he happily brought me my favourite foods and treats every night, while I hid under the blanket for three months.

He had accompanied me for two weeks. I knew he meant well by trying to get me out of my well, but I was afraid.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him what had happened. The only thing he said was that he understood. I stopped speaking to Sherry after that, perceiving her as the cause of my problems.

If I hadn’t saved her with my sneak attack on her molester, they would never need to kidnap me. Her husband had to blame for this as well, because I tried to protect their marriage by not telling him about her attempted molest, lest he degrade her.  

All because of her. 

While all she did was give me money for my therapy. But the fact it was money from her molester and my abuser, which made me fill up with contempt. Instead of avenging me, or defending me, she forgave her molester, as well as forgot her husband’s crimes.

Above all, she took me for granted and underestimated my pain. Just because I pretended to be May, she thought it spared me from the agony.

Yet, I knew I was weak because I couldn’t get myself to hurt her. Even I regretted leaving her in labour pain at the house that day. Whenever I plotted to hurt her through an accident, even if it wasn’t enough to kill her, the thought of her Andrew becoming an orphan hindered my plans. She made me a part of his life, and for him, I just couldn’t do it.

All I could do now, was to put down our friendship. I would never, ever trust her in the same way again. In fact, I couldn’t wait for the day I would leave the house for good. The day I was capable of revenge, I would leave for good and commit myself to hunting down Lee Jung and Lenard Lee.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed again. I never brought myself to return to work after how Darin’s gang was watching me. Fortunately, I never heard from them again. I saw it as a ploy. They lied to me to get my willing servitude of Lenard Lee that night. They had indeed put in a lot of effort. 

I knew it was a special day when Jacques surprised me with a hug and a present. During the time we were together, he never ceased to comfort me or ease my loneliness with his sweetness. 

Even when that heart of mine encountered so much hardship in loving again. He was the only person I could trust. He called me baby, honey, sweetie. Words I would never ever hear from anyone else.

From everyone else, it was May.

“Happy two years anniversary.” He continued to astonish me with a heartwarming song. He was a great singer.

I blushed, feeling shy by his serenade. Why was he so good to me when I was so imperfect? That question always daunted me. Why did he like me from the beginning, when there were far prettier women in the workplace?

In fact, it was because of his sacrifice and how he will take the rap for me in Lin Corporation, that I went and meet Lee Jung in person, after Sherry’s husband refused to help me and insisted I resolve the threat to the company. Everything started that way. But the beginning point was Sherry. If not for her, how could I be in trouble?

In the future, I would treat no one so well again. Except for Jacques for being at my side.

If only I had noticed him first, and not Syl, maybe it would have been a different story altogether.

But up to now, he could not fill the ‌space in my heart after I knew I could never love like before.

Syl, who pledged love to me, had not tried to find me after such a long while. 

“I have a present for you,” I said to Jacques, presenting him with a mild hug.

He let go of me and stared at me lovingly.

“Shall we get married?” I asked.

“Married?” he repeated after me. “Piper, are you serious?”

“I am.” I pushed my lips on his. “I want to. Now.”

My words made him overjoyed, but I had other plans on my mind. Our happiness wouldn’t last. And I was right in the end.

It didn’t.