Chapter 4 In Bed

*RENEE*

The guards pushed me out the door and slammed it in my face.

"Marcelo... Marcelo!" I called, knocking hard on the door. "Marcelo, I am your wife. You can't treat me like this! Open the door!" I yelled.

Seeing that wasn't working, I decided to beg.

"Marcelo, please. I know this seems pretty sudden to you, but we can work things out. Just let me in, I'm begging..."

I paused when I heard barking sounds.

I recalled that he had told the guards to release the dogs.

What dogs?

I looked towards the direction of the sound to see two dogs running toward me.

If I hadn't heard beforehand that they were dogs, I would've called them wolves-big, ferocious wolves.

I broke into a run, as fast as my legs could take me.

No.

I wasn't ready to die.

I was just twenty-two.

My life might've taken different twists and turns that I never wanted.

Still, I didn't want to die.

I believed there could still be brighter days ahead of me.

I ran to the courtyard of the house. I could still hear them barking and charging toward me.

It seemed like they'd rip me to pieces if they caught sight of me.

I saw what looked like a small cottage not far away and I ran into it, slamming the door shut.

I quickly ran to the windows and closed them.

To my dismay, there was a push on the door as if the dogs were trying to break in.

Seriously?

Were they trained to murder people?

Panic filled me as I looked around and saw a table.

I hurried toward it and pushed it in front of the door.

The barking continued outside while I sat on the floor, trying to catch my breath.

I was trembling and I felt so scared.

I was in a dark room. The place was dirty, as if it had been abandoned.

The windows were old and I was scared the dogs might break through them.

I moved against the wall and hugged my knees. As I sat there, I tried to murmur encouraging words to myself.

I would survive. I had to.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but the barking stopped.

I didn't know if the dogs were still outside or if they had been sent back to their cages.

But I didn't want to find out, so I continued sitting there.

I flinched when I heard a knock on the door.

Are dogs able to knock now?

I swallowed and said nothing.

"I know you're in there, Mrs. King."

My eyes widened.

It was the butler's voice.

Had he come to send me away?

"Are the dogs gone?" I asked anxiously.

"Mr. King wants me to take you home now."

I frowned. "Home?"

"To your parents' house."

He was sending me back?

Back to the Hudsons?

I imagined what that was going to be like.

Grace and Rocco were going to more than abuse me for failing to stay married to Marcelo.

And Nana.

Oh Nana.

I had been the one begging them and being super obedient just so they could continue her treatment.

But if I went back home now, they would instantly stop it.

Lord knows what they were going to do to me now.

I didn't want to go back.

"What if I don't want to go back?"

"You have to. You can't possibly spend the night in there, ma'am. It gets really cold at night in this part of the estate. Also, Mr. King said it's either you go home right now, or he'll keep the dogs out all night."

I swallowed.

I guess I was spending the night in here.

But was I really ready for this kind of life?

This man literally had no heart.

He released wild dogs on me, knowing they could hurt me.

What if he did worse things to me if I stubbornly insisted on staying married to him?

I sat back down.

What choice did I even have?

I guess I just had to try not to get killed by that mysterious and dangerous man.

"I am Mrs. King, Chad. I'm going nowhere," I replied loudly.

And that was how I spent the night in that dark room, shivering all through.

************

I had no idea when I finally managed to sleep through the unbearable cold of the night, but I awoke to the door opening.

I quickly stood to my feet, alarmed when I saw two men pushing the table aside.

Were they bringing the dogs in here?

I frowned when I saw a wheelchair roll in-and sitting on it was Marcelo.

I felt like punching him.

He looked relaxed as he gazed at me.

"Were you expecting a corpse, Mr. King? Sorry to disappoint you," I snapped.

He smirked. "Hmm, what am I going to do with you?"

I walked closer to him. "Well, I can give you an idea. Start treating me as your wife! You said you would if I survived the night," I reminded.

I was acting tough, but I was genuinely terrified of him and scared he might stand up and kill me himself.

But I felt acting tough would reduce the chances of me being killed.

He rubbed his temple. "Are you that desperate to be my wife, Renee? It's amusing."

I looked away from him.

"Well then, I'm a man of my word, so I won't take it back. But I hope you're in tune with everything that has to do with being my wife. I especially would like to see how my wife performs in bed."

I swallowed.

In bed?

That was part of the duties of a wife, wasn't it?

I shouldn't have been so shocked-but I was.

I was upset about having my first time with this man.

Damn it!

That guy at the club should have just taken me instead of insulting me!

"In bed, you'll be in control, given my disability," he continued.

My lips parted as I eyed him.

Disability indeed.

Why was he even pretending to be crippled?

And he seemed to be really good at it.

"You're not answering? Does that mean you don't want to be my wife anymore?" There was mockery in his tone.

I swallowed. "I would do anything you want, Mr. King."

He scoffed. "Anything? You're more despicable than I thought."

It was at the tip of my tongue to insult him too, but I held myself back.

I didn't want to be put in that terrifying situation like last night.

"So... does this mean you won't send me back to my parents' house?" I asked tentatively.

I needed to be sure.

"We'll see about that." And then, he wheeled away.

I walked out of the room and suddenly felt dizzy.

I bent down a bit, trying to steady myself, but I felt so weak.

Was it the scare of last night?

I felt really hungry too.

I lost my equilibrium and fell to the ground-and then, darkness enveloped me.

************

When my eyes opened again, I found myself lying on a bed.

I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling so confused.

When I opened them again, I looked around to see that I was in the room Chad had brought me to yesterday.

An IV drip was connected to my hand. I realized that I had fainted earlier.

Sighing, I flung the blankets aside because I was sweating profusely.

I took a deep, calming breath, trying to think of the way forward for me.

I had no idea what the future held or what being married to Marcelo would mean, but I knew I had to be careful.

I couldn't afford to offend him, so I had to ignore his disability.

I had to pretend he was really disabled and not ask any questions.

Curiosity kills the cat-and it might kill me if I didn't tread with caution around him.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Are you awake, Mrs. King?"

It was Chad.

"Yes," I croaked out.

"Mr. King wants to see you."

Oh God.

What now?