Chapter 8: Black and Blue

I sat up, holding my bleeding nose.

No one in my life has ever hurt me physically or verbally. Everyone always treats me like a glass that breaks easily. Like a princess in a kingdom who must be guarded at all times. I have never felt pain so intensely as now. Worse than I thought.

Blood mixed with snot was still flowing from my nose. I cried silently, but my brain couldn't stop thinking about this.

What has my Dad done? How could he ever deal with that person? What will the man do to my Dad? What if he hurts him?

My heart tightens thinking about it.

No, that won't happen. Dad must have a bodyguard who can protect him. He'll be safe, I'm sure.

However, thinking about what that person had said made my stomach churn. His threats to me are still ringing. He sounds earnest about his words.

His words about Dad really made my stomach-churning. I think I'm going to throw up again. My head is extremely dizzy.

"Don't raise your head."

Those words surprised me.

It turned out that the hazel eyes man was still in the room. He didn't move from where he was standing. I looked up and found the man was looking at me with a flat gaze. He must have seen this kind of thing happen often, or he was just like that bastard. Get used to hurting others to the point of numbing yourself.

"Cover your nose with this."

He pulled a white handkerchief from the back pocket of his pants and walked over to me.

"Don't hurt me," I begged, lowering my head. My body swelled when I saw him squatting in front of me. I hid my face behind my palms, but the man pulled my palms so they wouldn't cover my face.

My knees, lips, and even my shoulders were shaking violently. Pain mixed with fear gathered together. I just want to die instead of being tormented like this.

The man put his handkerchief right in my nostril. His fingers held my right hand, leading me to keep the handkerchief.

"Keep your head down. Wait until the bleeding stops," he ordered. His hand let go of mine.

I followed what he was doing. I lowered my head again. Apart from stopping the bleeding, I didn't want to see his face, which made me sick.

I let myself cry until sobbing. Usually, I would be very embarrassed if someone caught me crying, but this time I didn't care. Besides, I couldn't hold back a sob.

The man was still squatting right in front of my face. I can't see it, but I can feel it. I really hope he's gone by now. I want to be alone. Don't want anyone in this room anymore.

After a few minutes, all that could be heard was my sobbing. Slowly I felt the blood in my nose start to stop flowing. I finally let go of his white handkerchief. Red blood covered the center of the handkerchief.

I lifted my head and tried to face him. His gaze was still flat. Does not reflect any expression. I gulped and ventured to ask him.

"Why are you still here?"

He sighed. "Dinner will be here in a minute." That's all he said.

A few seconds later, the middle-aged woman entered this room again with food and drinks.

How can I eat and drink in this situation? I'm not in the mood to eat.

My eyes glanced at the woman anxiously. Can I ask that woman to help me out? After all, she is a woman. She might have kids at home. Indeed she would have mercy, wouldn't she?

Unfortunately, the woman left the room without seeing the two of us. She looks like a robot that has been arranged in such a way to carry out orders. She's kinda creepy.

The hazel eyes man stood up and locked the door. He put the key in his jeans pocket and walked towards me, who was still sitting on the floor in blood and tears. He held out his hand to me.

"You need to eat," he muttered.

He still held out his hand to me even though I didn't budge.

Why isn't he rude to me? Should I obey him? Or maybe he was just waiting for the right moment to do it?

"Come on," he said again.

It was late at night, and only the two of us were in this room. I don't think this person will ever "do that" to me again. I won't let that happen. Just remembering it made me disgusted with myself.

"I won't hurt you, Minka."

He knows my name.

This is the first time that man has mentioned my name.

I rolled my eyes at him. He took a deep breath and looked down at me again. "Eat it. Nothing bad was given to the food. No sedatives, sleeping pills, or anything else you can think of." He explained again. "Like I said. I won't hurt you if you obey my orders. Eat it all. Just that."

"Don't hurt me."

"I won't hurt you."

"Then go. I want to be alone," I begged him as carefully as possible. "Please."

He got up and walked towards the door. The owner of the brunette hair came out and left me alone as I asked.

He wants to obey me.

***

I stretched and stretched my arms up. It took almost a full minute to allow myself to be fully awake. My fingers gently massaged my forehead, which was still very sore. I looked to my right and was horrified to find Zo sitting on a chair and struggling with his smartphone.

Since when has he been there? Looks like last night before I went to sleep, he wasn't there. Why is he sitting relaxed now? Possibly…

"I didn't touch you at all. Don't worry." As if he could read my mind, he said as I got up from my slumber and looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you doing here?" I asked frantically. I checked the surroundings and made sure again that nothing terrible had happened. The man was still sitting quietly, watching me with a straight face. He looked fresh as if he had just taken a shower.

"To take care of you."

Ridiculous.

Take care of me from what? I'm not going anywhere anyway.

"I won't be able to escape."

"Yep."

"Then why take care of me?"

"That's an order."

"Who orders you? Is that a tattooed man?"

He furrowed his thick eyebrows.

"I mean your boss. The person who last night—"

"Beat you? Yes, he's the one who orders and stops asking many questions."

I pulled off the blanket and held my stomach. The pain made me wince, and I squeezed my stomach gently. That tattooed bastard didn't hit me in the stomach, but why does it feel like my stomach is twisting so hard?

Then my fear grew madder as the man drew closer so that his face was only an inch away from mine. He tilted his head and brought his cold face closer to mine. That bastard looked like he was about to harass me again with his cornering gaze.

Even though my body froze and I felt scared, my hands were clenched tightly and ready to beat the man. His face was now only about five inches from mine before the man said in a hoarse voice.

"How's your nose?"