Chapter 40 Punished
Ophelia’s POV
“I will torture you, petal,” Ryan whispered, his eyes dark with a mixture of lust and mania.
His words caused trepidation to simmer inside me, and I trembled as he gripped my jaw and forced me to look him in his eyes; his soulless, devilish-looking, ashen eyes.
“P-please, Ryan. I’m sorry for leaving the house without seeking your permission. It was an emergency that I couldn’t help. Please believe me, Ry-”
“Fucking shut your trap, harlot! Did I ask for your damned explanation? I think the fuck not, so why the hell do you keep bullshiting with me and spitting lies? Do I look stupid?” Ryan bellowed, as his thumb and forefinger harshly dug into my cheeks.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
I shook my head in negation as I managed to meet his emotionless gaze.
He let my face go as he mumbled an incoherent curse, and I thought maybe he had decided to hear me out.
I was petrified when I saw him digging into a chest next to the x-cross which was in the middle of the room. I gulped nervously as I waited in the heated silence.
A few minutes later, he straightened to his full height, unbelted his pants, and curled the tough leather in his hand as he directed a manic smile at me.
“I couldn’t find my whip, so we’ll have to make do with this,” He motioned to the belt, knotting the leather around his knuckles so that the buckle was above the massive knot of leather.
Abruptly, I hoisted myself up from the floor as I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. I remained crouched on the floor, trying to will the sudden pain away.
But that only gave Ryan enough advantage to grab me and slam me face-first against the x cross.
Everything happened so fast. One minute, I was on the floor, cradling my abdomen, and the next, I was buckled to an x cross.
The ache in my abdomen didn’t cease. I whimpered in agony as I clenched my teeth as stared at Ryan, who thankfully, was still properly clothed. Though, he still had the belt firmly encased in his hold.
“Ophelia, do you know how much I like you?” Ryan asked, moving closer to me, and menacingly stretching the leather.
“N-no, you fucker! Y-you don’t like me, y-you are nothing but a heartless scumbag. You are an animal, a fucking beast!” I yelled, with ire and a great dose of inexplicable courage blooming inside me as I glared defiantly at Ryan.
I was digging my grave. I knew I should have shut my damn mouth up instead of trying to further provoke the bastard.
No amount of courage could prepare me for the heavy leather that struck my back and tore right through my skin. I yelled in agony as I squirmed against the x cross. I scrunched my face up in distress as the pain in my abdomen grew further.
“Of course, my love. I am an animal. I know I am a beast, you know I’m a beast. We both know I am a beast, and beasts shouldn’t be provoked to anger, should they?” He whispered, leaning into my face with his hands clasped behind his back.
I wore a brave mien as I darted a weak glare at him. I buried my face into the fissure of the x cross as I felt the pangs in my stomach get worse.
Fuck, why was my stomach hurting so much?
“You can’t talk anymore?” Ryan asked once more.
Hiding my distress, I managed to steer a deadly glare at him. His face was dangerously close to mine, and instead of being flustered and coy by his strong gaze, I felt disgusted and loathful of him.
Ignoring my logical reasoning, I welled up some saliva in my mouth and proudly spat it in his face.
His reaction was instant, he went livid with fury as he scrubbed the fluid off his face with the back of his hand, and glared at me.
“What the hell, you bitch?” He yelled.
In response, I chuckled, “That is a token of my likeness for you,”
“You don’t want to learn, right? Don’t worry, I will show you. I’ve been too friendly with you, and that will change this instant,”
I scoffed weakly in response as I felt something warm trickle down my inner thighs, with the ache in my stomach gradually spreading to my waist.
“You fucking slut. You dared to spit on me,” Ryan barked before he raised the belt in the air, and dropped it on my back.
I was too far in agony and the fear of what was trickling down my thighs, and I didn’t register that Ryan had gone crazy, and was now full-on lashing my back and behind like a mad cow.
I bit my bottom lip as the blows got intense, and the jagged spikes sliced deeper into my skin.
I wanted to safeguard my pride, so I tried to muffle the urge to scream and let out my immense agony, and I settled on whimpering instead.
“Woah, you are not even begging anymore,” Ryan yelled, amidst the loud strikes of the belt.
“W-why would I beg a deranged bastard like you?” I whispered, feeling the last bits of my energy leave me as my eyes became droopy and heavy.
I suddenly felt like I had not slept in years.
“Really? Okay, then. I will get that plea from you today in any way I can. If you keep going like this, I may kill you,” Ryan uttered, stopping the strikes for a split second.
“You can’t do more than a dead rat,” I whispered back.
That seemed to aggravate him, and he nodded as he chuckled darkly at me before twisting his neck.
“Oooh, a challenge,” He muttered. When he raised the belt to whip me for the umpteenth time, I turned my face in the opposite direction as I felt my consciousness gradually slipping away from me.
I took a heavy to inhale before I bowed to the pressure of pain-induced fatigue and drifted off to sleep.
Finally, I was free from Ryan’s torture forever.
+++
Ryan
“This fucking wench, I swear to God, if you don’t answer me this instant, I will strangle you to death,” I threatened, moving closer to Ophelia’s unresponsive form on the x cross.
“Ophelia,” I called, angrily shaking her bloodied body.
She still didn’t respond and remained still. Suddenly, a wave of panic washed over me as I slowly retreated from her.
Something was wrong. I let my belt drop to the floor, and scrubbed my hand over my face before I moved closer to her.
“Ophelia,” I shook her again.
This time, her head tilted to face me, but a shiver raced down my spine when I observed her motionless face; her face was deathly pale and her lips were a sickeningly blue hue.
“Ophelia,” I whispered, cupping her face as my eyes and mouth gaped in a mixture of fright and guilt.
What had I done?