Chapter 5. No Mercy

"Crawl up to here," I heard him say. Bewildered, I looked at him.

"What?"

Before I could process his words, he said again, "Crawl up to me and kiss my shoe."

"NO!"

"Yes."

"I won't," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Please, don't make me do this."

"Don't make you?" He said, "You don't get to make demands, you foolish girl. Now, kiss my shoes, or I will make sure you regret it."

"I... I won't," I repeated. "All this because I told Sophie the truth?"

"You think you can get away after meddling in matters that do not concern you?"

"I... I didn't mean to."

"Shut up. Get on your knees, crawl, and kiss my shoe," he commanded, his voice dripping with contempt. "Show me the respect you should have shown from the beginning."

"Why would I do this? Why are you doing this? I won't meddle with the likes of you again, I swear. I'll stay out. I don't have the energy anyway. It's not like I enjoy it," I immediately retorted. How can I kiss a shoe? Tears filled my eyes.

"The likes of me?" His eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening, "And what exactly do you think that means?"

"No, I mean powerful people," I said softly, looking down. I am helpless here. Better not to piss him off. "I meant... I meant I shouldn't have interfered. I was wrong. Please, forgive me."

"Forgive you?" he said. "You think you deserve forgiveness after what you've done and just said? After the arrogance you dared to show?"

"Please."

"Your apology is not sincere, and it will never be."

I know now. He is just toying with me. People like this do this to stroke their pride when they have time.

"Just crawl and kiss my shoe as an apology. I will be satisfied. At least I can bend your body. I can't control your mind. Can I?"

"No. No, no," I repeated. I kept staring down, my vision blurred by the tears streaming down my face.

I finally looked up at him. He was still standing near the window. The light was fading away bit by bit, immersing the room in darkness and making him seem even more menacing. I watched him as he lit a cigarette. The flickering flame briefly illuminated his face before casting it back into shadow.

He met my gaze as he walked back to the leather chair near the table. I jerked my head away, unable to hold his stare any longer. The room filled with the sound of my sobbing, a haunting echo in the growing darkness.

A minute passed, each second dragging on like an eternity.

I looked up again and saw him seated. His eyes were locked onto mine, and he gestured towards his shoe, the silent command clear.

"No. I won't," I said.

He took out his phone, whispered something into it, his words too soft for me to hear.

A man promptly entered, bearing a bottle of alcohol, and left. Anxiety prickled at me; what were Eric's intentions? Would he indulge in a drink and then inflict harm upon me? No, that can't be. My mind immediately flashed back to the night when he tried to assault me.

He then got up from his chair. As he came towards me, fear gripped me tighter. He handed me the bottle, and I looked up at him, questioning. He huffed cigarette smoke into my face before walking back to his chair and sitting down.

"Hit yourself with it."

"Noooo!! Please."

"Normally, I try my best to avoid hitting a girl."

"But what about molesting?" I said, choking on my tears.

He simply stared at me as if bored.

"Why are you doing this? I won't meddle again. Please. I'll get out of your life."

I was crying so hard that only my sobbing could be heard in the silence.

"Hit or I'll call my men to do it. Left leg, remember. End this fast. I want to go outside." He said.

"Are you so hollow that you take joy in breaking me down, who is insignificant to you? I don't want to do that. It's so embarrassing. I have some pride left even though I'm just ridiculed by people everywhere I go. Let me go, please. I am already broken. What will you gain by breaking me more? I'm sorry. What do you want to prove to me?"

He looked clearly unimpressed by my speech. He kept looking at me with a bored expression and gestured with his hand to proceed.

I felt like I was talking to an iceberg. Minutes passed as I stared at the bottle in my hand. I had no choice. He was just toying with me. If I wanted to get out of here quickly, I would have to do this. I closed my eyes and finally hit my leg. I fell on my side, clenching my jaw in pain, tears blinding my vision, breathing heavily. My left leg was hurting, blood coming out, and glass piercing my skin.

He got up from his leather chair.

He took a step towards me. I immediately put my hands on my head, covering myself. I closed my eyes, completely shutting my consciousness from this world. My ears started to ring. I wished I could shut my consciousness from my body.

The pain which came next was worse. He stepped on my wound, applying pressure.

"AAAHHH!"

I screamed and screamed. Seconds or minutes passed—I didn’t know. I lost count. It felt endless. He just stared down at me, his face blank, before finally stepping back.

"Clean this filthy blood of yours from my shoe."

"I... I don't have anything," I gasped, my voice strained with pain.

He cleaned the bloodstain from his shoe using the fabric of my clothing. Then, He bent down. I was breathing shallow and fast, wishing I could die or at least faint. This pain was intolerable. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back.

"Don't mess with me or anything involving me again," he warned.

He let go of my head so abruptly that I felt a jerk in the back of my neck. I tried to breathe, wishing for the pain to go away.

"That's more than even now," he stated calmly, sinking into his leather chair.

"Now you've got no choice but to crawl, kiss my shoe, and apologize."

I whipped my head towards his face, shocked. Is he not done with me? I was crying uncontrollably, my heart breaking. I'm in so much pain.

"I am sorry. Please let me go home. I won't come into your life again."

"Will you apologize now?"

"Yes." I was ready to do everything and just get away from here. "I will crawl and kiss your shoe."

"But I don't want that anymore."

I looked up, hope gleaming in my eyes. Was he really going to let me go?

He held my gaze with that same expressionless look.

"You've made it worse for yourself. You deny me so much that I lose interest."

I felt scared by his words.

"Strip down your pride."

"What?" I looked at him questioningly.

"How about you strip."

"NOO! I will crawl and kiss your shoe instead."

"Strip."

"NOO!"

"I'm bringing my men inside so they can see you strip as well."

"Please, I beg you. Let me go. I have no pride left. I'm sorry for what I just said. Please—"

"So choose. Alone with me or with those men."

I opened my mouth.

"Choose your words carefully; I won't be patient."

I begged and prayed to him. He simply looked down at me, his face now illuminated only by the moonlight coming from the window. The sun had set. The room was dark. Our shadows loomed on either side of us.

"I am only going to level up, and so you should do the first thing I say, or it's going to be worse for you."

I knew I had no choice. I kept my eyes down, not looking at him as I removed my clothes, leaving my undergarments on.

"Well done. You can go now," I heard him say as I kept my eyes downcast. Then, I heard him make a call, ordering someone to come clean the room.

"Hurry up, dress before others see you."

I didn't face him. I dressed quickly and tried to stand up, limping. I felt no pain; my heart was dead.

"Need help going home?" I heard his voice behind me.

I said nothing.

"Still with this attitude?"

"No, I'm fine. Sorry," I said, not wanting to get on his bad side again. I kept limping and dragging my body. I planned to commit suicide. I felt no need to live in this world.

*****