The thunderstorm outside had finally quelled, leaving behind an oppressive, deafening silence within the penthouse.
I lay curled into a pathetic, battered ball upon the sofa. My naked, trembling body was shielded by a thin blanket. Dark bruises of ownership painted my flesh, standing out in horrifying contrast against my pale skin.
The pain radiating from my battered body spiked with microscopic movement, sending a searing flare through every nerve ending.
Slowly, I reached down with a trembling hand, my fingertips brushing against the damp leather.
Pulling my hand back into the dim, ambient light... I saw it. It was blood.
A stark, crimson reminder of his brutality, staining the immaculate black leather of the sofa.
It was the undeniable proof of his barbarism. A grotesque reminder that he possessed no gentleness left for me.
Ren rose gracefully from the sofa. He slipped into a plush bathrobe and strolled over to the wet bar.
His demeanor was eerily calm, a stark contrast to the feral beast that had ravaged me moments prior.
He poured himself a glass of amber whiskey, downing the fiery liquid in a single gulp.
Before slowly walking back to stand at the edge of the sofa, looking down at my broken state with dead, vacant eyes.
Flick!
A signed cashier's check was tossed onto the leather cushions right beside my trembling body.
"Compensation for your time," he stated, his voice a flat, glacial void.
"Use it to buy yourself some ointment, or waste it on another useless plane ticket. I don't care."
I forced myself to sit up, my body protesting with agonizing pain. I picked up the slip of paper. The astronomical figure written on it was enough to sustain me for years.
But the hope of ever escaping to Zurich... had already been extinguished.
"Pack your things and move in here by tomorrow morning."
Ren commanded, not bothering to wait for an acknowledgment.
"I'm sick and tired of driving out to spy on you in that rat-infested dump you call an apartment."
"B... But—"
"There are no 'buts'."
He leaned down, his pitch-black eyes locking with mine.
"Remember this, Yurin. Your life belongs entirely to me."
"Until I am thoroughly satisfied, you do not have the right to go anywhere."
"Even if it is death... I do not permit it."
He turned his back and walked out of the room, abandoning me to the suffocating darkness and the lingering scent of his cologne etched into my skin.
I pulled my knees tightly to my chest, burying my face into my bruised arms.
Heavy, broken sobs tore from my throat. I wasn't weeping because my dignity had been obliterated.
I was weeping... because of an utterly repulsive sense of 'relief'.
Deep in the darkest, most broken corners of my mind, I was glad to finally be punished.
I was glad that this agonizing physical pain served as proof that I could still repay him for my sins.
And the most horrifying realization of all was knowing with absolute certainty that... no matter how monstrous or cruel he became... I would always, inevitably, love him.
...
The milky sunlight of the morning bled through the narrow gap in the velvet curtains.
It struck my heavy eyelids with an unforgiving glare.
I stirred, and a shattering agony radiated through every fiber of my being.
It felt as though my entire body had been dismantled and reassembled using rusted, jagged parts.
"Nngh..."
A whimper escaped my parched throat.
I forced my eyes open, staring blankly up at a ceiling I did not recognize.
It was a cavernous ceiling adorned with a modern, sharp-edged chandelier.
The air conditioning was freezing, sending shivers across my exposed skin.
The fragmented memories of last night rushed back into my mind like a flash flood.
The crash of thunder... Ren's feral growls... and his punishing touch.
I turned my head to inspect the space beside me.
It was empty...
The sheets on the other side of the expansive bed were cold.
A stark indicator that the owner of this bed had risen and left a long time ago.
All that remained were the deep creases in the fabric and the lingering scent of his cologne...Intertwined with the pungent, metallic scent of last night's sins.
Slowly, I pushed myself up into a sitting position.
The dark silk blanket slipped from my bruised shoulders. It laid bare my ruined state.
My pale skin was desecrated, painted with blooms of angry red and mottled purple bruises.
On my chest... my stomach...
My thighs...
Not a single inch of flesh had been spared from that demon's grasp.
These were not the marks of a lover.
They were 'brands'. The harsh stamps of a master claiming ownership over his livestock.
Click!
The door to the walk-in closet suddenly swung open.
I flinched.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I yanked the blanket up to my chin.
Ren's towering figure strolled out into the room. He was draped in a dark navy bathrobe.
His damp, jet-black hair was slicked back, highlighting a sharp, handsome face that looked completely refreshed.
It was a horrifying contrast to my own reflection, which resembled a walking corpse.
He halted at the foot of the bed.
Crossing his arms, he stared down at me
with an unreadable, pitch-black gaze.
His eyes slowly, deliberately raked over my battered body, lingering on the bruises with a sense of dark satisfaction.
The corner of his lip curled into a smirk.
"You woke up late."
He stated, his voice a glacial void. He spoke as if the atrocities of the previous night had never occurred.
"Or perhaps... I was simply a bit too heavy-handed last night?"
The question was laced with sadistic mockery.
I ducked my head, avoiding his gaze as my fists clenched the blanket.
"I... I apologize, sir."
My voice trembled uncontrollably.
I didn't even know what I was apologizing for. But accepting the blame was the only survival tactic I had left.
Ren let out a hollow scoff.
He unhurriedly walked around to the side of the bed.
He picked up a black and gold paper bag from the nightstand and dropped it onto my lap.
Thud!
"Go take a shower."
"I am giving you exactly thirty minutes to make yourself presentable."
"You are coming to the company with me today."
My head snapped up, staring at him in bewilderment.
My brain struggled to process his commands.
"Th... The company? But... I already have a full-time job."
"I haven't resigned yet."
"You mean that pathetic, lowly waiter gig?"
Ren cut me off, his tone dripping with disdain.
His eyes swept over me, dissecting me with contempt.
"Did you honestly think I would allow something that belongs to me to walk around pouring liquor for other men?"
"Or kneel down to scrub the shoes of those brainless, filthy-rich bastards ever again?"
"But it's an honest living..."
"I have already handled it."
That single sentence paralyzed my vocal cords.
"This morning, my secretary contacted your hotel manager and informed him of your sudden resignation."
"R... Ren! Why would you do that?! I haven't even—"
"And I have already paid the hotel five times the penalty fee for your breach of contract."
He stepped closer, leaning down until his shadow consumed me.
His hot breath ghosted against my neck.
"You no longer hold employee status at that establishment, Yurin."
"You are unemployed, and you are currently standing on the brink of bankruptcy if you cannot pay off your debt to me."
His words swung down like a sledgehammer, shattering my heart. My only avenue of retreat had been severed.
He had locked every single door, ensuring I had nowhere left to stand but by his side.
I clenched my fists until my fingers bit into my palms.
A flare of indignant rage sparked in my chest, but the reality of being cornered snuffed it out.
I knew arguing with him was a lost cause.
A man like Ren Varis always got what he wanted. He used his wealth to buy the world.
Including human lives.
"Do you understand me now?"
He straightened his posture, casually adjusting the lapels of his bathrobe.
"If you don't want to sleep on the streets, or be hunted down and slaughtered by your father's other creditors, get up and take a shower."
"You will work off your debt to me as my personal 'secretary'."
"A salary of one hundred and fifty thousand, with free room and board right here."
To anyone else, it would sound like a dream proposition.
But it was a gilded cage, purchased with the entirety of my freedom and my remaining dignity.
I stared down at my trembling hands. My mind was a maelstrom of confusion and despair. But then, the faded, sepia-toned memories of the past flickered in my mind's eye.
The image of a bright, smiling boy.
A boy who died on that rainy day ten years ago, replaced by the heartless demon standing before me now.
A 'demon' that I had created with my own hands, forged in the fires of my cowardice.
If I hadn't run away that day... If I had just been brave enough to open that door...
Ren would never have been shattered like this.
He would never have mutated into this cruel monster.
The voice in my head screamed in visceral pain.
This is your ultimate sin, Yurin. Burning in hell by his side... might be the only way you can ever atone for what you allowed to happen. Even if it means your dignity is trampled into the dirt. Even if you are broken and abused over and over... it is exactly what a traitor like you deserves.
I drew in a shuddering breath.
I forced myself to swallow down the sobs of guilt burning in my chest, accepting my fate to serve as his 'emotional punching bag'.
Forever. Or... at least for a while.
I desperately tried to formulate an escape plan, but my mind was numb. It refused to function.
"I... I understand, sir." I whispered in defeat.
"Good."
He stepped back, drawing himself up to his full height.
"Hurry up. Do not make me wait. I despise people who lack punctuality."
I ground my teeth, forcing my battered body out of the bed. My legs felt like jelly, barely able to support my weight.
A sharp pain tore through my lower half with every step I took. But I had to endure it. I had to force myself to walk into that bathroom.
Before Ren's temper snapped once again.