Song: Say You Love Me - KiDi

"How stereotypical," Etornam sneered. "A girl just has to be pregnant if she vomits."

"You just vomited three times within three minutes. We've been eating the same food. I would be suffering too if it was something wrong with the food," I replied.

"Haven't you considered, you idiot, that not everything that will sit right with you will sit right with me too?"

I shook my head, seeing that she was right, yet, I couldn't shake the feeling off. She was pregnant. I was sure of it. "I know you're pregnant. Who's the father?" I demanded to know.

"Even if I were pregnant, obviously the baby would be Michael's," she glared at me.

"No, it wouldn't. I know Michael wasn't cheating on me. There's no way that baby belongs to him," I pointed at her belly.

She ignored me, flushed the toilet, and rinsed her mouth at the sink. "I'm not pregnant. Just sick."

"I always knew that you were the real whore. You don't even know who the father of the baby is, do you?"

She glared at me. "Shut up! You don't know anything about me!"

"You didn't either! You still managed to ruin my life by spreading false rumours!" I said. Her eyes widened in shock. I smiled bitterly. "Yes, I know you started them all. Now look at you. I imagine that Michael will be elated to hear that his 'decent' fiancée is pregnant with another man's child."

"You won't tell him anything!" She shrieked.

"Who's going to stop me?"

"He won't believe you."

"Maybe, but you can't hide a pregnancy."

"The baby is his. Michael and I have always been a thing, even when you were together!"

"That's a lie! Even still, that's not enough time! If you're already showing symptoms, you must be five or six weeks along. Michael and I were together for barely a week and before that, he was in the city. Schooling. There's no way the baby is his."

"I'm telling you; it is his!"

"No, it's not!"

"Oh goodness, why am I even wasting my time with you? Get out of our room. This is none of your business!"

"Really? My business or not, Michael will find out about your bastard child."

"You stupid witch!" She ran at me but I quickly left the room and shut the door.

Was I a bad person for feeling happy? For feeling a bubbling energy at the bottom of my stomach?

I know what people say about revenge, but this was too much to hold in. She deserved this. She deserved all the humiliation this would bring. She did worse to me and even then, I was completely innocent.

I will tell Michael. Who knows? She might be planning to sleep with him and pin her bastard child on him. I was doing him a favour, if you think about it. I was so happy that I didn't notice when a smile spread across my face, my lips stretching from ear to ear.

I skipped over to Kofi's room, frowning when I realised that I had probably waited all the five minutes. I knocked obnoxiously if only just to annoy him.

When he opened it, he frowned a confused frown. "You look happy."

"I'm frowning."

"But I can see that you're happy."

"How?"

"I'm special like that."

I rolled my eyes. "So, what did you want me to come and do? Lie down till nightfall?"

"Of course not," he rolled his eyes too. "I got you clothes."

"Really?" I asked, smiling a little.

"Really." He gestured to his huge wardrobe, which was actually a walk-in. I ventured closer, shyly, and pulled the doors open.

My jaw dropped. The man had actually created space for me! The whole right side of the small room belonged to me and it was filled with... dresses?

"Am I supposed to wear a dress... and heels every day?"

"Your outfits when you finally begin working."

My shoulders sagged. "And here I thought you were doing something nice for me."

"Me? Why would I do something nice for you?"

"I should be asking myself that."

"Though... I could categorise this as nice. I mean, they're beautiful dresses."

I entered the room and picked a dress so revealing that the fabrics used were merely straps. I could dismantle the dress and still wouldn't be able to sew together a handkerchief.

"This is not how I dress," I threw the dress at his feet.

"You're a different person now. You don't have any rights. You won't dress the way you want to. You'll dress the way I want you to."

I glared at him. "I'd rather dance around naked."

"Tempting, but I can't have everyone viewing the product like that before they lay hands on it."

"I'm not wearing any of those!"

"You don't have a choice," he face-palmed. "how many times am I supposed to say this?"

"You don't own me."

"I do. Don't you understand, you idiot, what I say is law."

I rolled my eyes. "You're a child."

"That's the best you could've come up with?" He quirked a brow. "That stupid. Even for you."

"You don't always have to insult me, you know? That's verbal abuse."

He shook his head, disbelieving. "You're stupid."

I groaned and began to walk towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere that's far away from you!"

"You're not going anywhere," he took two large strides and grabbed my arm.

"Let go of me!" I yelled, struggling.

"No." He yanked my arm, pulling me closer until I was face to face with him. "You will do what I tell you to do. No questions asked, or else, I will make you suffer Elorm."

"Don't say my name," I said through gritted teeth.

"Elorm."

I was shocked that he just said my name again. That was so childish, but maybe he just said it to prove that he could do whatever he wants.

I glared, angrily. Maybe I needed to give him a taste of his own medicine. "Kofi."

"That doesn't bother me. Say my name all you want."

I sighed and yanked my arm away from him, since his hold had loosened as he was annoying me. I went and plopped myself on the bed. "Happy?"

"Happy? No. Pleased, yes."

"They're synonyms!"

"With slightly different meanings."

I groaned again and lay back on the bed, grabbing a pillow and smothering my face with it. I heard him chuckle. "I hate you." I said.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing."

"I didn't catch that either."

"Screw you, you mother -" seeing that he couldn't hear me, I uttered more colourful words.

"I can't hear a thing."

I lifted the pillow. "Sorry."

"I know you were cussing at me," he said, barely hidden amusement in his eyes. "I must say, you have a very colourful vocabulary."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Shut up," I said, rolling over. I was dying to pull the crotch of my shorts back because it was in a really uncomfortable position, but I dared not. Not in front of him. This is why females don't share rooms with stranger males.

Kofi came and sat beside me, pulling his shirt off.

I gasped, taking in his broad chest. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to take a shower. Why?"

"Stop getting naked!" I yelled, as he pulled off his trousers.

"I've seen you naked before so it doesn't really matter."

A furious blush crept up my cheeks. "That was a mistake, and that doesn't mean that I want to see you naked too."

"I didn't say I was going to show you my naked self," he said, as he leapt up to go to the bathroom, wearing only his boxers. "though I wouldn't really care if you saw anything. It doesn't make any difference."

"Yes, it does!" I yelled, as he closed the door.

I was busily childishly licking the surfaces of the objects that Kofi was likely to touch when he came out of the shower in his half-naked form.

"What are you doing?" He asked bewilderedly as I stood frozen, with my tongue attached to his hairbrush.

I dropped the hairbrush, feeling embarrassed and completely stupid as he stared at me, probably wondering what planet I'd come from. "I -"

"No, no stop. Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it. Throw that brush away."

I became angry immediately he uttered those words. "I just licked it okay? Wash it or something."

"No thank you," he glared at me. "I don't want your nasty germs in my room." I opened my mouth to give him the scolding of a lifetime, but he interrupted me. "Nathan and Wolfgang are here. Go downstairs."

I paused. "How do you know that?"

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Just get downstairs."

"I don't want Wolfgang here."

He walked up to me, coming so fast that I stepped back, scared. He was so close that there was hardly any space between our chests. He had at least, seven inches on me, which meant that he had to look down on me which was demeaning. "Rhys is my brother. I don't care how you feel about him. This is his house too and he can come here and see whoever he wants to see."

I swallowed. "And I'm my own person. I know you don't think so but I do get to decide who I want to speak with and who I want to see." I was shaking with fear, sure that my words were betraying this emotion. I'd never seen his eyes burn this bright, I'd never seen his jaw tick this angrily and I'd never seen him get this angry even though I'd done much worse. The bond the brothers shared was beyond my comprehension.

"Keep deceiving yourself. Now get downstairs," he commanded harshly.

I flinched and run out of the room, banging the door hard behind me. I placed a hand on my chest and rested my back against the door. His presence was overbearing. It was still pressing down on me even after I'd left and I couldn't help shaking slightly with fear. I shook my head, berating myself for being such a coward. Maybe it's because he'd been so close and he looked as if he could hit me. I didn't doubt that he could.

I went downstairs, because honestly, I didn't have a choice. I refused to believe that Kofi had taken all my life choices away, but the truth was that he had. I didn't have a say in what happened next in my life. He had made sure of that.

I spotted Nathan and Wolfgang immediately I entered the living room. Nathan was seated, his legs crossed as he sipped water from a glass. Wolfgang was standing behind him, looking generally uncomfortable and fidgety.

He looked up and spotted me. He began to approach, but he stopped, cautious. It was then that Nathan noticed me. "Hey," he stood up, using his hand to tuck his long hair behind his ears.

"Nathan," I said. Before I knew what I was doing, I went forward and wrapped my arms around his form. He didn't do anything at first, he was probably startled, but before I could pull away in embarrassment, he hugged me back.

I couldn't explain how a simple hug brought me so much relief. Maybe I craved contact with a human who wasn't so hopelessly cruel and emotionally incapable. Nathan might have consented to me being kept here against my will, but I understood that that was only because he loved his brothers. I understood that he really didn't have a choice. He was just like me.

I also knew that he felt sorry for me. And for once, his pity didn't annoy me. I needed someone who had a heart. Someone who had the ability to feel sorry for me. To understand my plight.

All this while, maybe, I hadn't accepted what had happened to me. My whole family was suffering right now because of me. They'd probably die from starvation or be lynched by a violent crowd, and that was all because I'd found myself at the wrong place at the wrong time.

If only I hadn't ever gone into that room.

This was all my fault.

I didn't even notice when I started crying. Nathan had pulled back and cupped my face, staring into my teary eyes. I didn't know what expression was on his face because of the tears streaming down my face.

"You poor thing," he murmured. With a handkerchief, he wiped away my tears. I pressed my eyes shut to prevent the onslaught of fresh tears from falling. He hugged me again, making sure that I couldn't hold them in. It was hard not to let it all out when there was a shoulder to cry on.

I stayed cradled against his strong chest until Kofi came in. The sheer power of his presence - and cologne - made it difficult not to acknowledge his presence.

"Oh, come on," he said, as soon as he entered. "what the heck is this?"

I pulled back, wiping the tears away and stepped back. I shot a grateful smile at Nathan, feeling embarrassed when I spotted the wet patch of his shirt which had soaked in my tears. He smiled back, albeit sadly.

"Elorm," someone said behind Nathan. My fists clenched when I heard the voice, recognising its owner immediately.

"You must be so happy. Have you come to gloat? Go ahead!" I said, feeling the tears threatening to pour down again.

"I'm so-"

"No," I cut in. "don't you dare! Sorry isn't going to feed my family! Sorry isn't going to get me my life back! Don't you dare tell me you're sorry!"

"What do you want then? To be honest, you don't even deserve his apology." Kofi said, folding his arms. If anything, he looked bored.

"How would you feel if something like this happened to you? If something like this happened to either of your brothers?" I asked, angry and sad. Depressed and miserable.

"Something like what? Being rescued from abject poverty? Being fed and treated like a queen? Being dressed in the finest of clothes? Sleeping in a comfortable bed? Being surrounded by people who won't judge you every time they see you? Really Elorm, your life here is much more difficult than back at that village filled with nincompoops."

I turned around and glared at him, no longer feeling intimidated by his presence. His cold eyes met my sad, red ones, his expression unchanging. He looked at me the same way one would look at a pencil. "You wouldn't understand. After all, you're just a psychopath who is incapable of emotion."

"Elorm!" It was Wolfgang. I turned to him. His eyes were silently begging me not to keep talking, a slight fear in his eyes. Was he too afraid of his own brother? How horrible was Kofi? I turned back to Kofi, remembering my sudden spontaneous fear for him. "Stop, please."

"No, please, let her talk. Let her annoy me into finally getting rid of her," Kofi smirked cruelly.

"Kofi," Nathan warned. "you're not killing anyone."

"You can't and won't boss me around, Nate."

"I can, and I sure will. You're many things Kofi, but you're not a murderer." Nathan said, deadpan.

"People change," Kofi said. "I'm sure you know that yourself." He said.

With the way his other siblings stilled, he must've said something that struck a chord. "That was unnecessary." Wolfgang hissed, barely concealed anger coming off him in waves.

"No," Nathan said, holding up his arm. "please, let him say whatever he wants. He seems to have the idea that he can do whatever he wants, not caring about the feelings of others. Let him. I don't blame him anyway. He's never been able to understand the feelings of others."

Kofi stilled too. Wolfgang looked angry, but with both his brothers. "Would you both stop this?" He hissed. "What's wrong with both of you? We don't do this! We're supposed to be there for each other, not fighting like cats and dogs!"

Kofi then turned his gaze to me, meeting my lost eyes. "It's all her fault." He spoke with controlled anger.

"No, it's you! I don't understand why you're being so cruel! We already told you that she doesn't have to work if she doesn't want to!" Wolfgang got closer to him as he spoke, the anger rising in his voice the nearer he got. "Just because you're miserable doesn't mean you have to make everyone else miserable!"

My eyes widened. I would've never guessed that Kofi was suffering in anyway. I turned to look at him, unsurprised at his deadpan stare. "It seems like all you guys came to do here was tell me how to live my life. If that's what you plan on doing, you had better leave. Right away."

"Don't worry, we didn't come here for you." Wolfgang glared at him. He turned to me, and amidst all my confusion, I couldn't find it in me to remember to be angry with him. "How are you?"

The insensitive question had all my anger rushing back. "Don't talk to me." I hissed.

"I just -"

"I'm great! Happy really. I mean, I'm being treated like a queen, eating well, sleeping on a comfortable 'bed', wearing luxurious revealing clothes while my family is dying of hunger and I have no say in which direction my life will take. What more could I possibly want to be happy?"

His eyes dulled. "I don't know what else to do to show you how sorry I am."

I stepped forward. "How about you let me go? Please," I begged. Now that Michael had been cancelled from the equation, all I needed to do was take my family out of that toxic place. I needed to make sure that they wouldn't die from starvation. That was the only goal in my life as of now.

"I would, I promise you I would without thinking if that was up to me," he stared at Kofi pointedly. I turned around to look at him too.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "No."

"Kofi, you have a house filled with willing prostitutes. Let her go," Nathan asked of him.

He turned to him too. "No."

"Why not?" Wolfgang asked, barely controlling his anger. "We don't do this. We don't kidnap people."

"That's rich coming from you," he chuckled.

"I made a mistake. I know that now. With what I heard, I thought she'd like it here," he turned to me. "I honestly did. I was wrong. What I did was wrong, and I'm sorry." His eyes lingered on mine for longer than necessary and I felt my anger begin to seep away. He broke eye contact and refocused his gaze on his brother. "Please help me rectify my mistake. Just let her go."

"No."

"What is wrong with you?" Nathan asked, sounding angry. "She's just a normal person. She's done nothing wrong to you, just let her go!"

"No." He smiled, finding the whole thing funny.

Wolfgang shook his head, his expression slowly morphing from anger to disgust. Kofi smiled in return, seeming not to care about his brother's feelings towards him. He turned to me, his face set with determination. "Get your things. I'm taking you back to your village."

I stared up at him, my eyes filled with hope and fear. "Can you really do that?"

"Yes," he said simultaneously with Kofi, who said, "No."

They glared at each other.

"Hurry," Wolfgang told me.

"She's not going anywhere," Kofi said, standing straight and dropping his crossed arms.

"Yes, she is," Nathan said. "this business was never created for unwilling employees. You of all people should know how dangerous that is. You know what desperate people are capable of."

Again, both brothers stilled like he'd said something he shouldn't have.

"Maybe you should've told Wolfgang that before he brought her here. She's more dangerous away from us than with us. You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"She's not our enemy," Wolfgang said, stealthily pushing me away.

Kofi noticed. "She didn't come here with anything. If she leaves - which won't happen - she leaves with nothing."

Wolfgang took my hand. "That's good then. She won't have to spend another minute here."

"I don't understand why you both care about her so much. It annoys me. She annoys me. She's a terrible person. I don't know why you both are blind to that. She doesn't deserve anything. She deserves to be broken."

"You don't get to decide that." Wolfgang said. He and Nathan began to leave, Wolfgang pulling me along.

The light at the end of the tunnel was shining so bright. It was so close, blinding me, teasing me. Begging me to just reach out and grab it. I couldn't believe that I'd get to taste freedom again. It seemed unrealistic.

I was right.

"Security!" Kofi yelled, just like he'd done to Mr. Mark. To my horror, men who had too much muscle to be safe or normal swooped in. "Take the girl. Make sure my brothers never step foot on this property again until I say so."

His brothers were shocked. Their expressions said so. The big men grabbed me and unceremoniously threw me back. Wolfgang and Nathan tried to fight them off, but they were no match for the men. They had them off their feet in no time and dragged them out, whilst they yelled and cursed Kofi. All of which fell on deaf ears.

I felt the treacherous tears prick the corners of my eyes.

I was so close.

Kofi stared at the door for a long time, probably regretting what he'd done. He didn't say anything afterwards, leaving both of us in an awkward silence. He turned and climbed the stairs, leaving me crying my heart out on the floor.

I never noticed that Michael had gone out, though it'd explain why I hadn't seen him the whole day. When he entered the house, he stopped short on seeing me, sitting on the floor and with dried tears and red eyes. He came forward, probably to talk to me or something, but he probably remembered what had almost happened between us the last time.

He flinched and stopped, backing away. The sight brought fresh tears to my eyes. I wished he'd just go away. It seemed that God didn't hate me too much, because at least that wish was granted. He backed away and climbed the stairs without sparing me another glance.

I sighed. I didn't expect anything else. It was getting late. My legs were barely functioning, as they'd been in a very uncomfortable position this whole time. I got up, stumbling as my legs wobbled like jelly beneath me. I made my way to the wall and leaned against it.

The space between my legs felt sore from the crotch of my shorts tightening me. My legs were tingling, like ants were crawling through them. It was that annoying and slightly painful feeling anyone would feel if a part of their body was in a position in which blood couldn't flow properly. I repeatedly stamped my foot on the ground, willing my blood flow to return to normal so that I could walk properly without feeling like I was walking on nails.

When I got my blood flowing well, I made my way to Kofi's room. The prostitutes had come in earlier, none of them noticing me as they chattered excitedly about how good their clients had been. They looked happy, especially Ginger. She was saying something like she'd never known how good having sex with a woman could be. I didn't see Barbie, but maybe that was just because I was lost in my own thoughts. If she saw me, she must've ignored me.

The prostitutes' arrival meant that I couldn't sleep in the spare room, which in turn, meant that I'd have to sleep in Kofi's room again. Truth be told, I was nervous and scared. I didn't know what to expect.

I knocked on the door and listened for any indication that he was coming to get it. I didn't hear anything. I opened the door. Kofi was sitting on his bed; his back was turned to me. The room was lit by the light of the moon, giving it a serene glow.

My rug and pillows were still where I'd left them, so I quietly made my way towards my makeshift bed, resting beneath the covers. It felt disgusting, since I hadn't taken a shower the whole of that day, but I didn't want to trigger Kofi so I just ignored the disgusting feeling.

I unbuttoned the shorts, glad to finally be able to take them off, when I heard the rustling of covers. I flinched when I saw Kofi towering over me, staring me down.

"Get up," he spat. His angry voice betrayed his blank stare.

"I -"

"I'm not in the mood for your nonsense. Get. Up." He spat.

I jumped to my feet as my heart pounded in fear. With my luck, it began to pour noisily outside. Kofi glanced out the window and smiled cruelly. "You remember when you said you'd like to sleep outside?"

"Ko-"

"I also remember you saying that you'd rather dance around naked than wear the clothes I got you."

"Plea-"

"Take off your clothes."

"I di-"

"I said," he began, the controlled anger in his voice contrasting the blankness in his expression. "take off your clothes. If you're feeling shy, rest assured that I've already seen you naked and you have nothing on you that interests me."

"Yo-"

He came up to me and ripped my shirt off, leaving my chest bare before him. I gasped, jumping back in shock. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling ashamed, horrified, and scared all at once.

"Please stop," I whispered, sobbing quietly. I should've slept in the hall.

"Take off the shorts too. Or do you want me to take care of that myself?"

I shook my head frantically as my heart pounded in my chest. I slowly pulled the shorts off, feeling embarrassed and cold as his eyes remained on my face, completely ignoring my naked body.

"Good," he said. "follow me."

He began to walk, leaving the room. I tried as much as possible to cover myself with my hands, but there was so much that my hands could do. He was taking me out. That, I was sure off. He was going to leave me in the rain. Naked.

"I didn't mean anything I said," I begged, but I was unsurprisingly ignored.

When he opened the door, the sound of the rain roared throughout the living room, making my heart beat even harder.

I was scared. Scared enough to forget my pride and kneel before him and beg. "Please."

He stared down at me.

"Please."

He kept staring. "Do you know what you did today? You destroyed the relationship I had with my brothers. Nothing and no one has ever managed to do that. I've never treated my brothers the way I did today."

"That was your choice!" I yelled, without thinking.

He laughed, shaking his head. "You're terrible at this begging thing."

He grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside whilst I begged and struggled in vain. He left me out in the rain and began to go back inside. I ran as fast as I could, but he shut the doors before I could get in.

"Please," I whispered one last time, the cold rain beating down mercilessly on my naked body.

He smiled cruelly. "No."

* * *

I'm sad. This chapter wasn't supposed to end like this, but I have a curse where I can't stick to the plot in my mind. As I write, new ideas pop up :(

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter :( I suppose I was wrong when I said updates every Friday :D. I meant updates every week! (I'm not sure of the number) I'll never know the day and neither will you! So, stay glued to your devices. See you!

Don't forget to vote! 🌟