MTLNOVEL Chapter 16: CHAPTER 16
"Get dressed for dinner", she stared at the screen with disgust and all she could think was DINNER? seriously?
who takes someone hostage and then invites them to dinner in this manner, she scoffed, rolling her eyes hard with her throat still sore from all the crying and in her head she whispered, "can this man be any more disgusting?"
She ignored the message and turned her face into the pillow again, she just wanted to sink into the bed and never have to deal with any of this again, but of course her horrible luck strikes again, the phone dinged again,
This one read, "Come out for dinner, it might help you feel a little better, I don't like how you're crying so much."
She sat up slowly with her brows furrowing and her hands trembling just a little, she turned to look around the room and suddenly aware of how exposed she might be, her eyes scanned every corner of the room, the ceiling, the walls, even under the table with her chest rising and falling with a growing sense of unease...
Was there a camera somewhere? was he watching me? how did he know I had been crying? how else could he have known i was crying?
Another message dropped in,
"relax, there are no cameras there"
"1. how do you know I cried? 2. how do you know I was worried there were cameras around?" She responded in anger.
"1. your eyes were red when I came in, the basement is not as sound proof as you think...I heard everything, 2. it is common sense, anyone in your position would be worried about that as well" He responded
"whatever" she responded.
this time the phone buzzed again with a text message from him,
"Red box in wardrobe, your outfit for dinner."
She stared at it for a moment, then at the wardrobe,
She dragged her feet toward the wardrobe and then pulled the doors open slowly, there it was, a red box, sitting perfectly on the middle shelf, she picked it up and opened it and inside was a dress, a rich, silky red fabric that looked expensive, she blinked and shut the box instantly, then picked up the phone and typed fast with pure irritation in her fingers
"I do not care for dinner."
Another message came in right away, and this one made her heart drop a little
"Don't make me come get you myself."
That was it,
Isabella stood up slowly, wiping her face with the back of her hand, her eyes were puffy and her throat tight, as much as she wanted to ignore everything, a little voice in her head whispered "What if he actually comes down here?"
She remembered his voice, the way he looked at her when she spat on him, how his fingers dug into her jaw and made it hard to breathe, how calm he sounded even though his eyes screamed something else, and just the memory of that moment was enough to make her heart pound all over again.
With trembling hands, she went to the wardrobe again, took out the red dress and held it up against her body, she had never worn anything like that before,
Back home she never had fancy clothes, or makeup, or hair products, or anything shiny, she was always the girl who got ready in ten minutes, wore the same two pairs of jeans, and barely even looked in a mirror; but now here she was, trapped in a stranger's house, being told what to wear and when to eat, and as sick as it made her feel, some part of her just wanted to look nice, maybe for herself or maybe for some sense of control.
So she wiped her face again, brushed her hair down, did her lips with a gloss she found in the drawer, and pulled the dress on, smoothing it down her waist, sniffing back tears the entire time
It was almost 7 p.m.
Then came the sound of the basement door unlocking, and when it creaked open, she turned her head,
It was Nico.