A Forced Contract Marriage with the Devil novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117

NIKOLAI’S POV

I opened my eyes to a familiar ceiling. A ceiling I hadn’t seen in more than a month ago. The faint pattern etched into the white plaster brought a strange sense of déjà vu, like stepping into a memory I wasn’t ready to revisit. The ceiling fan creaked softly above, slicing the silence with a rhythm I hadn’t realized I missed. The last thing I remember is the man hovering over me. His face, dark and obscured by shadows, had been the last image I clung to before everything went black. I have no idea what happened after that. How I ended up here.

I couldn’t believe I was here. I was in Alessandro’s home.

My heart thudded in my chest as my eyes darted across the room. The sharp contrast between the crisp white bedding and the warmth of the pale golden curtains stirred a whirlwind of emotions in me. I couldn’t believe that I was in this bedroom. At first, I thought it was a figment of my imagination, a desperate creation of my fractured mind. But then I tried to touch things around me the silky comforter, the cool iron bedframe, the soft edge of a pillow and they felt so real.

They were real.

I was no longer in men’s captivity. I was no longer in that dingy, dirty cell, where the air reeked of sweat, rust, and hopelessness. I was no longer in that man’s bed, where the springs dug into my skin and the filth clung to my clothes. Tears pooled in my eyes as I thought about what that man might have done to me. My hands trembled, ghosting over my body as if I might find an answer there some indication, some sign.

I lost consciousness, I don’t remember anything. I tried to fight him but he was stronger, he hit me in the head. Everything had gone blurry before it disappeared into blackness. I looked down at my clothes, they were just simple PJs, not the kind of revealing clothes that he had made me wear.

Did he force himself on me? Did he assault me? I didn’t feel different. But then again, how do you know if you have been assaulted? Does your body just know? Or does it stay quiet, shielding you from the truth?

I sat up and brought my knees to my chest and winced as my muscles ached, reminding me of the torture I went through. The soreness felt like it had seeped into my bones. Every movement tugged on a new bruise, pulled at bandaged wounds, and brought up memories I didn’t want.

My mind failed to accept that I’m back in Alessandro’s home. Maybe, I’m still in that cell and this is just my imagination, a dream. A hallucination brought on by pain and fear. I got off the bed and walked to the window. My bare feet pressed against the cold wooden floor, grounding me. I opened the window and let the warm summer breeze hit my bruised and

battered skin.

I looked at the vast garden, the neatly trimmed hedges, the flowers in bloom, the fountain trickling calmly in the middle of it all. And all I could think of were my dead sister’s words. She was right about everything. She was right to die earlier. People are horrible. They are just so horrible. I can’t trust anyone anymore. No one had been my friend. No one.

And Alessandro… I don’t even know what to think about him.

I don’t even know if I still love him.

I wasn’t in the right state of mind. I don’t love Alessandro Costello, I just don’t, I can’t. My heart felt like it had been gutted out and filled with ice–numb and cold but somehow still hurting.

I went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth with a trembling hand, watching the foam collect at the corners of my lips in the mirror. My reflection looked like a stranger hollow–eyed, haunted. I showered and changed my clothes, it was difficult

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Chapter 117

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