chapter 24

                                    

                                          

Crystal slowly stirred, the dull throb of pain radiating through her body as she tried to sit up. “Ahh...” she winced, her muscles protesting. The pain was sharp, making her gasp.
“Easy,” came a low, familiar voice from across the room. She froze, her heart pounding as she looked up and saw him—Dimitri—sitting casually on the couch, his eyes fixed on her. 
Fear shot through her. Memories of the chase flooded her mind. She tried to move, her instinct to run kicking in, but a cold metal clink stopped her. A handcuff. She stared at her wrist in disbelief.
"Relax," Dimitri said, standing and making his way toward the bed. 
She instinctively shrank back, but there was nowhere to go. Her breath quickened as he sat down beside her, his presence looming.
“Regret it?” he asked softly, his eyes searching hers.
Crystal averted her gaze, refusing to answer. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
"Are they... dead?" she whispered, though deep down she already knew the answer. Her voice trembled as she asked, hoping for something—anything—that might contradict what she feared.
"Any doubt?" His cold response sealed it. 
She closed her eyes tightly, fighting back the overwhelming guilt that surged through her. “They didn’t even touch me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. 
"But they hurt you," Dimitri countered, his tone matter-of-fact. He pointed to her legs, still bandaged from the brutal chase. “Look at your condition. You won’t be able to walk for a week. Running is far from possible.”
Her anger flared. "You hurt me more than they did."
His lips curved into a dark smile. "It was your wish, doll. You wanted to run, so I gave you exactly what you wanted."
The rage bubbling within her spilled over, her eyes flashing with hatred. "I never wanted this!" she spat, but her defiance only seemed to amuse him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said with a smirk, leaning in closer. "You’re making me fall for you all over again. I might just end up kissing you."
She glared at him, turning her face away in disgust.
“Let me go,” she demanded, her voice shaking with both exhaustion and fury.
"Never." His reply was calm, final, as if it were a promise he intended to keep forever.
She opened her mouth to argue, but before she could, his lips pressed against hers in a sudden, forceful kiss. It stole the breath from her lungs, leaving her startled. She pushed at him weakly, but he held her in place just long enough to make her feel powerless before pulling away.
“That’s enough for today,” he said, standing up. He seemed entirely unbothered by her distress, as though everything was perfectly normal.
As he turned to leave, Crystal’s eyes flicked to the handcuff. “At least open this,” she said, her voice bitter, gesturing to her restrained wrist. “How am I supposed to sleep with it?”
“This is your punishment, doll,” Dimitri replied without a hint of remorse, walking toward the door.
"I hate you," she called out, her voice cracking as the words escaped her, a mix of frustration and desperation.
Without turning back, Dimitri paused at the doorway and chuckled softly. "I love you too, doll," he said, his tone playful and chilling at the same time, before he disappeared, leaving her alone in the room, trapped in both body and mind.
Crystal stared at the ceiling, her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed. Every breath she took felt like a reminder of her captivity, her hate for him growing deeper with each passing second. Yet, no matter how much she despised him, she couldn’t escape the twisted reality that she was his prisoner—his doll—and he wasn’t going to let her go. Not ever.