To Love A Villain-Chapter 29: Life in prison

>>Corvina

Thrown into a dark abandoned cellar, my already twisted foot hit the frame of the door, further twisting into an unrecoverable injury.

A sharp cry of pain escaped my lips as Agony shot through me like a bolt of lightning, searing through every nerve ending and leaving me gasping for breath while I went stumbling down the stairs.

The heavy door slammed shut, sealing me in darkness as I hit the ground. I couldn't even protest as Hubert made it all so quick and walked away.

"No," Tears stung my eyes as I sank to the cold, hard ground, "No, wait," I tried to look back but his footsteps were already receding while my injured foot throbbed with an intensity that bordered on unbearable. Each movement sent waves of agony rippling through me, "No," I ended up breaking down, "No..."

With trembling hands, I reached out, groping blindly in the darkness for any semblance of comfort, but the cold stone walls offered no solace. The air hung heavy with the scent of mildew and decay, suffocating me with its oppressive weight.

This cellar was never used, the only thing it was used for in all the years was to imprison me in it.

The only prominent sound in the dark room was the sound of my sobs.

Despair clawed at my chest, threatening to crush me beneath its crushing weight as I struggled to make sense of my predicament. How did it come to this? I thought I was doing fine

Tear droplets fell to the floor

How did it get even worse than this? How? Just how?! I crawled on the floor, I couldn't get up, there was too much pain in my body. So, I dragged myself across the cold, unforgiving floor, my fingers scraping against the rough stone as I searched for a safe place to position myself.

My sobs wouldn't stop and hot tears kept rolling down my cheeks.

I roughly wiped my eyes and then continued my search. My twisted foot throbbed with every movement, sending waves of agony radiating through my body with every desperate crawl. Tears stung my eyes as I gritted my teeth against the pain, It felt as if shards of glass were embedded in my flesh, tearing at my nerves with a merciless ferocity

I patted my hands everywhere like a blind mole, trying to navigate my way.

It took me a while but I got myself to a bed frame. It wasn't a bed, it just resembled that but it was made of stone. Once I got myself up on it, I tried not to move.

Even the smallest movement sent crucifying pain in my body. And only when I sat down and slumped against the back of the frame, did I realize I was sweating as well.

With every labored breath, I felt my strength wane, my vision blurring at the edges as waves of dizziness washed over me as time passed.

***

I was back here again. In a place where I was never able to tell how much time had passed. Thrown in the dark cellar, locked away from the outside world.

I gulped, then scoffed at myself silently.

And I thought I'd be fine. I thought I'd get out of here peacefully.

I can't believe I even dared to try and get married to Lyal.

God,

Something must have been wrong with my mind.

As if, I'd be allowed that peace.

A thick fog of exhaustion descended upon me like a heavy blanket, clouding my thoughts and dulling my senses. I wiped my hand on my neck and noticed that I was sweaty.

No, it wasn't only that.

I was feeling nauseous and sick. It must have been because of the injury.

I just hope I don't end up with a fever.

I could feel consciousness slipping through my fingers when someone knocked on the door

"My Lady," I recognized the voice immediately, "Are you alright?" Hael knocked on the door again, "Lady Corvina?"

I didn't answer him

"Lady, the whole day has passed, I brought you some bread to eat."

Oh...

So, it must have gotten dark now.

"Lady Corvina?"

I turned my face in the direction where the voice was coming from. In the far distance I saw a tiny crack of light where two silhouettes of feet stood.

Oh, that's where the door is.

"My Lady, I'll push the bread through the crack, you should eat." His words stung at the strings of my heart.

Don't do this to me Hael....

I stared at the bread he threw in... Don't do this to me ... I don't want to have feelings for you... I don't want to do anything with this place...

"I'm not eating that," I said, "Leave,"

"My Lady," He refused to move, "You need to eat to survive,"

"Leave," I told him and although he didn't move, I refused to talk to him after that. He tried speaking but I closed my ears and holed myself in the corner. But try as I might, I couldn't make out the words anyway, couldn't focus through the haze of pain and exhaustion that clouded my mind and before I knew it, I passed out.

***

I don't know how much time had passed when I woke up, but I woke up feeling horrible.

I looked around, I still couldn't see anything. I looked at the crack of the door and noticed no one was there.

I wonder when he left...

I gulped, trying to lubricate my dry throat. Hael didn't come to me in the past when I was imprisoned... So why now?

I shook my head,

That's not important. What's important is the fact that in the end, my efforts bore no fruit.

It really is happening the same way.

The path isn't the same but the results definitely are. I never mentioned Hael during our meetings, yet here I am.

At the exact same dead end

Thrown in the cellar

Made fun of publicly, humiliated even, and now stuck

No one is going to come to help me here.

No one,

***

As the faint sound of footsteps approached, my heart skipped a beat, knowing it was Hael. I shrank back into the darkness, my muscles tensing with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. The cellar door remained firmly locked but his presence still managed to seep through the cracks.

For the past week, he's been coming here trying to feed me bread but I haven't talked to him. I can't even move from this place. How am I supposed to get that far and get the bread anyway?

The head maid comes in before dawn and places a glass of water by the bed frame. That's all that I've been able to get into my body so far. She must have been how badly I was injured and how badly I needed a doctor but she didn't call for one. If nothing else, she could have done something about my ankle. It still hurts like crazy.

"My Lady?" He knocked on the door, "I brought food,"

As he stealthily slid the food through the narrow opening beneath the door, I couldn't help but feel a surge of conflicting emotions wash over me. Part of me longed to refuse his offerings, to sever the tenuous thread that bound us together and banish him from my thoughts once and for all. But another part, a stubborn remnant of the feelings I had tried so hard to suppress, yearned for his presence, his touch, his warmth.

He was the only one caring for me

The only sole person who didn't want me to starve.

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And thus the reason why my feelings for him just wouldn't die.

With each visit, I found myself grappling with the same internal struggle, torn between my desire to break free from him and the undeniable pull of the connection that still lingered. It was a tormenting cycle of longing and rejection, hope and despair, that played out in the solitary confines of the cellar.

Each time he offered sustenance in the darkness, it felt like a dagger twisting in my chest, a painful reminder of the emotions I had sworn to bury. After Lyal's betrayal, I was left with Hael again.

"I can't accept this," I whispered to myself, the words echoing in the suffocating silence of the cellar. But even as I said that, a part of me rebelled against the notion, craving the comfort his offerings provided despite my best efforts to resist.

I have to distance myself, I have to...

"Why can't you accept it?"

!!???

I was not expecting him to hear that but since he did, the strings of my heart were tugged at again. In this lonely confinement I wanted some sort of interaction to happen to keep me sane and when he replied to me with that one simple line, it made me feel better already.

"I can't move," I whispered

"You can't?" He paused, "Why?"

"I injured my ankle badly." I turned to look at it. After spending days in the cellar, I can now see things. I can't identify them properly, but I can see that they're there.

"...I see," He answered and walked away

!?!?!

Did-

I was shocked

Did he just lose interest and leave??