Married To My Bully by Sakshi C (comprehension books txt) 📕

I woke up to retreating footsteps that were becoming distant with each hit against the floor. 

I was lying underneath a velvety comforter atop a soft mattress. Was that all a dream? A nightmare? 

I picked myself into a sitting position. A sharp pain shot through my neck making me wince and that is when I realized that wasn't a dream. I palmed the spot that had now swollen because of the bite. My entire form shuddered at the memory.

That happened for real. 

Tears flowed down my eyes. 

"I see you are awake," he was leaning against the doorframe. With wide eyes, I shrank back into the headrest when my gaze dropped on his right arm that had a snake curl around it. I suppressed a shiver. My mind was too focused on the rope-like creature to take note of the smirk hanging on his lips.  

My breathing labored with all the fear weighing down on my heart.    

"No thanks..Nada? Come on, stop being a snooty bitch. It took me so many efforts to plan that little surprise for you, the least you can do is thank me" he said in a mocking tone while making his way towards my bed. 

His last words made me snap my gaze back on him. The breath knocked out of my lungs as my mind processed his words. It was him who locked me in that room.

"It was you" I stated mostly to myself as realization dawned upon me. His smirk stretched into a triumphant smile as I uttered those words.

"Who else could it be, Dove? That was your wedding present. A Get together with your likes," he settled over into the couch with so much elegance and lifted his right arm to take a look at the creature hanging of his biceps.

I was tongue-tied. It was at that moment I realized why do people say that words cut deeper than a sword. His words had ripped me apart. I was angry, upset, shocked, but most of all I was hurt. He never left a stone unturned to show his hatred towards me.

"I could have died?" I muttered in a broken voice through my tears while eyeing the abominable creatures. Both of them.  

My question forced a chuckle out of me. That didn't even surprise me anymore. My pain had always been a means of entertainment for him. 

"You would have died if you could have. But look at you..you are alive and kicking. Don't worry, these mini friends of yours have their venom glands removed," he responded while watching the snake's movements. 

"Why?" I said it again. He lifted his gaze back at me with a blank expression. Alex leaned back on the couch with a relaxed expression.  

"Just wanted to return the favor. You helped me get over my aquaphobia and I wanted to help you get over your fear for snakes. Isn't he the one who bit you," the snake around his arms bobbed its head up and down, making my belly cramp. The menacing smile sitting over his lips didn't help either. I pressed myself more into the headrest.

"Leave," I said without looking away from the dangling snake. 

"Don't tell me you are still afraid of him. I think we need to do a proper introduction," he stood up and started walking towards me.

I jumped off the bed at once and backpedaled towards the wall.

"Back the fuck away," I commanded in my shaky voice. 

"You should have thought about the consequences, dove, before disobeying my command," he said in a threatening yet calm tone. And then I realized what was all this about. 

He was taking revenge on me for not opening the bathroom door when he had asked me to. And the smile on his face showed how thoroughly he was enjoying my predicament.

One more step and I bolted right into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. My heart was thudding painfully against my ribcage. I started taking deep breaths and closed my eyes to calm my frenzy heartbeat. 

"Always a wimp. Ain't you, Siren?" It wasn't difficult to detect the mockery seeping from his tone. My heart sank in distress. Silence ensued for a short stretch of time.  

I took a sigh of relief when I heard his retreating footsteps. Tears invaded my eyes once again as soon as the door slammed shut. 

I can't do this. He is a gone case. A demon in the flesh who finds pleasure in people's pain. Especially mine. I felt caged at that moment. Suffocated. My throat was still hurting and my eyes were paining because of all the crying. Is that what my life was going to be. Pain, insult, and hatred every step of the way? 

I swallowed a lump and cracked open the door to peek out. Alex wasn't there neither was his companion crawling anywhere on the floor. My tensed shoulders eased in relief and I walked out to get back in the bed but not before locking the door. 

Alex had given me tons of reasons to hate him, fear him. I definitely hated him for every nasty stunt he pulled on me. But I wasn't terrified of him. He was just a broken man with a messed up past. You don't hate a broken man, if anything, you sympathize with them.  And what he did today only corroborated my theory. I resented him for what he did to me today but I didn't hate him for who he was. Not because he didn't deserve it. Of course, he did. He deserved to be slapped and then punched and then kicked and then thrown into a nasty gutter. But that wasn't the point. 

I didn't hate him because I didn't have that much hatred in me. You give what you have and I didn't possess hatred. That was simply not in my nature.  

Sleep engulfed me instantly after my head hit the pillow.  

I woke up at noon, starved and with aching muscles. I was still feeling exhausted even after spending more than ten hours in bed. The first thing I did after sitting up was to check my phone. A couple of weeks had flown by and there was still no response from a single hiring company.

I decided to take things into my hands. There was no point sulking and blame my luck.

I dialed a few companies to know the status. The first one didn't pick. The second one wasn't interested in telling me why wasn't even considered. But the third one told me something that made me freeze in disbelief.