Chapter 2

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Was it all in my fantasy?

Where are you now?

Were you only imaginary?

Where are you now?

- Faded, Alan Walker

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Who the hell does he think he is to lock me up in a fucking cell!!

I kicked and punched at the menacing iron gate that closed behind me, but to no avail.

An iron gate?! Who uses an iron gate nowadays for a building, geesh.

For a fleeting moment, I thought of screaming for help, but a realization dawned on me that we rushed across a woodsy garden for more than a few minutes after we jumped off the main mansion. This thick mortar cell must be isolated in a vast site and it would be quite useless to waist my voice.

The more I looked around, the more I was convinced this building was constructed to confine. This square edifice had 15 ft tall mortar walls and narrow windows that bordered the ceiling. Clearly, the windows were not placed to enjoy the garden view. Plus the windows had tell-tale vertical iron bars. At least, it had floorboards and minimal furnishing; an antique wide iron bed and an eerily vintage divan with a side table to match. To top it off, the room had no lighting source, except for the full moon outside. The only sign of a daily life was the cleanliness of the room. The place was spotless and the perfectly made bedding didn’t even have a tiny crinkle.

Who in their right mind would lockdown a human in a dreary place like this? Or was the intention of this cell to drive them insane? They’ve done a great job, if that was the case.

As creepy as it was, I was more infuriated and wanted to punch myself for being so naively allured by a ravishing man to this place.

Because I admit it, he was nothing other than ravishing, even for the entertainment industry standards. His alabaster skin, his chiseled cheeks, his large expressive eyes and those succulent lips… but that’s no reason for me to be embroiled in a situation like this. I couldn’t swear filthy enough at my idiocy.

He said he’d be back soon. How long is “soon” exactly?

After I groped every nook and cranny reachable to a human being in the room looking for another way out, I came to the conclusion that, to my chagrin, there were no more escape routs.

By this time, I had unknotted my bowtie and thrown away my distasteful silver jacket. Exhausted, I laid down on the wooden floor thankful of the coolness against my sweaty body. Fortunately, it was late spring and the nights were becoming warmer by the day. Otherwise, I would have become a living popsicle.

Feeling the crispness of the night, once again, my mind drifted and once again, I was thinking about the man who was keeping me captive.

His large almond eyes glinted in the dark room, but casted some sort of, was that shadow…? His smile was so tempting, but it seemed… wistful? He must be a little older than me. Or not. Who knows, maybe his languishing air made him look more mature than he really was.

When I sighed for the umpteenth time and the moon was now low to the west, I heard someone rummaging the locks. I jumped out of the floor in anticipation.

The handsome man from earlier came into the room in a totally battered attire that it took me off guard. He was stumbling and barely standing on his feet. His hair was disheveled, his refined tux was a torn up mess and he was a mere shadow of its former dark glory.

I caught him in my arms before he struck the floor and took him to the only bed in the room.

“Hey, are you okay? Did you get into a fight? Who did this to you?!”

“I’ll be okay, don’t you worry about me.” He whispered. “You will be free to go in the morning. No admonitions for you.”

“What? Admonitions? When was I at fault? Hey, you’re not gonna faint on me just yet. Wake up. I need an explanation and you need a doctor!!”

“I’m sorry, it’s almost dawn and I can’t seem to…”

“Hey, no, don’t you dare faint on me. Tell me your name at the least!!”

“Zhan…”

“Zhan…? What Zhan? Hey, what’s your family name?”

And just like that, the man who only managed to utter half of his name went unconscious.

I took off what was left of a bowtie and the ripped jacket, then loosened his neck to allow some air, but the pearly skin that was revealed underneath sported fresh bruises and bite marks. I froze.

At first, I thought he might have gotten into a fight and worse yet, on account of me, but who bites a grown man in the collar in a fist fight? The uncuffed sleeves were displaying bind marks on his wrists.

Okay, this may not be what it looked like in my first impression. Was Zhan-ge, for lack of a better name, into a wild kink? Was he in a heavy BDMS session, or something along that line?

I apologized under my breath and opened up his entire shirt to survey the extent of his injuries. That was when I realized, all the buttons in his shirt were already gone. But then, what I saw next appalled me. Bruises, bite marks, and traces of more bindings and, was it flogging??

This was so wrong. This was outright abuse or torture, way beyond a kink. I chewed on my lips. What to do with this guy? He urgently needed medical attention. I laced my fingers in my hair, not knowing how I could help.

Suddenly, the iron door creaked open.

“Mr. Wang, your ride back home is ready.” A servant with a toady smile came to fetch me.

“Oh, about time someone showed up! This man needs medical treatment, he’s badly wounded!”

“Yes, Mr. Wang, we will take good care of him. You need no worry. Now I suggest you hurry, Sir. The helicopter is ready for take-off.”

“I can’t just leave him like this!” I protested.

“Doctor is on his way.” He replied somewhat exasperatedly.

I had to resist the urge to grab him by the neck and shout at him that a doctor was more priority, but I also knew that even if I stayed, his situation wasn’t going to improve much. Finally, I tore myself from the bed where a very pale Zhan-ge was lying and walked out of the cell.

I looked up to see the day had just broke and the first rays of light were illuminating the night sky.

TBC…

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