Gabe threw me over his shoulder. I screamed and slammed my fists into his back as he carried me up the stairs. The thought of being punished terrified me. He said he would not kill me, but that did not stop them from torturing me.

Gabe set me down on the bed. He sat down next to me. He put his hand on my leg and I shivered. I pushed myself back until I was up against the wall. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. He flipped out the blade.

"Give me your arm," he said.

"What?" I asked. "No."

"You need to listen to me or this is going to hurt more. Now, give me your arm."

I held my arm against my pounding chest. Gabe sighed and was not going to wait for me. He grabbed my wrist and pulled my arm out straight. He was crushing my wrist in his grip.

"Stay still," he said. "I don't want to hurt you more than I have to."

He placed the blade against the flesh on the inside of my arm. I screamed as he pushed down on the blade. At a horrible slow pace, he dragged the blade horizontally across my arm. Blood rushed past the blade. It dripped off of my arm and landed on my dress. Splatters of crimson stained the white fabric. My vision was blurry from the tears welling up in my eyes.

Once he was finished, he wiped the bloody blade on his jeans. My hand trembled as I pulled my burning arm back toward myself. Both of us were staring at the open wound on my arm.

"Come with me to the bathroom," he said.

"Please, just leave me alone," I said.

I wiped the tears off of my face with my other hand. I jumped when Gabe put his hand on my knee.

"I need to clean you up," he said. "I don't want that to get infected."

He stood up and extended his arm toward me. I raised my brow in confusion. He sliced my arm open out of anger, and now he wanted to take care of me. It was like he was two different people.

He cleared his throat and I took that as a warning. I did not want to give him another excuse to punish me. I ignored his hand as I stood up. He slid his arm around my waist, pulled me close, and lightly pressed his lips against my temple. He guided me out of the bedroom, down the hall, and into the bathroom. He forced me to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

He did not say anything as he pulled some items out of the vanity and grabbed a few towels. He sat next to me on the tub. I gritted my teeth when he pushed a towel against the wound to stop it from bleeding. More drops of blood ran onto my dress.

Next, he unscrewed the cap to a bottle. The smell burned my nose. I realized that it was rubbing alcohol. I shook my head and pulled my arm away. Alcohol was painful on small cuts, so it would be excruciating on this wound.

"No," I said. "Please, don't."

"I can't have it getting infected," he said.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled it over the tub. He poured the alcohol over my arm. Gritting my teeth was not enough to stop myself from crying out. I screamed as the burn intensified and spread from my elbow to my fingertips.

Gabe wiped my arm again to dry it. He pulled out a roll of gauze and wrapped up my arm. We were both silent as his fingers were careful with the gauze. When he was finished, I cradled my arm to my chest.

Gabe slid his arm around my waist and grabbed my thigh. He pulled me up onto his lap. He curled me into my chest and kissed the top of my head. I pushed his chest with my hand, and he pulled me tighter to him. He lifted my chin with his fingers so that I was looking up at him.

"Kiss me," he said.

I shook my head. He tightened his hold on my chin so that I could not move my head. The loss of blood and his disgusting request caused my head to spin.

"You need to kiss me," he said.

"No," I said.

"Do you want me to cut the other arm?" he asked.

I gasped before biting down on my lip. The thought of kissing him made my skin crawl, but the thought of going through another punishment was more terrifying.

I swallowed past the lump that was forming in my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut as I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. I wanted the kiss to only last a second, but when I pulled away Gabe put his hand on the back of my head and forced my lips on his. I tried to pull away but he was too strong. His fingers curled into my hair as he tried to deepen the kiss.

When he pulled away, he had a wide smile on his face. He kept me inches away from him. His warm breath fanned against my skin.

"You're so beautiful," he said. "I am so glad that Dad let me keep you."

Keep me.

I was an object to this man. I was a possession. I was like a birthday present from his father to him. It reminded me of the way parents would buy their children a puppy for Christmas.

Finn begged and pleaded for my life. I wonder if he knew that this was going to happen. If he knew I would be enslaved for the rest of my life, would he still want me to survive? If I had died we could have at least still been together.

"I know it seems scary, but you're going to love it here," Gabe said. "You're going to be so happy at our wedding."

"Our wedding?" I asked with panic setting into my chest.

"Yes," he said. "Of course we have to get married."

"I don't want to get married."

"This is how you can show me that you will take care of me and it will show you how I am always going to protect you."

"Protect me from what?"

Gabe licked his lips before pulling me away from him. He pushed me off of his lap but held onto my waist. We stood, and he wrapped his arms around me from behind. He leaned down so that his lips were by my ear.

"There are a few rules here," he said. "One of them is to not ask questions. You need to trust me that everything I do is to keep you safe."

"What are you protecting me from?" I asked. "It's safe outside."

"If you ask another question, I am going to have to punish you."

My arm throbbed at the thought of another punishment. I nodded my head. Gabe patted my hip before kissing my cheek.

"Good, I am glad you understand," he said. "Are you going to behave now? I don't want to have to come back inside."

"Yes," I said quietly.

"Good girl."

I kept my wounded arm at my chest as Gabe laced his fingers through mine. I followed him as he went down the staircase and into the kitchen.

Jenny was at the sink washing dishes. She looked up at us and smiled when she saw us holding hands. She pulled the plug in the sink before wiping her hands on a dishtowel.

"Are you feeling better, Lindsay?" she asked.

"She is," Gabe said. "She shouldn't give you any more issues. If she does, just call us back in again."

"Thank you. I will."

Gabe spun me around before forcing his lips against mine. The kiss was quick, but Jenny watched us with a smile throughout it. It disgusted me for her to think that this was some kind of romantic gesture.

"Be good," Gabe said as he headed for the door.

It was a warning. I knew that I could not try to fight against Jenny again without being punished. The next time I should try to find an exit, it should be in the middle of the night while they were all asleep. I would have to sneak out in the dark.

"Do you want some tea?" Jenny asked me, breaking me free from my thoughts. "We can talk for a little bit."

I nodded and Jenny grabbed the kettle. Anticipation was coursing through my veins as I prepared to find my escape tonight.