“You don’t want that right now. Trust me. You tested him and pushed too far. Allow him to cool down.”
“I just want to go home,” I whined, although I did seem to be feeling better as the moments passed. His gentle touch and petting of my hair did seem to ease some of my distress.
“Your home is with us now,” he said as he leaned in and kissed my cheek with the most delicate of touches. “It won’t always be bad. Take your punishment like a good girl, and it will soon all be over.” He pulled away and looked me in the eye—so dark and piercing. “You’re a strong woman, Hailey.”
“I’m not.” Though I was upset, the tears had at least ceased.
“You are. Stefano and I do extensive research on all of our employees. We know all about you, and one of your qualities is strength. We don’t hire weak people. You’ve had to be a fighter your entire life. We know this. We know you were raised by a single mother who paid more attention to a bottle of booze than her baby. We know you put yourself through school and have had to count on yourself solely. So, did you fuck up? Are we going to make you suffer the consequences? Yes. But we both know that we won’t break down the woman you are. Not at your core. We just want to break your ability to ever cross or betray us in the future.”
He kissed my cheek again and then my forehead, continuing to stroke my sweaty hair. “You are going to be just fine.”
Would I be? How could I be just fine ever again?
“I hate it,” I cried. “Why are you so cruel to another human being? I may be your prisoner, but I am still a woman. I’m a person. I deserve some level of decency.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“So why?”
“You’re fine.”
“I’m not,” I argued.
“You are, so stop. Stop the hysterics. I’m trying to be nice and to be patient, but my patience will only go so far.”
“Do I deserve to be treated like an animal?” I asked. It appeared that my words did make a difference, but I also got the sense that there was no use trying to convince Thomas to go against his brother.
Thomas placed both palms on each side of my face and forced me to stare directly into his eyes once again. “You need to behave. If you continue to try to push either of us, I promise you that what you have suffered so far will be minor in comparison. Behave. Do you understand me? You have nothing to prove. Let go of that pride. Feel humiliated. Feel ashamed. That’s the point. A lesson will be taught, Hailey. One way or the other.”
“I have already learned. Trust me,” I pointed out. “I’m here against my will, being degraded, and then being expected to have a baby. There is nothing more for me to be taught.”
“But there is. You know this. Don’t push us. Just don’t.”
“Is there nothing I can do? You both can’t truly be serious in this. I get it. I get that I need to be taught to never betray you both again. But please. I don’t think you are both monsters. Not truly. Please let me go. Please.”
He leaned in and kissed me gently on the forehead one last time before standing up. “Being monsters is our only option. The minute either of us show any weakness, our enemies would strike. We do what we do to survive. No one gets away with betraying us. Stop begging, Hailey. It’s a waste of time and energy.” He extended his hand to assist me up now that I was breathing and acting normally again.
Standing, I took a moment to allow the slight weakness in my legs to strengthen. Thomas placed his arm around my body to hold me steady while I regained control of my body. It hadn’t taken long to feel back to my old self.
“Would you like to go to the kitchen and get something to eat?” he asked. “I think you’ve earned that comfort item.”
I nodded.
He grabbed my arm and led me out of the room, down the staircase, and through a door to the left. Entering the kitchen, I saw Stefano sitting at the table. The kitchen was dimly lit, so the shadows emitting from Stefano’s figure were all the more pronounced. When he looked up, he scowled seeing me walking beside his brother.
“What is she doing out of her room?” he asked.
“She’s hungry,” Thomas replied as he pulled out a chair and forced me to sit down across from Stefano. I hissed as the pressure of sitting seemed to lodge the plug even further inside of my ass. “I didn’t feel like going back and forth with a tray.”