Things went from bad to worse. Isabella had kept our little outing a secret from everyone, and I hadn't breathed a word to my family either, terrified of the lecture I'd get. The result? No one in the outside world had a clue we were here.
"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" By noon, Benjamin Lowell sauntered into my room, a bowl of food in his hand and a smug look plastered on his face. "Come on, let Uncle Ben take good care of you. Call me husband!"
He had a plan—to break me.
My stomach had been growling since morning, a hollow ache of hunger. But the thought of being trapped forever in this godforsaken place made defiance my only weapon.
"Let us go! If you release us now, we won't say a word about this place!"
He just snorted. "Hmph! Even if you left, who'd ever believe you?"
Using the food as bait, he coaxed, "Be a good girl for Uncle Ben, and you'll get to eat."
Rage boiled over. I slapped the bowl out of his hands.
Benjamin exploded. "You ungrateful little bitch! I'll tame you right here, right now!"
He lunged at me, his strength overwhelming. With my hands tied, I was powerless to push him away.
My feeble struggles only seemed to fuel him. He held me down tight, like an animal savoring its catch.
"It hurts! Get your filthy mouth off me!"
I sank my teeth deep into his shoulder.
He yelped in pain and jerked back.
"A few more days without food, and we'll see how much fight you have left!" he snarled.
Then his eyes took on a cunning gleam as he chuckled coldly. "But I want you to come to me willingly. How about I make you my number one, then?"
"In your dreams!" I wished I could kill him right then.
"Then get ready to suffer. Just you wait!" he vowed.
Determined to savor the pride of psychologically conquering a woman, Benjamin calmly walked toward Isabella's room.
Soon, her agonized screams and the sounds of his torment echoed through the walls.
The days that followed were pure darkness.
Benjamin brought a bowl of food each day, but I refused every time. Starving and growing weaker, I could see my resistance was getting under his skin.
"Sweetheart, if you waste away to skin and bones, you won't be so tender anymore. Eat for Uncle Ben. I'll treat you right."
"Not eating? Then starve!" he finally snapped.
Seeing my clenched jaw and unyielding resolve, he felt the sting of failure. That's when he dropped the act completely.
"Fine, you wretched girl! If you're so determined to starve yourself, I'll at least get a taste first!"
No longer willing to wait, he grabbed my ankles and dragged me under him like a lamb to slaughter.
Terrified he would go through with it, I broke down into loud, helpless sobs.
"Stop! I'll eat… I'll eat!"
Faced with the immediate danger, I surrendered.
Truth was, Benjamin didn't actually want me dead. He understood the difference between one full meal and a lifetime of them.
"Ha! Now that's my good girl. Eat up."
He shoved the food toward me. Days of hunger had shattered my resistance, and I devoured the meal like a starved animal.
Seeing me eat put his mind at ease.
"I'll come for you tonight. Rest up. You'll need your strength."
"My last wife died this way. Don't underestimate your Uncle Ben!"
Believing he had finally broken me, Benjamin considered his mission accomplished. Hearing his words, I felt my spirit crumble into despair.
Whether from a good mood or sheer depravity, Benjamin spent the entire afternoon in Isabella's room. He wore himself out so completely that he was still unconscious long after nightfall.
Alone on the bed, I was consumed by dread, waiting in terror for his return. Just as hopelessness was about to swallow me whole, a noise came from the window.
"Beautiful… such a pretty woman. That old fool Benjamin thought he could hide you from me, but I found you anyway."
In the moonlight, I saw a man's face at the window—it was Caleb Winston, the man I'd run into earlier!
He was drooling, frantic with desire, but seemed too afraid to come inside. A spark of an idea ignited in me: Could Caleb be my way out?
With that tiny glimmer of hope, my will to survive roared back to life.
"Come in!" I urged.