Just as Kelly sat in the dark-lit room, gazing at the contract in her hands, she paused. Knowing that this contract questioned everything Rowel told her. Her heart skipped and this reminded her of the trap she was in
She stared at the door that was locked..again!!
She was no longer questioning if she was a prisoner, knowing fully well that she was. But the real question was.. why?
It was obvious that Rowel had all the answers but practically made one thing clear. He would only give her details he wanted her to know
From her little recalled memory, Vincent's warning echoed in her mind.
"Rowel is not your savior, he's the reason you're trapped."
Those words pierced hard against her chest, as she couldn't detect if she was being manipulated into believing she had a choice, whereas she was being used by Rowel without being aware of the full scope.
She thought for a while as the door was slightly opened...
The door opened, and Rowel Rowel entered the room with self-discipline and a facial expression that made it difficult to interpret. His presence alone shows confidence and control without needing to say a word. She looked at him and sighed.. "what a man!"
"You've barely touched your food," he said with his gaze never departing from her.
Kelly didn't respond. Rather she shoved the contract across the table.. "Explain this."
On the other hand, Rowel didn't bother to look at it, he quietly calculated in his mind before sitting next to her.
"Where did you get this?"
He said with a calm voice, but she felt something was off..could be dangerous
"Does it matter?" she responded, holding the edge of the table.
His gaze darkened. "It does. Because if someone is misleading you false information, I need to know who."
She almost laughed. "False you say? So this isn't real?"
Rowel reached forward, tapping his fingers on the polished surface, "There's only one truth Kelly, but the real question is...can you handle it?"
The Mind Games Begin…
She so much hated the way his words got under her skin; he was always four steps ahead of her, and he spoke like she was too naive to grasp the main picture.
"I want my life back," she whispered, her voice fluctuating.
Rowel inclined his head and said, "Are you sure you ever had one?"
She couldn't recall anything and that question alone got her stuck in a deep ocean
And maybe that was the scariest part.
Her body got tensed up. "You're hiding something from me."
Rowel not knowing what exactly to say, gazed at her for awhile before standing up. "Eat. Rest. And stay out of things you don't understand."
Then he left, closing the door behind him
Kelly sat frozen, her head spinning as she found herself in a state of confusion
At last, She thought she was fighting for her freedom, but what if the real battle was for her memories??
As Kelly lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, a faint thought quietly came forth in her mind.
"Don't trust him."
She gasped slightly
The voice wasn't Rowel's.
It wasn't Vincent's.
It was her own.
But she had no memory of saying it, which drove her wild
"The voice in the Dark" continued to echo in Kelly's mind, growing louder with each passing moment
Kelly felt her breath coming in shortly as she suddenly sat up straight with a sense of surprise .. Her eyes wide with shock
"Don't trust him."
Those words still rang a bell in her mind like a feeling of fear after a nightmare
She pressed hard on her hands t, trying to clear her mind w, which was already in a mess, struggling to put her thoughts together and get meaning out of it but was haunted by a voice that sounded like her but couldn't recall...
Sadly, cause there were no memories left.., I wasn't sure what it was!
The walls of her room suddenly felt too close.
She climbed out of bed, with her bare feet touching the cold marble floor. She was desperately in need of answers.
She reached towards the door, testing the handle, and of course, it was still locked. Rowel made sure she had nowhere to run or even any chances of escaping the room
Frustration coiled inside her like an earthworm bathed with salt
Suddenly she caught a faint light under the door, someone was definitely out there
Moving closer to the door, her heart was beating so fast as she pressed her ear against the wood to grab the convo
Silence.
As she backed away, she saw a shadow like someone, just standing outside..watching
Kelly tried to control herself from panicking since she realized she wasn't alone.
The journal was the key to unraveling her mysteries
Being eager to ignore the creeping paranoia, she changed direction towards the desk at the corner of her room. Her fingers trailed the edge of the drawer, as she pulled it open
Inside the drawer was just a pile of documents and a leather journal
She doesn't recall seeing it before.
At a slow pace, she lifted the cover; the pages looked familiar handwriting. It was hers
But she had no memory of writing any of it, which was frustrating
Her heart racing as she skimmed the words.
"The contract is a lie."
"He's not who he says he is."
"If I don't leave soon, I won't remember who I am."
Kelly couldn't catch her breath at this point. What did that mean??
She flipped the pages faster, looking for something.. anything.. that made actual sense.
Then she found it
A final entry, written in bold letters.
"Don't drink the tea."
The journal slipped from her hands and fell
Her blood ran cold.
She had been drinking Rowel's tea every night.
Whoa!
---
A knock at the door made her spin around.
"Kelly."
Rowel's voice was so smooth, controlled, and deceptively calm.
She hesitated. Did he know what she had found?
Just a click sound and the door was unlocked from the outside. It slowly creaked open and Rowel stood there with his glaring gaze staring at her
"Still awake?" he asked.
Kelly forced her expression to remain neutral and stable. "I couldn't sleep." trying to act normal, so he won't suspect
Rowel's gaze flashed to the journal on the floor before returning to her. His expression didn't change a bit, but the air changed.. tension with an uncomfortable silence
"I figured," he murmured. "That's why I brought this."
He stepped inside, placing a steaming cup of tea on the table
Kelly stared at it.
*Don't drink the tea."
The warning echoed inside her head.
"Drink," Rowel instructed, his voice sounding with thunder-like command
Kelly fought to lift the cup, but her hands trembled slightly. She forced herself to bring it to her lips. As she pretended to sip.
Rowel watched her closely.
Did he know she was faking?
Kelly's hands shook as she set the untouched tea down. Rowel knew.
"Good girl," he murmured. Then as if satisfied, he turned and walked toward the door.
Kelly let out her breath, lowering the cup.
Then, just as Rowel reached the threshold, he stopped.
Without turning around, he spoke.
"If you're going to lie to me, Kelly, at least be better at it."
He had been testing her., but she wasn't aware
The door slammed shut.
And this time, the lock clicked twice.