Chapter 7

Sanya...

I don't want to keep being stuck here with this annoying guy. He even threatened me earlier, thinking he could intimidate me. I am Chrissanya Evangelista, and I've never been afraid of a man, especially not someone like Adam Zhymian.

Maybe others think I'm a really terrible person, wondering why I'm so angry with him. Truth be told, it's not just him I'm angry at, it's all men. I might even be considered a man-hater, right?

I just want to distance myself, especially from the man in front of me. It's because of our situation - I'm married to him, and he, out of all men, is the one closest to me. Not as a friend or anything, don't get me wrong. I don't feel anything for this person; I just really don't want to be around men like him. What I mean is, my whole life, I've kept my distance from men.

I dislike them; I hate their arrogance, their pretentiousness, their womanizing tendencies. I dislike everything about them. I don't have any brothers, and it's only now that I've experienced living with a man in the same house, and he's my husband.

I glanced around. Those damn kidnappers or whatever you want to call them didn't even turn on the lights here. Our only light comes from that small window.

I looked at Adam; he's been quiet since earlier. I don't even know how long we've been here. It's a miracle I've managed to endure being with him this long.

It surprised me when he slowly started unbuttoning his shirt. I found a tomato in my hand - a red tomato - and I threw it at him with all my strength. "What the fuck?! What are you doing?"

"Ouch!" he exclaimed while giving me a glare. "Do you have to use such foul language? Aren't you supposed to be a lady? And you come from a respectable family."

"Then what the hell are you doing?!" I yelled at him.

"It's hot! Can't you see there's no fan in here? Should I just wrap myself in a blanket?"

I glared at him. I remembered what he said yesterday. I also questioned myself about why I react this way towards him, like I always want to provoke him, tease him, and hurt him. Maybe it's because he disrespected me. Maybe it's because he kissed me. But even before all of that, ever since we got married, I've been like this.

I got married because of the money. I can't live in poverty, and that's the truth. I don't believe in marriage and love, or whatever nonsense this world invented.

Because if love was real, married couples wouldn't separate, like what Adam and I are planning to do eventually. If love was true, there wouldn't be parentless children in orphanages. If love was real, men wouldn't seek other women even if they were married, like Crisanto - oh yeah, he's my biological father - ever since high school I stopped calling him Dad, why bother? He never loved me or my Mom. I don't know if he loved my mom or if he just stayed for the money.

I grew up in a loveless family. I was raised to take care of myself and my own needs; they would just give me money. There were maids at home to serve, so all I can say is there's one thing I can't live without - money. That's why I'm still here, and nobody can tell me I've lived with love and all that shit! I was in grade school when I first saw Crisanto with someone else. They were kissing in public. What else could I think? It's not like they were just cleaning each other's lips; even though I was young, I knew what they were doing was wrong. I told my mom when I got home, and all I got was a slap. She told me not to mention it to Crisanto.

Of course, I'm the obedient child, so I did, but there were times when it's so frustrating how they always pretend not to see. They always act like they're blind, just following everything and being stupid. I don't care if Mom is just out of her mind, but as I saw Daddy with different women in different places over time, I gradually lost all respect for him. All that remained was the truth that we share the same blood, and if I could, I would have removed that long ago.

I learned to do things on my own, cook for myself, take care of myself - it's all about me. Nobody cares about me, so why should I care about them? Until high school came, and that's when I met Kyra and Alexa. They're just like me, alone, lonely, with no one to rely on except ourselves. We became friends, and I can say they're the only ones I have, and the friendship we have is one of the few things I care for. That's why we support each other, because we're the only ones who understand each other. And now, there's Tora, too. She's smart, and her family differs from ours.

I felt sweat dripping down my neck. If only my bag was here, we could have left a while ago, but I know someone might have hidden it, whoever's behind this. I don't want to be stuck with Adam any longer. I think Kyra will notice that I'm missing, and they'll look for me. I'll make sure whoever's responsible pays for this.

I glanced at Adam, his eyes closed. How can he sleep in this situation? It's already hot, and there's no comfortable bed.

I was about to look away from him, but I caught sight of some bruises on him. Some were healing, but a few were still visible. He was lying down, and I saw the mark of the heel from my high heels on his stomach. I didn't want to think about it, but I felt a hint of guilt.

No! I shouldn't feel even a bit of sympathy for him. He deserves those bruises because he disrespected me. Besides, he thinks I'm a bad woman, flirtatious and promiscuous. We watched a basketball game just to mess with the varsity boys and their arrogance. We messed up their lockers and wanted to see their reaction. Because of that, he judged me as promiscuous. I just told him he's a slave, a sex slave. Isn't he just like other men, prioritizing their lower parts over their brains?

That might be one of the reasons we can manipulate them if we want to. Men are like that; if they can get something between your legs, they're happy to do anything you tell them to. They don't think with their brains, they think with their other head to get what they want, but they can't.

I saw something light up in his pants, so I quickly grabbed it. He was surprised and immediately sat up. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"You said you don't have a cellphone?!" I yelled at his face while trying to pull out whatever was in his pocket. He was trying to stop me. "This is mine now! You lying jerk, I knew it! Are you planning this too?"

"What are you talking about?!" he said while trying to pull my hand away. He's annoying; he thinks he can deceive me.

"I'm taking this!" I really pulled it from his pants, and it seemed like my hand hit something hard, but I didn't care because I wanted to get it.

"Well, there you go!" I said as I pulled my hand out, and I had that thing in my hand. It was a gadget, but not a cellphone, it was an mp3 player. He removed the earphones from his ears. They were Bluetooth earphones. "What? Go ahead, try sending a text with that!"

I glared at him. How could I have known? I didn't realize he was listening to music, and besides, there wasn't much light in here; I think it was already getting dark.

"If I had a phone, I would have taken it out a while ago because I don't want to stay here with you either!"

I raised an eyebrow at him. The nerve! He's the one saying that, it's funny.

"Give it back," he held his hand out in front of me, but I just smiled.

"I'm bored, so give me the earphones," I also extended my hand towards him. "Come on, give it to me!"

"I am not in the mood to play games with you, Sanya!"

"Nor am I, just give it to me."

"Is your attitude always this rude?"

I was frustrated with him and was about to take his earphones when he moved them away. "Give me that, asshole!"

I pulled his long hair, but he still kept his earphones at a distance until the surroundings brightened, and I was momentarily blinded.

I glanced at the door. Kyra, Alexa, and Tora were there, accompanied by a few students who suddenly took out their cell phones.

Adam and I locked eyes. He was shirtless, while I was kneeling in front of him, holding his hand where the earphones I was trying to snatch earlier were.

Oh, no! This can't be! They're going to gossip about us again. The previous issue about what happened in the library had already died down, and now this, and it's even worse because it's just the two of us locked in here, and we're in this state.

Oh God! Could things get any worse for me? This is complete bullshit!