Page 23 of Condemned By Pain
He leaves the room without another word.
Chapter 7
Elowen
After two hours, a maid comes to call me down for lunch.My shaking has stopped, but there’s a lingering shock vibrating through my spine. I’m feeling a little lightheaded, which could be from the lack of food in my stomach.
I enter the dining room. Antonio and my captor are there.
“Sit.” He points to a cushion on the floor, placed on a small carpet.
I think he’s being generous, showing some aftercareafter this morning.
I sit on the soft cushion. A maid comes and places two plates on the floor in front of me. One has sushi, the other lobster rolls. She then sets down a glass of juice as well. Now this is hospitality at its peak.
I pick up the plate of sushi. There are even chopsticks here.Why this sudden good treatment?I glance at my captor; he’s eating his own food.Is it really because he’s compensating for this morning, or is it something else… like my last meal?
“Are there nuts in this?” I ask him.
He looks down at me. “No.”
“How are you so sure?”
He raises a brow. “Didn’t you want to die just a few hours ago? Why care now?”
“That was different.” I purse my lips. “I don’t want to die now. Not from suffocating.”
He looks away from me to the maid standing in the corner. I follow his eyes and find none other than Nivi there.
“Send the chefs,” he orders her.
She glances at me before leaving. After a couple of minutes, the chefs appear.
“Are there any nuts in the food?”
They both shake their heads.
The male one speaks. “You ordered us not to use any.”
The tyrant glances in my direction and waves for the chefs to go. I don’t look at him further and keep my eyes on my plate.
The men finish their lunch and leave before I even finish mine.
After ten minutes, I finish and leave.
Since no one has ordered me to do anything, I make my way upstairs to Bruno’s room.
I sit on the floor beside him and tease his nose. “What are you doing, Master Bruno?”
He licks my finger, then takes it in his mouth without applying any pressure from his teeth.
I look toward his toy basket.
“How about we play for a while?”
He gets to his feet, walks to the basket, and comes back with a tug toy in his mouth.
I take it from him, moving it from one hand to the other.
