"Al-Alex?" Elizabeth whispered, her face flushed red in embarrassment as Alex's gaze swept all over her body — She was naked.
Ignoring her existence completely, Alex walked to the boy who was still slow to react and grabbed the phone he was holding.
"Doing this will reduce your dignity as a man," Alex said to him.
"Wh-what do you mean?" The boy asked, getting upset. Seeing Alex's face clearly, he scoffed. "If I remember correctly, you are one of her victims, isn't it? Why are you now protecting her? You should join me and let's disgrace her, let's rub her face in the mud!"
"That is done by shameless and workless men," Alex replied. "I did not come here to save her, I came so that you will stop yourself from getting destroyed. She is not worth these efforts, she is not."
The way Alex spoke to the senior student surprisingly calmed him down. He stopped being angry, although he still had some resentment towards Elizabeth.
"But—" He started but Alex stopped him.
"Listen to me," Alex whispered to the boy. "The best way to avenge is letting your enemy suffer bit by bit. There are so many girls in the academy, leave this one for me."
Though reluctant, the senior student agreed. He didn't know what Alex did to him to make him obey him, it was working like a spell.
"Fine! But if I don't feel satisfied with your ways, I'll come back and I'll do what's in my mind," he said.
"Agreed," Alex said and the boy collected his phone and disappeared in the dark.
"You!" Elizabeth said. "Are you trying to save me or what?" She asked, glaring at him.
After she had listendd go everything Alex said, she had almost wanted to believe that he was her prince charming coming to save her. Who knew he wasn't, instead, he was a demon.
"At this point, you still dare to speak rudely to me?" Alex asked her after a while. Gone at the days he let her insult him, ridicule him, and slap him on the face. He glared at her, hatred growing inside of him. "I would have finished you off but on second thought, I will not."
"You, kill me?" Elizabeth asked with a mocking smile on her face. "If that happens, my entire family will hunt you down and make sure your ugly face is wiped from the face of this earth! Your useless dead fathe—"
*Pah*
A loud sound echoed in the air as Alex's palm made contact with Elizabeth's face.
The spot turned bright red from the sheer impact.
"You—" She wanted to speak but the moment she met his gaze, she began to shake.
As Elizabeth trembled before him, Alex's eyes blazed with a fierce intensity. He had never hit a girl before, but Elizabeth's words had struck a nerve. His father's memory was still raw, and her careless insult had unleashed a fury within him.
"You dare to mention my father?" Alex growled, his voice low and menacing. "You, who have never known suffering or pain? You, who have always had everything handed to you on a silver platter?"
Elizabeth cowered before him, her eyes wide with fear. She had never seen Alex like this before, and she didn't know how to react.
"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, trying to placate him. "I didn't mean to—" She had not only messed up by mentioning the news of Alex's father's death, she had also put herself in a difficult situation. She could only pretend to beg for his forgiveness. "I'm really sorry to have—"
"Shut your trap!" He grunted, gripping her neck roughly.
Elizabeth choked while struggling to fight back, trying to escape Alex's wrath. But he was relentless, his anger and hurt pouring out of him like a flood.
"You know what, you are coming with me," he said and began to drag her back towards the hostel.
She tried to shout so Alex forcefully hit her at the back of her head and she fainted.
>>>
Opening her eyes, Elizabeth saw that she was inside a room. She looked around and then saw Alex sitting on the bed, his eyes fixated on her.
She tried to talk but realized that her mouth was covered by a piece of clothes.
"You are awake, that's good," Alex said to her.
Elizabeth struggled, attempting to say something but all her efforts ended up in wasteful groans and struggling.
"Listen, from today onward, you will work for me," Alex told her and she widened her eyes in shock. Seeing that had a lot of things to say to him, he stood up sluggishly and untied her mouth. "You can say whatever you want but don't scream. If you do, I'll slice your tongue."
It was a fair warning and Elizabeth knew better than to comply. She was now at the mercy of her enemy so she was left with no other choice.
"I can't," she whispered weakly. "I will not be your slave!" Her voice was weak but firm.
"Do you prefer dying instead?" Alex asked her but she did not respond to his question. "I'll take your silence as 'no' so you must obey me, if not, I will kill you."
"If you kill me, my family will come after you!" Elizabeth said and Alex chuckled.
He let out a mock-filled laugh for a while before continuing. "Your family? A bunch of ordinary heroes? They can not even touch a strand of my hair, not to to talk of coming after me. If you do not work for me, I will show you what it feels like hell on earth."
Elizabeth did not speak any further, his words rang in her ears repeatedly. Those were not mere rants, they were purely threats. She knew he was serious, and that his words aren't to be taken lightly.
'But how did he change so much in a couple of days?'
She gazed at him as he walked back to his bed.
'What really changed him?'
'His father's death or something else?'
She could not say exactly but one thing was for sure — And that is the fact that the Alex she knew had greatly changed.
"If you comply, tomorrow, I'll let you return to your home but there is something you must do for me," Alex said to her, sitting down on the bed.
"What?" She asked him.
She was yet to accept the fact that she was now his slave, she was going to pretend, go with the flow until she finally escapes.
"You will find those behind the death of my father."
"What?" Elizabeth mumbled.
"I have a question to ask you," Alex said. "Tell me exactly what happened on the day of inter-house sports festival."
Elizabeth gazed at him, she was not sure if he truly wanted her to tell him anything.
"I am all ears!" He demanded.
"Well, that day, we were still on about the tests when suddenly we were teleported back to the stadium. Upon arrival, we were met with a large group of villains who surprisingly led by your... Your father, Hero Steven. The heroes immediately interfered and they began to fight the villains, they were led by Hero Gustavo..."
The moment Alex heard Peter's father's name, he furrowed his brows.
"How is that possible?" He asked her. "Uncle Gustavo is my father's friend! He's our family friend!"
He could not accept the fact that the person he looked up to also has a hand in the death of his father.
"I don't know but he was able to arrest your father with the help of Hero Amy, that's how everything ended. Some villains escaped after they figured out that they were going to lose the fight if it continues... This is how it ended."
"No, it can't be," he mumbled. "Uncle Gustavo can not do this to me!" He said.
"It's been done, there is nothing you can do about it," Elizabeth said and scoffed. "That's what you get when you trust foolishly," she whispered but Alex heard quite well.
He remembered how Peter had been missing for a while and when they finally saw earlier, the latter tried so much to avoid him.
'Is he aware of this?' He thought.
He clenched his fists at the thought of his friend hiding such big thing from him. He could not take it, he couldn't.
A sigh escaped his lips. He didn't want to think too much about it, perhaps, the girl was lying to him.
"Still, tomorrow, you will be heading back but do not think I will allow you to escape. If you tell anyone about this or you plan to escape, the moment you do, you will surely die. It is not a threat but a promise."