"Eden."
I stop, but don't turn around.
"I meant what I said earlier. I'm not going to hurt you."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Silence.
I wait.
Finally, he says, "I'm going to teach you what pleasure feels like."
The words send ice down my spine.
I leave without responding.
I don't go back to my room.
Can't face that bed.
That cage disguised as luxury.
Instead, I explore.
If I'm trapped here, I need to know the layout.
Need to understand where everything is.
Need to find weaknesses.
The house is enormous.
I count twelve bedrooms on the second floor alone.
Most are empty, though a few are furnished like guest rooms.
There's a library.
A real library with thousands of books floor to ceiling.
Reading chairs.
A ladder on rails to reach the high shelves.
At the Sanctuary, we had one bookshelf in the common room.
Bible. Hymnal. A few approved texts on agriculture and household management.
That was it.
This... this is overwhelming.
I pull a book at random.
