Gabriel threatened to kill my dad’s life if I didn’t comply. It’s why I didn’t even try to leave the room today, despite physically being able to. Maria is right. I can’t be testing Gabriel, not when my father’s life is on the line.
With a sigh, I pick the pink one. I’ve never worn something so soft and beautiful. The little girl in me would have loved it.
“Good choice. Now, I’ll help you get dressed.”
“I can dress myself.”
“Not with this kind of dress. You’ll need help.”
I hold still as Maria helps me into the dress. My face lights on fire when she sees me in my bra and underwear. I’ve never been this exposed with a stranger before and knowing that I’m getting dressed to have dinner with Gabriel, an intensely scary man who is holding me prisoner, is not helping matters.
Once I’m dressed, I turn to the full-length mirror against the wall. The dress fits my body perfectly. It’s flowy in nature, looking more like a flower in dress form. The soft pink goes well with my hair and skin tone. I’ve never looked more beautiful in my entire life and yet, it’s for a man who is holding me prisoner.
Maria walks me down to the large dining room I saw on my way in. It only reminds me of my dad and our small table back home. How I’ll never see it again. Never see him again.
Gabriel is standing behind his chair at one end of the table. Maria guides me to my chair – at the other far end – before leaving me and Gabriel alone. Food is already set on the table. A large roast pig stares back at me.
“You can sit,” Gabriel says.
“Do I need your permission?” I snap before I can help it.
His lips quirk the tiniest bit. “You’re not shy, are you?”
“Not when you kidnapped me.”
“I didn’t kidnap you. You offered to take your father’s place. I wouldn’t have made you stay in my home otherwise. You made this choice, Aurora.”
“Because you kidnapped my father. Saving the one you love isn’t a choice.”
“Sit. Let us eat.”
I remain standing and so does Gabriel. “Why did you want to have dinner with me? It doesn’t make sense. I’m your prisoner.”
“Because I enjoy good conversation but right now, you’re proving yourself lacking in that area.”
I flush. “I don’t like you.”
“You don’t have to like me. You just have to pay off your father’s debt.”
“For the rest of my life?”
He inclines his head. “If that’s what it takes, yes.”
“You make the rules. You decide what it takes. You could let me go if you wanted.”
“But then your father would end up back here. Is that what you want?”
“You know it isn’t,” I grumble.
His eyes rake over my body and it’s then that I remember the dress I have on. “You look beautiful in that dress.”
“You made me wear it.”
“And I made a good choice, didn’t I? Just like you made a choice in saving your father. We all make choices in life.”
“I don’t think you choosing a dress is comparable to my choosing to save my dad’s life.”
He smirks. It makes his scar stretch across his cheek. “Sit down. Now. I don’t want to have to make you.”
