Sneaking out

Anna reluctantly opened her eyes and the events of the previous night trickled into her head. She gasped and made to sit up, but she felt something holding her down. She looked around carefully and noticed that she was still in his room and on his bed. Her heart dropped into her stomach at the realization of what had truly happened. His right hand was carefully wrapped around her small waist as he slept peacefully.

I need to leave here, but he must not wake up. I'll die if he wakes up and sees me here, Anna thought fearfully.

She went ahead and lifted his hand. She came down from the bed and carefully placed his hand back on the bed. She readjusted her clothes and once she was sure that no part of her body was on display, she tiptoed to the door and opened it. She sneaked out of the room and gently closed the door back.

Anna placed her hand on her chest in relief, glad that she made it out of his room without waking him up. She looked around, but she did not find a single soul. Happy, she decided to go to the kitchen and join anyone she found there in doing a chore.

I can't let anyone find out. I'll just pretend I slept off somewhere if I'm asked, Anna concluded within herself. But as she took her first step, she saw different men clothed in black rush to her.

"What..." she started to ask, but she wasn't given the chance as she was immediately knocked unconscious.

Anna struggled to open her eyes after being unconscious for hours. She looked around but didn't know where she was. She was locked up in a small room with only a single bed and a window. She stood up and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Anyone there? Hello!" she called out, but there was no response. She continued pulling and pushing the door, hoping to open it, but to no avail. Tired, she went to sit on the bed and wondered what could have happened. 

"Why did those men bring me here? Who were they? Do they know?" she thought to herself before pleading, "Oh, please, I hope they don't kill me. I don't want to die. I can't die." Tears welled up in her eyes as she muttered these words. "Please spare me. I swear I won't tell a soul." 

As she cried, the doorknob began to turn, and Anna opened her eyes, the door opened to reveal a hefty man. She wondered if he had come to kill her.

"Please..." Anna begged as the hefty man lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her out and went down a long flight of stairs before reaching the sitting room of the building. He dropped her on the floor, and she jumped to her feet.

"Come closer," she heard a familiar voice say and turned to find Lady Mary standing there. Anna looked up to see Bay, a lady from the kitchen, also standing behind Lady Mary.

Fear gripped Anna as she realized that her deeds must have been exposed. She moved closer to Lady Mary and stood there.

Lady Mary is a woman in her late thirties to early forties. She looked scary because of the kind of expression she always had on her face. She didn't smile at anyone and was always serious. 

"What happened?" Lady Mary questioned, but Anna didn't utter a word. She kept her gaze on the floor, embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"Remind me of your name," she demanded after a long silence.

"I'm Anna, ma'am," Anna responded.

"Now tell me what happened after I sent you back to check on him," Lady Mary demanded.

"I don't think I can lie in this situation. I think she already knows what happened. Lying won't help me; it'll only put me in a more difficult condition. But how do I tell her what happened? I can't bring myself to tell her," Anna thought.

"Anna," Lady Mary called, standing up to her full height. "Nothing will happen to you. I can assure you of that. We just need to check something," Lady Mary said, sounding more humane than usual.

Anna gulped as Lady Mary held her shoulder. She didn't say anything else; she just returned the output.

"Did he sleep with you? That's all I want to know, actually. I want to confirm that he slept with you," Lady Mary said as she took hold of Anna's chin and lifted her face.

"Look at me and tell me, did he sleep with you?" Lady Mary questioned again.

Anna's heart raced as she stared at Lady Mary's face, torn between responding and staying silent.

"Anna, I promise you, I swear on my life that you'll be safe. Nothing will happen. I just need to confirm if he slept with you," Lady Mary repeated.

"You swear?" Anna muttered.

"I swear. It's a promise. I just need confirmation."

With tears in her eyes, Anna nodded in affirmation.

"He slept with you?" Lady Mary asked.

"Yes, ma'am, but..." Anna began.

"That's okay. It's not a crime. I don't need to hear the full story. It's none of my business," Lady Mary interrupted.

Anna looked down at the floor, feeling embarrassed and ashamed of what she had done.

I shouldn't have done that. I should have resisted him against all odds. I should have left his room. I'm a fool. I'm a big fool, Anna cried as she blamed herself.

"Bay, you know what happens next, I'm busy," Lady Mary said before disappearing the next minute.

Bay walked over to Anna and stopped. "Why are you crying?" she asked, but Anna continued to cry.

"It's a privilege to share a bed with the Don if you ask me, a lot of ladies could kill to be in your shoe and you are crying? Don't you know who he is?

He is the father of all fathers. The king on top of kings. You shared a bed with him, you should be too excited to even move. Or are those tears of joy?" Bay looked at her.

Anna slowly sat down on the floor beside a sofa and continued to cry. Bay watched her for a while before speaking up again.

"I guess he must have slept with you because of how pretty and innocent you look. The Don rarely shares a bed with anyone. You are one lucky lady," Bay said as she sat on the sofa beside Anna.

"When can I leave?" Anna looked up and asked.

"Are you done crying?" Bay asked.

"Please, I'm sorry. Just tell me when I can leave. I need to leave. I can't go back there. I need to go home," Anna begged.

"Well, you can't leave. You need to stay here for two weeks," Bay replied.

"What? Why?"

"We need to be sure that you are not pregnant before we can let you leave," Bay replied.

"Pregnant?" Anna stammered as she thought of it.

"Or did he use any sort of protection with you? Are you on the prevention pill?" Bay asked.

"N...no."

"That's what I mean. Even if you were on pills or he used protection, we would still need to confirm that you are not pregnant before letting you go. If you are indeed pregnant, we won't let you leave."

"No, I'm not pregnant. I won't be. I can't get pregnant. I won't." Anna shook her head.

Bay shook her head as she stared at Anna.

"Who are you? Other girls would be praying to be pregnant, but you are praying against it? Are you kidding me?"

"No, I can't get pregnant. I have... I have a fiance. I can't..." Anna cried.

"Oh, look at that! I thought you were innocent, but you cheated on your man? Well, too bad. Or too good. You cheated with a worthy man. I don't think he'll get mad if he finds out the kind of man you cheated on him with; I think he will get happy instead. I mean, he has to. Not every girl gets this opportunity, and the Don doesn't sleep with just anyone. He doesn't sleep around, so it's rare and crazy that he got horny around you. You are lucky," Bay said.

"Do you want to drink anything? Do you want water or anything solid?" Bay asked.

"No, I'm not hungry, thank you," Anna responded. She had stopped crying, and her tears had dried up on her face, leaving some stains.

She concluded in her mind that she was going to reveal the truth to Desmond and beg him to call off their marriage. 

I don't deserve him. I cheated on him. I'll ask him, no, I'll beg him to call off the marriage. As soon as I leave here, I'll go to him and kneel and apologize to him. I'll accept anything he says to me; I'll accept his punishment. I don't deserve him, she thought.