Chapter 8 Stolen Freedom

• "I had to get rid of her clothes to apply a pain-subsidizing spray on some injured areas throughout her body. And I also injected her with medicine for fast relief from the pain of the cut on her wrist," the doctor explained while taking off her gloves.
• Damian sighed and then asked, "Is there any major concerning injury or issues in her body?"
• "I'm not sure yet. For that, we have to do some tests and an X-ray once she becomes a bit healthier. But for now, when she wakes up, she has to eat properly and take her medicines on time," the doctor said, taking a seat beside Leah again and writing down the prescribed medicines on her pad.
• Damian stared at Leah intently. There were so many things going on in his mind regarding her.
• The doctor cleared her throat to gain his attention. "I will be coming tomorrow to check on her again. Until then, take care of her, Damian," she said, standing up and handing over the prescription.
• Once the doctor was gone, Damian called over two maids—one female and one male. He ordered the female maid to bring some T-shirts and sweatpants from his room and make Leah wear them. He then told the male maid to bring the prescribed medicines from a nearby pharmacy.
• After that, Damian returned to his room, leaving Leah only with the female maid. He had left his warehouse without finishing his work, so he had to resume it from the house now. Sitting down on the couch with his laptop, he started checking the documents Chris had already mailed him.
• However, after nearly an hour, the female maid rushed into Damian's room, looking panicked.
• Damian looked up at her, removing his eyes from the laptop. "Are you done dressing her?" he asked before the maid could speak.
• "Ye... Yes... But the ma'am woke up and is insisting on leaving, Master. The head madam is trying to stop her," the maid explained in one breath.
• "What?" Damian instantly closed his laptop and stood up. The next second, he was already heading toward the room where Leah was staying.
• "I don't want to be here... Let me go, please... Don't sell me..."
• Damian heard loud screaming coming from the room as he approached with long strides.
• When he entered the room, he found the head maid trying to hold Leah back on the bed while Leah struggled weakly to free herself. Her body was clearly too frail to fight back, but she was still trying.
• "Yo...You..." Leah’s eyes widened as soon as they fell on Damian, and her body stilled from struggling.
• "Master, she isn’t listening to us..." The head maid let go of Leah and looked at Damian helplessly.
• "You can go. I will handle it," Damian spoke coldly.
• As the maid exited and Damian began taking slow strides toward Leah, Leah’s panic grew.
• "I told you I don’t know a single thing about Ander’s whereabouts. You won’t get any information from me, even if you torture me to death. I wasn’t involved in any kind of shady business with Ander… Believe me, please."
• Her eyes teared up, and the next second, she broke into sobs just as Damian reached the bed. He could easily tell how terrified she was at that moment, seeing him there.
• But did Leah really think she could leave, being such a scared little kitten?
• Damian was still unsure whether she had any useful information about Ander. But when he asked himself if he would still let her go despite that, the answer came straight no.
• If he had intended to let her go, he wouldn’t have brought her to his house in the first place. The truth was, he wanted to own her.
• And Damian knew that to keep her here, the only thing he could use was her extreme fear against her. He had already figured out that her fear was her greatest weakness, and Leah wouldn’t dare to leave if there was even a chance of being haunted by it.
• Ander Paredes was an absolute bastard, but Damian García Santoro wasn’t sane either.
• And there was no doubt that he would own her wholly soon—whether she wanted it or not.
• It was ultimately her misfortune to be caught by the real devil this time, even without knowing it.
• "I believe you, Leah," Damian spoke firmly.
• Her crying stopped instantly upon hearing her name from his mouth.
• "Na... Name... Ho... How do you know my na... name?" she stammered, staring at Damian with shock-filled hazel eyes.
• "Don't freak out, but I got to know a lot of things about you apart from your name," he said gently this time and sat beside her on the bed.
• Leah flinched at once and quickly moved away, her back hitting the headboard.
• "Relax... I'm not going to hurt you, Leah. You can trust me," he assured her. "And you're safe here."
• Leah frowned, staring at the powerful man in front of her in disbelief.
• "Sa... Safe here? Are you not going to sell me or force yourself on me?" she asked, holding back her sobs because she couldn't believe that this stranger was really being honest.
• Damian sighed frustratedly, shaking his head.
• "Look... I know it's difficult for you to trust me, but I mean what I said. You will not be mistreated here," Damian spoke again, trying to make her understand. But tears kept falling down her red cheeks.
• "But I don’t know anything about Ander," she said helplessly.
• "I know that too... But still, you have to stay here," he said softly, closing the distance between them a bit more.
• Leah didn’t move this time.
• "And why so?" she asked, more curiously.
• "Because I want that. I kidnapped you, and you're in my possession now... My responsibility. I don’t want you to leave. So you have to follow my words and stay here as long as I want, Leah. You have no option here," he said more clearly, making sure she understood every word.
• "No... You cannot keep me here according to your wish... I won’t be a pet of another man," Leah shook her head, feeling the horror of going through all that abuse and trauma all over again.
• "You’re not trying to—" Damian started, but Leah interrupted him.
• "You’re all the same, devoid of humanity. You’re all animals. All you guys can do is take and take and take until there is nothing left in a woman. You guys only treat women like objects," Leah snapped loudly, staring right into his eyes.
• Damian clenched his jaw, controlling his growing rage. No one had ever dared to raise their voice at him like this before. If anyone had, he would have killed them immediately without mercy. But he found himself resisting that urge with this girl.
• "Relax, Leah... I’ve already told you that you’re safe here," he still tried to talk calmly without letting his anger explode.
• "And I told you that I don’t believe you. I don’t believe any man. You all are monsters. I won’t let you guys use me again." She freaked out more, her eyes widening while her breathing became heavy and erratic.
• "That’s enough bullshit. You have to calm down," Damian pressed.
• "I would kill myself before any man can take advantage of my body again. I will gladly accept death before going through that again." Leah screamed, shaking her head vigorously, as if she had lost the last bit of her sanity.
• Damian felt like he was losing his mind as well, not knowing exactly how to calm her down. Without thinking much, he moved closer to her.
• Leah suddenly went silent, realizing how close he had come. Before she could freak out further, Damian grabbed the back of her neck with one hand and leaned down, smashing his lips onto her delicate ones.