Tears and Begging
2172 Words
SERAPHINA
“Because I missed you.”
The cafe fell into a suffocating silence at Dante’s declaration. A moment later chairs scraped against the marble floor as I watched people standing up and leaving, their curious eyes darting between Oliver and Dante as if they could find out what these men were going to do next.
My eyes caught the girls that I had been waiting on, and I saw them recording with their phones.
It was Oliver Romano who walked to them with a disarming smile and a smirk on his face. “Dante needs a one-on-one with his pretty little stepsister,” he drawled, his voice thick with amusement and something darker beneath that it seemed only I could notice. “You don’t mind, do you, sweetheart?”
The girls simpered and giggled, and soon they walked out too.
I looked around, my eyes scanning the café and I realised that not only the customers but the staff was nowhere to be seen.
I was alone with these three men.
My stomach twisted.
I swallowed hard, my fingers curling into my palms. “What do you want?” I whispered, forcing myself to meet Dante’s gaze.
Dante stepped closer. Too close. The scent of leather and expensive cologne curled around me, and the heat of his body made my skin prickle. His jaw clenched, and I saw the fury in his dark eyes.
“Two years,” he murmured, tilting his head slightly, his fingers ghosting over the edge of the table between us. “Two f.cking years, and now you act like you don’t know what I want?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “I—”
“Shh.” Dante lifted a hand, his fingers grazing my cheek chilling me to my core, before he gripped my chin and forced me to look at him. “Tell me, dear sister. How does it feel? Knowing, I spent two years in hell because of you? Knowing you walked free, lived your life like nothing happened, while I rotted in a cell?”
My throat tightened. He was wrong. I was never free. I wasn’t living my life. Sending them to prison had made my life more than hell. "I didn’t—”
Oliver chuckled, shaking his head. “Still playing innocent. How f.cking adorable.”
Dante’s grip tightened, his thumb brushing over my lower lip. “You called the cops,” he said, his voice deceptively soft. “Even when I tried to make you understand and told you to take it back, you didn’t. You sent me away.”
“I—I didn’t understand. I still don’t, and don’t even trust what you tried to tell me. How could,” I choked out. “you do that to her. I thought—”
“You thought you were saving someone,” he said, his gaze burning into me. He laughed. “Oh, little sister, who’s gonna save you now?”
My breath stilled and fear started to coil inside me. What did he mean? What was he going to do?
Dante chuckled, a low, humorless sound. “Poor Seraphina.” He leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “It’s going to be hell for you.”
“What if she apologized?” Oliver asked, showing a fake hint of curiousity as he came closer to me. “Won’t you forgive her if she apologized?” He arched a brow at me. “Come on, Seraphina. Apologise to him, he was sent to prison because of you. Because you thought you were doing the right thing.”
I wondered why he wasn’t including himself in that statement. I didn’t only send Dante to prison, he and Allister were taken by the police too.
A chilling voice came from the other side of the room. I jerked at his cold tone as Allister Hale made his presence known. “As touching as this reunion has been,” His unusual amber eyes flickered to me and a twisted smile curved his lips. “I expected tears and begging. So, when are we getting to the good part where she asks for forgiveness?”
My pulse stuttered it felt like they’d rehearsed this. He looked almost amused— no, entertained, like he was watching a particularly riveting performance.
“You heard him.” Startled, I looked back at Dante. At this rate between the three of them I will get a whiplash.He said, “Apologise.”
“Do it, little lamb. And we might forgive you.” Oliver said, leaning back against the counter beside me. His tone suggested he was just toying with me but I didn’t have any other choice.
I thought to be done with it and get out of here, away from them. “I a-am sorry.”
“Can you hear her, Allister?” Oliver called out, while Dante kept his dark stare on me.
“No, felt like a fly was buzzing around somewhere,” Allister responded.
“Come now, speak up, little lamb. We have already heard how loud you can scream.”
I fisted my shaking hands, cold sweat dotted my skin. I just wanted to get out of here, the look in their eyes was scaring me. And I haven't forgiven how they'd threatened me two years ago when I had refused to take back my statement. The memory made the back of my eyes prickle but I didn’t want to cry in front of them.
“I am sorry. I am sorry, okay? I might’ve made a m-mistake…”
“Might have?” Suddenly, Dante was in my face. His hand circling my neck from behind, the pad of his fingers digging in my flesh. “Did you hear her? She used might have.” He gritted his teeth and hissed, “Because of her I had to take two years so you both won’t be dragged down with me to the prison… I took responsibility of my little sister’s mistake. Because of her stubbornness to cling to what she thought had happened instead of believing us. Her error in judgement caused me two years in prison and would’ve caused you both a lifetime. And she still uses words like ‘might have’.”
Oliver hummed, pushing off the bar. “Maybe she needs to learn a lesson so next time she could make a better judgement.”
I didn’t even realise when Allister moved and came to stand beside me on the other side, and a low scream left my lips when his shocking presence registered.
Now, I was truly caged. And fear took hold of me with its vicious claws, making my palms sweat and my heartbeat increase.
Dante stood in front of me, Oliver on my left and Allister on my right with the counter at my back. I had nowhere to go.
Dante’s fingers trailed down my throat, lingering over my pulse. “Hmm, that’s something to think about.” He pulled back just enough to study my expression, his smirk sharp as a blade. “Do you want to learn the difference between what you accused of us doing and what had happened then?”
I shook my head. My body stuck between fight and flight, because my mind knew there was nowhere to run and there was no way where I could fight them. I was a prey caught in their trap where I will be at their mercy.
Allister let out an irritated huff and said, “I was promised tears and begging, Dante. When is your sister going to give us that?"
"Oh, there will be tears…" Dante’s voice dripped with derision.
My throat felt tight, my pulse hammering in my ears as I forced myself to breathe through the dread of what's coming.
Oliver stepped closer, so close that his scent, something dark and expensive, wrapped around me like a noose. He lifted a hand, his fingers skimming against my cheek, makinh goosebumps rise on my body, as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. The touch gentle, a sick contrast to the sharpness in his smile.
"Come on, sweetheart," he murmured, voice lazy, teasing. "I know you can do better that that. Apologize in a way he can at least think about forgiving you.”
“A hint,” I shivered, almosy jumping, as Allister whispered from the other side. “This time, get on your knees and do it.”
I pressed back against the counter, willing it to move so I could put distance between them and me. “P-please, I am sorry for what I did." I swallowed. "I shouldn’t have complaint. I shouldn’t have given the s-statement, just let me go. Please.”
Allister tsked. “I don’t think she really wants the forgiveness. Maybe we should continue with the punishment.”
“No!" My eyes wide, I looked between the three men. "Just let me go. I won’t ever cross your path,” I said, and took a step between Oliver and Dante, trying to leave.
But Oliver pulled me back in place. “That would be difficult to do when you live in his father’s house, don’t you think, little lamb?”
I twisted my arm to get out of his hold, only for Allister to grab my other arm. And I was effectively trapped as Dante took another step toward me.
“I’ll leave!” I cried, finally the fear that was slowly simmering inside me getting the best of me, slamming into me with full force that I started to feel my legs tremble. “Okay?” I breathed, trying to swallow the rush of tears that wanted release. “I’ll l-leave the town and you won’t even have to see me.”
“Then, how will you pay for what you did, little sister?”
“W-what do you want?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“As my friends have been saying, I’d like an apology to begin with. So get on your fûcking knees. Now.”
“Okay. Okay. I can do that… I’ll ap-apologise.” The hands holding me slipped away. I asked, “You’ll let me go then, r-right?”
He pursed his lips in a thin line before he answered, “Maybe. I’ll think about it if I liked your apology.”
I gulped, my whole body tense with my frayed nerves.
Slowly, I slid down to my knees. My eyes downcast in shame and fear. And once my knees hit the cold floor, I said, choking on my tears, “I am sorry.”
Rough fingers grabbed my ponytail and he jerked my head back to look down at my face. I blinked, focusing on his dark gaze as Dante glared down at me. “Again."
“I am sorry.”
“There’s something missing,” He said, his fingers flexing as he shook my head with his grip on my hair.
“Tears,” Allister responded and at the same time Oliver said, “Begging would be a good touch.”
“You heard them. I want tears, little sister. Give me your tears. And beg me for my forgiveness.”
“I am s-sorry, please. Let me go, Dante.”
He leaned down and growled, “I want tears.”
I flinched back and the tears I was holding back broke free.
He tilted his head as if he was watching a mystery unfolding. He said, “Good. Now for the begging part.”
“P-please,” A sob caught in my throat at the humiliation. “Please, I am sorry!” I blurted out, frustrated and helpless. “You want me to apologise and beg for something I thought was the right thing to do then fine. I am sorry, please forgive me for sending you to the prison even when you deserved it!”
The hold on my hair disappeared and suddenly I was engulfed in cold that I had never experienced before.
The survival part of the brain cursed me, telling me how fúcking stupid I was! How could I say that when they were caging me in with revenge in their eyes? It was like taunting and baiting hungry beasts in front of me.
Dante grabbed me by my throat and pulled me up, so I was stretched up on my knees. “I deserved that, did I?” he laughed. “Oh, little sister, you really never fùcking learn.”
He stepped back.
And then nodded at Oliver.
I only half turned around to face Oliver to see what he was going to do, before strong hands grabbed my arms and Oliver pushed me back down on my knees. “Now, little lamb. Time for your punishment and for that begging part Allister so wanted.”
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A. Gupta
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