Black Rose

His warning

She nodded and quickly left, leaving Blake and me alone. When she was gone, Blake turned to me and smiled. "Well, it seems we're alone, my rose."

With that, he leant in and kissed me gently, then pulled away and looked at the table proudly. "What do you think, my rose?"

"What do I think about the flower?" I asked, looking at it again. Something about the black rose unsettled me. It made me feel sick. Maybe it was because I knew roses weren't meant to be that colour. I knew that this rose had been shaped and moulded to fit someone else's desires. Someone else's needs.

"Of course what do you think about the flower?" He asked. "You know, it wasn't easy to get it at this time of year. I had to pull a few strings. With a friend of mine who owns an exotic greenhouse in the plains. So, what do you think?"

I noticed that his grip on my hand was getting tighter. It was evident that he didn't want me to give a straight response. He wanted me to lie to him, to tell him that I loved it.

So I did.

"I've never seen anything like it," I said. That was at least the truth.

He smiled at me. "I'm glad you like it. Now sit, my rose. We have much to talk about."

I nodded mutely, glancing across at the black rose sitting on the table. Maybe if I looked at it for long enough, I could ignore that it was even there.

Blake makes me across to the table and drew out one of the chairs, smiling.

"No sitting on your lap today?" I asked bitterly. He just smirked.

I pursed my lips and sat down, pulling my chair into the table by myself to spite him.

He sat down across for me, unfazed. "Wait until you see the meal I've chosen for us. I'm sure you'll find it delicious."

"I'm sure I will," I muttered quietly. He raised an eyebrow at me but didn't push the matter. After a few moments, he let out a sigh.

"I didn't mean to scare you before, Rose. I'm sorry that I did. You know that you're too precious to me to sell, don't you?" He said, looking at me earnestly.

I stared at him from across the table, frowning, but not saying a word. He shook his head. "

"Whatever, Rose. If you want to be that way, then I won't stop you."

I pursed my lips and looked away, feeling angry. The silence stretched on for a few moments, and I couldn't help but think about everything he had done to me. Everything he had said. Everything he had made me do. I felt like a shell of a person, and it was all his fault.

He sat in silence, watching my brooding. I hated his attention. More so, I hated how much I wanted it. Suddenly, a memory came to me, and I frowned. He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong, my rose?"

I took a deep breath and looked down. "Just after you kidnapped me, when we were talking properly for the first time, I asked what you would do if I didn't obey you. Do you remember what you told me?"

I looked up and I could see apprehension in his eyes. He shook his head. "No, my rose, I can't recall that very well. What did I say?"

I looked down at the table again before speaking. "You said that if I didn't do as you told me to, you would kill me." He stayed silent. I set my jaw and looked up at him once more. "You don't remember that?"