CHAPTER-6
PLAN ONE
We slept in his bed that night. Naked. Again. And this time I made sure not to cuddle with him. I was at my side of the bed and didn't dare look behind me even though I could feel his hot breath on my neck. Christian wrapped his arm around my waist and his hard d*ck poked my back but I lay still in his arms. I couldn't move away obviously but I didn't relax whole night either. I barely even slept.
I was too busy planning my escape.
The windows of my room were sure locked, but that didn't mean I couldn't look outside. And that where I could see my get through. A gate. In the garden.
It was too far away from me and also to the left of the main gate. I just had to make sure he didn't have a digital lock there as well. Or cameras.
And for that, I had to go outside.
And for that I needed Christian.
So, after we had breakfast in his bed, I put a smile, as genuine as I could muster, and asked softly, "Can we go outside? In the garden?"
Christian looked up from his phone and cocked his head. He scanned my face and I did my best not to squirm. Did he know what I was thinking? Could he see that on my face?
"No."
Shit. Shit.
"Why?" I tried to not sound annoyed.
"Because I have something else in mind."
"Like what?" I piqued.
"Like that." He pointed to the table by the window.
That was when I saw it. He'd set up the chess board. When did he set it up? Why didn't I see it?
"You want to play chess?" My voice cracked.
"Yes." He beamed at me.
"Why?"
His smile disappeared and a frown appeared. "Because I want to."
"Well, I don't want to." I wanted to go in the garden and set up my escape plan.
He looked bewildered. "I know you like to play chess. Why won't you play with me?"
Did he really not get it? Or was he toying with me? He had kidnapped me and asked me to forget my fiancé and was now asking me to play chess? Seriously?
"I know how to play if that's what you're worried about." He said.
"Why don't you go and play it with someone else?"
"Because I don't have someone else. I want to play with you."
Now he was acting like a stubborn kid. Why didn't he understand at once?
I heard him sigh when I didn't say anything. "Arnold and Caroline don't know how to play. I have always played alone. But now I have you and I want you to play chess me with me, Stella."
I didn't say anything. If I made him angry somehow, he'd leave me alone. And then I could go and find some other way to get out of here.
He shook his head. Clearly irritated. "I don't understand why aren't you happy, Stella. I know you like to play chess. I've seen it. Just one game. You don't have anything else to do either. I can't understand why won't you just play with me."
Play with him.
Why couldn't he just understand that I didn't want anything to do with him?
I turned away from him and looked out of the window. It was cloudy outside. Maybe it would rain today?
"Don't ignore me."
Liam wasn't a fan of rain. He always used to stay inside when it was pouring outside. He didn't even let me go out.
I heard Christian sigh but I still didn't pay attention to him. "When I ask for something you usually wouldn't agree on, you can ask for something in return as well except letting you go. But you will give me what I want, Stella."
My ears perked up at his offer. I could use that offer. It could be my ticket out of here.
I finally looked at him. "One game. And then you'd take me out in the garden."
He nodded. "Agreed."
Christian's face lightened up when I stood up from the bed and sat on the chair by the table. He sat in front of me, looking eager as a small kid.
"You're white. Go first."
I moved my pawn to E5.
Christian's forehead creased in concentration as he moved his knight to C3.
We played silently for a few minutes until I made sure I'd win. In just two moves. "Check." If he moved his queen to D2, I'd win. Or if he moved his rook to A4, I'd win as well.
But I must say, Christian knew how to play. He was good. He had protected himself from losing thrice. But this time, he didn't have a choice.
And then I thought on playing a little unfair. Just to distract him, I asked, "Who taught you to play?"
He didn't take his eyes off the board as he answered me, "Google."
He still wasn't giving me full attention, neither was he making a move and I just wanted this game to end, so I asked again, "You said you played alone?"
He nodded, his eyes glued to the board. "I used to play online. I tried to teach Arnold so he'd play with me but he's stupid. He just couldn't understand its simple rules."
I opened my mouth to ask another question just to distract him but he beat me to it.
"Checkmate." He smiled with triumph.
I stared down at the board in horror. Surely, I had lost. His queen, knight and bishop, all three surrounded my king. I had nowhere to go.
"But...how..."
He chuckled. "You are so expressive. I could see you glowing with victory when you moved your queen. Plus, you tried to distract me with your questions after you gave me a check. I just used it against you."
I glared at him. That...asshole.
He then stood up and offered me his hand. "Now what?" I snapped.
He arched his brow. "The garden?"
Oh, right.
I took his hand, his skin scorching against mine as he led me outside. Like last time, he hid the code of his room with his body. When he stepped into the hallway, I tried to pry my hand from his grip but my move only made him tighten his grip.
Fine.
I managed to relax when we stepped outside into the bright sunshine. Christian led me through the sprawling gardens that had different pools, shooting targets set up, and perfectly manicured greenery. The warm grass felt wondrous under my bare feet, but I didn't let it distract me from my main objective: scouting my surroundings.
Christian was oddly quiet, which was unsettling because it meant something was going on behind those dark cruel eyes.
"You can try to run, but you can't escape," Christian said firmly when I scanned the property boundary. The high walls around the premises were topped with barbed wire, and when we walked close enough I could hear the hum of electricity.
"Are you looking for a weakness in my safety measures?" he asked with a hint of dark amusement. "You won't find any."
"Everything, everyone, has a weakness. It's only a matter of finding it," I said quietly, stopping.
I was sure he heard me but he didn't say anything on that. Instead he asked, "Who taught you to play chess?"
"My dad." I answered absently as I took in my surroundings. I couldn't obviously jump over from the wall. I'd die from the electric shock. The main gate had a digital lock as well, just as I had suspected.
And the small back door, which was far away longer than I expected, did not have a digital lock. Or any type of lock.
As Christian and I walked, I tried to walk closer to the other gate and Christian didn't say anything, just followed me. The iron bar gate was small as compared to the main gate and on the other side, it had a garden as well. Christian said we were inside a three-hundred acres property. If I managed to run all those acres, I'd surely find a highway? Or a main road? Anything?
The gate wasn't too high. I could easily jump over it. Even if Christian put a lock on it at night, it wouldn't be a problem for me.
"Don't."
I whirled on my feet to find Christian staring at me.
"What?"
"The iron bars have 500 volts of electricity running through them. You'd die of electric shock the moment you touch it."
Of course. How was I stupid enough to think Christian would let any way out of here.
"I wasn't thinking of running away. I was just looking around. Why do you think I'll even think of escaping when I know you won't let me?" I lied.
He licked his lips. "You're not a good liar. I told you, you're too expressive."
My nose flared. "I'm not."
"You look nervous. And you were checking the surroundings cautiously. And you blinked several times before answering me. All those signs signify that you're lying."
My eyes narrowed. "You talk like a robot."
He shook his head. "I told you before, I'm not a robot. I just tend to gauge people's physical reactions to understand what they're thinking so that I can react accordingly."
I stared at him, trying to understand what he was thinking. "Have you always been like this?"
"Yes."
"When did you realize you were..." I didn't feel right saying that word.
"A psychopath?" He shrugged. "I was a little different from the starting. Used to react differently, or not react at all. My mother suspected it but it was confirmed when she took me to a doctor after I had banged my head on a wall."
"And how did you bang your head?" I asked carefully, already knowing that I wasn't going to like his answer.
"We had dog. His name was Tuffy. My father gave him to me when I was three. He died in a car accident when I was six. Mom told me but I didn't know how to react. He was just gone. Mom was angry that I wasn't sad. She told me I was supposed to feel...pain."
Please don't tell me he was going to say what I was thinking.
"So I banged my head on the wall. To feel pain. It did hurt like a motherfucker and I got eight stitches as well. But I still didn't understand how it was going to make me feel better. Feeling pain didn't help with Tuffy being gone."
Jesus Christ.
To be honest, I didn't believe when he told me he was a psychopath. I thought he was just trying to be...intimidating. But now...
"Where are your parents now?" I asked.
"They're gone."
I hesitated before asking, "As in...dead?"
He shrugged again. "Probably."
I scrunched my nose. "Probably?"
He nodded. "I'll tell you later. We must go inside. It's about to rain.".
I looked up at the sky to see black clouds hovering above us. Then a lightning.
Christian took my hand again as we walked inside. "Do you like rain?" He suddenly asked.
"I do. But I like snow better."
"Hmm."
As he took me inside, I looked back at the gate which was supposed to be my escape.
Guess I had to find another way.
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