8 A heartless soul to match his icy hear

Tiana stepped backward twice; her head bowed low;

''I'm sorry, I'm not prepared for this now, can we do this some other day?''

She thought she was strong; she thought she would be able to let herself do anything but she was utterly wrong, it was that moment, she realized how hard it was to give yourself to someone you hate to your very bones!.

Nicklaus brows eased, and he dropped the cigar on the tray; relaxing back on the couch;

''I didn't ask for your opinion; I just told you to take your clothes off your body. ''

He said in a relaxed tone. Tiana raised her eyes to look at him; if he wanted to rape her, he should at least have mercy on her virgin soul, and let her mind be prepared!

He was still staring at her, some venom in his eyes, it was as though she was just a fun toy, as though he derived pleasure from the pain he was causing her.

''Please, I beg you, I'm not prepared. '' She explained; her brewing tears draining her voice; her throat tightened as she braced herself from crying. Nicklaus didn't reply to her statement; he just kept staring at her as if to tell her she was wasting his time.

Tiana looked down at her robe as her lips wobbled, maybe she shouldn't have accepted to go instead of her sister; maybe he would have treated her sister differently since he chose her himself; just maybe…

Her head filled with different thoughts as her trembling hands held onto the handle of the robe; she loosened it carefully and let it fall to the ground;

Her white skin came into view; she had never been naked in front of a man before, and the first man she would show her nakedness was this beast. She wished she wasn't as vulnerable, she wished her father had made the right choices; she wished he didn't have to be so stupid to have collected money from this beast in the first place! If he hadn't, she wouldn't be in that situation now.

''Take off those too. '' He said calmly;

Tears filled her eyes; she stared at him with so much hate and disgust; she had never seen such wickedness in her entire life; but although she wanted to scream brimstones at him, she held herself; her hands fisting at her sides; she wanted to be strong but at that moment, he disgusted her so much that she knew it would mar her soul if he touched her, a tear escaped from her right eye;

''Please, I beg you… ''

She pleaded; although he was so heartless that she didn't want ever want to beg him but she needed his mercy, if he could just let her go for that day, she would put the past behind her and forget everything he had done to her.

Nicklaus was quiet. There was no emotion on his face; he stared at her trembling figure for a few minutes; then he spoke;

''Do you take so long to remove your clothes, or should I call the guards to come to help you? ''

Taking in a deep breath, she cleaned her eyes with the back of her hands; and she decided in her heart. That would be the last time she would cry before him.

She put her hands behind her and undid the bra, letting it fall to the ground; her hands fell to the sides of her panties and she pulled them down; stepping out of them.

Her face was blank; there was no emotion on them; it was as though she was no longer herself; she was staring straight at him and straight into his eyes, but in reality, she was just staring into space.

Nicklaus gazed at her for a brief second; then he turned to his plate and picked up his cigarette and continued smoking as though she was invisible.

Tiana stood there, shame clouding her. She wanted to cover her chest with her hands, but how much would she cover? Seconds ran into minutes and minutes to hours, but he did not say another word to her; he smoked till he finished the cigarette box; then he turned to her;

She was still staring at him with the same blank expression, but her teeth were clenched together as she counted the seconds as they passed by; she tried to think about something else other than her present situation.

''If someone hurt you, what would you do to them?''

He asked mildly, staring straight at her face;

Tiana blinked; 'was he asking her what she would do to him if she got the chance?' She thought of a million wicked things she could do to him;

''I'll gouge out their wicked hearts, break their bones to tiny pieces and feed their bodies to wild dogs. '' She answered staring straight at him, as though she wanted to let him know what she would do to him if she had the chance.

Nicklaus thought for a moment and nodded; ''That is good but it is not still wicked enough, put on your clothes. ''

He commanded; standing up from the couch and walking towards the large fridge in the mini parlor.

Tiana's gaze fell on her naked body and her hatred for him knew no bounds. He never wanted to touch her; he just wanted to humiliate her beyond comparison. She wore her clothes back on one after the other and stood there waiting for his command; her eyes staring blankly at the black curtains.

Nicklaus opened the fridge and took out a bottle of pills, he poured some onto his hand and swallowed them; and then he washed it down with a cup of water.

Turning around, he saw her still standing there;

''Why are you still standing there? Leave! '' He commanded, his face scrunched up in anger. Tiana glanced at him for a moment before turning around; with gentle steps, she walked away from his room.

As she walked back downstairs; she thought to herself; if she needed to survive with a beast, she had to become one. And that was what she was going to be, a heartless soul to match his icy heart.

He just brought out a new side of her; she would see who gives up first.