[ THIS CHAPTER HAS TRIGGERING CONTENT. I TRIED TO MAKE IT AS MILD AS POSSIBLE. 
PLEASE DO NOT READ IF EASILY TRIGGERED. ] 
~
Isabella violently adjusted the neck of her gown which felt like it was growing into the length of her neck to suffocate her more and more just as her husband's presence did.
But, she was just harming the poor gown whose neckline did a good job of giving her chest breathing space.
Her hands retreating from the almost mutilated material, Isabella found a nearby bench to sit on to gather her thoughts properly.
As it turned out to be, the only source of help she had put her hope on was putting her in a spot.
A spot she did not see coming.
Recalling his proposition which he said with all seriousness, Isabella wondered why it had to be her of all people.
She understood that he would want her to pay back for what she did, but marrying her?
Why?
It was just absurd. Who gets married to someone who has hurt them?
Even if she wanted to atone for her sin and she decides to get married to him, there would always be Gabriel and her father holding her back.
That is a cage she has found herself in, a cage that is seemingly impossible to break free from.
'But maybe this is the miracle you have been waiting for.'
A voice from the back of her mind reminded her.
 As she stared at the space ahead, her mind suddenly derailed and she recalled the time he briefly took off his robe. Not only did her face heat up a bit, her insides turned mushy, and her neglected private part cried for attention.
Those few seconds were hellish for her and for an extra minute, she wanted to desperately satisfy the sexual starvation that mere toys failed to fill. For a minute, she wished to end up in bed with him.
But as usual, she held her head high and acted calmly.
Well, that was until he mentioned the incident.
She expected that he would mention it, but she did not foresee the way he casually dropped the bundle of her sin.
Isabella sighed as she looked up at the huge building that spanned grandly to form the hotel.
As she recalled events that had passed, she acknowledged that she messed up in the past and that was causing her present life to face disaster.
At that point, her tomorrow wasn't looking so good either.
"Do you think I should marry him to save my company?" Isabella asked the pigeon that had perched right beside her in search of crumbs. "You know my company means a lot to me."
The bird did not acknowledge the devastated woman who was engaging it in a conversation, but her phone rang before she put all her attention on the animal and raid it with questions it wouldn't be able to answer.
"Caleb?"
'How did the meeting go? Are we going to get help?' a concerned Caleb asked from the other end.
Isabella quickly weighed her options. She was less likely to accept Charles's proposition, but since a part of her wanted the miracle she yearned for so bad, being married to two men didn't sound so bad.
'Isa, are you there?'
She shook her head as her thoughts immediately made her feel disgusted.
"Mr. Oxford and I are trying to work something out, but it doesn't seem like we are going to get that help soon," Isabella replied, her eyes narrowed.
'That sucks. I hope he changes his mind and helps us. Anyway, Gabriel came by a few minutes ago.'
"What did he say he wants?"
'He... he said he knows you are ovulating today.'
Her arm that rested against the arm of the bench felt weak instantly. "What?"
'Isa... Be honest with me. Is your husband molesting you? Is he forcing you to do things you don't want to do?'
"I..."
'Talk to me, Isa.'
"I need to get home, Caleb. I will talk to you later."
'Isa...'
She cut the call and let out a shaky breath as her eyes followed the bird as it flew away, its feet almost touching the ground.
A few seconds later, Isabella gathered her stuff and braced herself for the craziness ahead.
~
Gently, her feet moved as a part of her wished her husband was deeply asleep.
"Hey, baby."
Startled by his sudden voice, Isabella clutched her chest area, her eyes bulging a bit afterward as they saw the sight waiting for her.
Gabriel, who was in nothing but a robe was poised in a weird way, a rose flower in one hand, a card in another.
"What's going on, Gabriel?" She recalled that he had even called her 'baby'. That word of endearment scared Isabella greatly.
His sand-coloured hair, which he seemed to have taken time to roughen danced as he approached her.
With a hint of excitement, he said, "What do you mean? I am treating you to something nice before we get down to business."
"Uh..."
"See..." He pointed toward the area behind him. "I even bought the best champagne in town."
"Oh." Isabella was confused further as she glanced at the champagne bottle which she sure was one of the expensive ones.
Gabriel was being nice, too nice. She had to be wary.
Once he was standing in front of her, Gabriel let go of the items in his hands and his long fingers began to trace her face. They grazed over her cheek for a while before they went to cup her chin. Tilting her head, he murmured against her lips, "God, you fucking are beautiful."
"Thank you?" she whispered as she was still not sure what to make of the drama he was acting.
"And, I can't wait anymore," he uttered before capturing her mouth fiercely. Without the thought of making sure the woman in his arms was willing to keep his pace, he began to bite at her lower lip as he suckled on it fiercely.
Isabella pulled away as she was beginning to feel the deep imprints of his teeth on her soft tissues which she felt would become a bruise.
Her lips crying for a means of being soothed, Isabella said to the eager man, "Gabriel, I can't do this today."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't have sex today, Gabriel."
His eyes narrowed. "But you are ovulating today."
She closed her eyes as she shook her head with determination. "I am tired, Gabriel."
"What nonsense are you saying? First, you lied about your period, I said nothing. Now, you are giving some silly tiredness excuse."
"But I am tired, Gab..."
"Shut up!" She jolted, her eyes slamming shut as she wished for the silence that ensued to last for a long time. "Just keep quiet," Gabriel growled.
As she felt his heavy breath against her lips, Isabella opened her eyes. It seemed that moment of silence wouldn't come after all.
Cautiously she nodded, saying, "Gabriel..."
"Don't..." He went straight for her neck. "Don't freaking call my name."
"Gabriel, your hands. Please release your hands." He was not squeezing, but she felt suffocated because of the way his fingers circled her neck.
"Are you telling me what to do?" She shook her head frantically. "How dare you? How dare you tell me you won't be having sex, because you... you are tired?" His hold tightened a bit as he angrily asked with a deep scowl implanted on his bulgy face.
"Gabriel... Please your hand..." Isabella pleaded.
"I said shut up!" Within a second, he had her back against a nearby wall, his fingers pressing into her flesh a bit harder. As she struggled to ease his hold and not piss him off, he continued with a hoarse voice, "In case you have forgotten, your father sold you to me and you have no right in whatever way to refuse whatever I ask you to do."
"Hmm..." she groaned as his other hand snaked past her gown and up her thigh.
"Now, I want to have sex with you and..." His long fingers went past her vulva and without warning, he dug three of his digits into her dryness causing a loud shriek to escape her lips. "If you say no, I am going to deal with you. Do you understand?"
As he talked, his fingers expanded her painfully, her eyes just had to let her tears flow.
Those were tears she had been hiding for a while.
Gabriel finally retracted his hold on her neck but quickly replaced it with his mouth which bit into her skin without mercy.
He ignored her sobs as she was already giving in without putting up a fight. "I asked you a question, baby." His fingers inside her had eased a bit. "Do you understand what I just said?"
Isabella nodded.
Then, he plunged the fingers back in. This time, her scream was louder, it showed the pain she had been hiding. "Answer me with words," he demanded, his voice making her flinch.
"Y- yes." Her voice sounded tired. She was very tired. She was fed up.
"Good. Now moan for me." He bit her earlobe hard.
"Hmm..." she made the sound as more tears broke out.
Gabriel's hand reached for her dress roughly and tore it mercilessly, exposing her half-naked. Next, he tore her panties and removed his fingers which had caused so much damage already.
Isabella just stayed against the wall hopelessly as she beat herself up for putting up a fight in the first place. She watched as he removed the robe which he put on to hide his nakedness.
Almost lifelessly, he threw her up, and instantly, he jammed her with his manhood, going almost ball deep.
This time, it was a mixture of a scream and a cry that left Isabella's lips.
While Gabriel took up the job of initiating distasteful motion between them, Isabella cried even more.
She cried for her life, her sorry life.
She cried because of her unnecessary suffering, she cried because almost six years ago, she threw away an invitation to a good life because of her father.
As Gabriel took his finishing grunts, she cried even more because of her father who has been ignoring her after dumping her into a terrible mess.
Isabella had no idea when Gabriel put her down, but when she heard him say, "That should get you pregnant," she came back to her sorrowful present and all she could do was lay in her mess on the cold tile, her eyes streaming with more and more tears.