That night, after I had showered and emerged from the bathroom,
I was sitting on the sofa chatting with my parents,
when my phone rang with an unfamiliar number.
I didn't answer it, hanging up instead.
A moment later, I received a text message.
"Aurelia, are you coming down, or should I come up?"
Those few words sent a chill down my spine.
The phone rang again. I silenced it and went into my room to answer.
Sure enough, it was Eliot's voice in my ear.
"Eliot, what do you want?"
I tried to keep my voice low, but the anger in my heart couldn't be suppressed.
"Aurelia, I miss you."
I hesitated for a moment, ready to hang up the phone.
"If you don't come, I'll have to pay your parents a visit."
I instinctively turned around. The sounds of the TV and my parents' laughter came from the living room outside my door.
My heart felt tightly bound by their laughter.
Gradually, it became sore and painful.
"I'll come down."
"Good, I'll wait for you."
I hung up the phone and grabbed a windbreaker to put on.
I made up an excuse in front of my parents before heading downstairs.
Eliot's car was parked in the shadow of the trees on the street.
I tightened my coat around me and looked around furtively.
Then I quickly ran to the car.
The rear window was lowered by about a third.
Eliot sat there lazily.
When I approached, his gaze fell on my face.
A faint smile slowly appeared in his eyes. "Get in the car."
"If you have something to say, just say it here." I refused to get in the car.
Eliot didn't force me. He simply nodded. "Alright, I'll come down."
He opened the door and stepped out of the car.
But in the next instant, he grabbed my chin and pressed me against the side of the car.
His hot kiss, tinged with a faint smell of alcohol, overwhelmed me like a storm.
I didn't dare to scream, struggling hard.
In the chaos, I slapped him across the cheek.
And the nails I had just grown out scratched three bloody marks on his jawline.
Eliot suddenly released his grip, his face darkening.
And I was terrified, stepping back a few steps in shock.
He touched his wound, his eyes narrowing sharply.
Just as I thought he was going to slap me back,
He merely gave a faint smile:
"Aurelia, are you getting in the car and coming with me, or shall I take care of you right here?"
"Choose for yourself. You know I'm capable of anything."
My parents were upstairs.
The neighbors nearby had known me since I was a child.
It wasn't late yet.
Someone might come out at any moment.
In the end, I got into the car.
Eliot didn't speak to me the whole way.
Only when we arrived at his hotel,
he took off his jacket and pushed me against the door as soon as we entered.
He tied my wrists with his tie, raising them and securing them above my head.
He tore open my windbreaker, and the pajamas underneath were messily pulled up.
He undid his belt and pulled out the hem of his shirt.
He then unzipped his trousers.
I cried silently, my eyes red and swollen as I glared at him.
"Eliot, you have to do this, you have to make me do something degrading, don't you?"
"If you stop now, I won't hate you…"
"Hate me?"
Eliot laughed suddenly. "Aurelia, I wish you hated me."
Better than being strangers.
Never having anything to do with each other, never asking about each other.
"You've really crazy, Eliot…"
"Yeah, I'm crazy."
He held my waist and entered me slowly.
It was like a dull knife cutting through flesh, torturing me.
My tears flowed endlessly.
But he showed no pity.
His movements were fast and hard, as if trying to shatter me.
Later, he carried me to the floor-to-ceiling window.
I knelt for a long time, my knees nearly raw and swollen.
Finally, he carried me back to the bed.
I felt like I was about to break apart.
But Eliot still wouldn't let me go.
I couldn't control my body's instinctive reactions.
Over and over, he brought me to the peak.
"Aurelia, will you come back to the city with me?"
I shook my head, closing my eyes tightly, shaking my head with all my might.
Eliot laughed softly, but he was still angry.
I couldn't bear it anymore, sobbing and pleading quietly.
But he was unmoved.
He just looked down at me with indifference in his eyes.
"Since you're so disobedient, why should I care about you?"
"Just endure it, Aurelia."
