In the dream, it was the first time I met Asa.
Back then, I had just arrived in this world and hadn't yet reunited with Annie. I was living a rather impoverished life and needed to work part-time at a convenience store to earn tuition.
Asa entered the convenience store to buy cigarettes, covered in blood.
All the customers fled in terror, leaving only me behind the counter, staring at him in shock.
Asa lifted his eyelids. "Thinking about calling the police?"
I said, "You're injured."
I helped Asa bandage his wounds.
He seemed terrifying, but when he sat quietly, he was well-behaved.
I clumsily wrapped his arm and said, "There you go."
I got up to leave, but Asa suddenly grabbed my wrist.
He looked at me and said, "How much do you earn working here for a month?"
I gave him a number.
Asa immediately offered a price almost a hundred times higher.
I was stunned. "So much money... what do you need me for?"
Asa looked at my dazed expression and suddenly grinned mischievously. "To date, would you like that?"
I looked at his beautiful, bloody face under the light and thought, "Why wouldn't I?"
For the next three years, Asa was unpredictable, like a mad dog, but only I knew how to soothe him.
He remembered all my preferences.
I didn't like the smell of smoke, and he never smoked in front of me again.
I was afraid of the cold, and he would cancel all his plans to take me to hot springs in winter.
I was vain, and he would set off fireworks all night on my birthday, letting the entire city know that Lillian was now 21 years old.
Under the fireworks that night, Asa hugged me. "Lillian, promise me you'll always be with me."
I was moved to tears. "I promise! Asa, propose now, and I'll say yes."
The fireworks in the night sky dissipated.
I woke up, the damp, cold sensation in the air telling me that I was in a basement.
My hands were tied, and I struggled instinctively.
I only struggled once before someone pressed my shoulder from behind.
"Lillian, you can't escape."
Asa removed his tie and skillfully tied a knot around my hands.
He wore a black shirt with a silver rose pinned to his chest.
Such a cheap piece of jewelry seemed out of place with his high-end clothing.
But I recognized it. It was the last gift I had given Asa.
Asa adjusted the knot and picked up some medicine nearby.
"You're injured, you need to apply medicine," he said.
I struggled desperately, but Asa held me down.
He tied me securely, his distinct fingers moving over my body.
In those three years, Asa had learned every sensitive spot on my body.
My whole body trembled, my forehead hair damp with sweat, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
Asa gently pressed his forehead against mine, kissing away my tears, as he had done countless times before.
"Why are you crying?"
I said, "Asa, can you please let me go? I need to save Annie..."
I didn't know if Annie had escaped. The worst-case scenario was that she had also fallen into Walker's hands.
Asa said quietly, "What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly."
I said, "Can you let me go..."
Before I could finish, Asa silenced me with a kiss.
I bit him fiercely, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth instantly.
But Asa seemed to feel no pain at all.
After a long moment, he released me, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his fingertips.
"Lillian, you've changed.
You used to be so obedient, you never bit anyone."
He smiled, fondly ruffling my hair. "But this is fine too. I like you however you are."
Asa kept me imprisoned.
Most of the time, he stayed with me personally. If he had to attend to something urgent, over twenty bodyguards would stand guard outside.
There were no clocks in the basement, so I didn't know how many days had passed.
All I knew was that I had stopped eating and drinking.
When Asa returned, I was already very weak. He pinched my chin and forced a nutritional supplement down my throat.
But a few minutes later, I would vomit it back up.
Asa was furious.
He untied the ropes and pushed me against the wall.
"Do you hate me that much?"
Days of not eating or drinking had left me with no strength to resist Asa.
I repeated mechanically, "Let me go, I need to save Annie."
Asa released me.
