Chapter 28: Punishment

Keith and Vale sat on the sofa in the living room after having dinner. They leaned on each other's, watching variety shows on TV. "So, are you going to tell me what happened when I left?" Vale broke the silence. Keith stiffened. Although he had passed through those six months, no one knows the aftermath he had received. It wasn't something that could be told easily like a story. To him, those 6 months of his life was the darkest torment he ever experiences. Vale saw the hesitation and unwillingness in his eyes and was a little bit unhappy. She had told him the truth of what had happened to her after she left his home. Why couldn't he tell her his story? "Fine. You can tell me when you're ready." Vale pursed her lips. "That night...my father...no...Eric called and asked me to marry Sherry." Vale felt a chill down her spine when she saw his face. She had never seen this kind of expression on him, ever. There was a mixture of sadness, fear, depression, anger and the urge to kill. Unknowingly, Keith released a huge pressure that made Vale subconsciously leaned away from him in shock and fear. She retreated away from him and sat at the end of the sofa, clenching her trembling fingers tightly. She could hear her the pounding in her heart and felt the sweat forming on her forehead. Her face looks ashen. "K-Keith...you...you..." Keith looked at her with a mocking smile, or was it a self-deprecating smile? "I refused. Then, Eric threatened to kill you and your family. I know Mason and Peter is in a gang. They can protect the family. I refused again." His hands were clenched tightly in a fist. "But then he sent me a picture of your sister, Anne. I couldn't refuse. I promise him, and he let go of your sister." Vale's eyes widen in shock. Anne never told her about this. "The morning after that, he was waiting for me in the living room. He said that he had sent some sniper that was ready to shoot your parent's anytime. He asked me to kick you out." "I don't believe him at first. But then he shows me a video of your parent's strolling outside the house." "I drew out the termination contract and the evidence of you leading another gang." He smiled, but it never reached his eyes. "I've known about it for a long time. But, I didn't want to expose you. I was waiting for you to explain it yourself." Vale was stunned, tears brimming in her eyes. So, he already knows. It turns out she was the one who misunderstood him. She had hurt him again. Her heart clenched in pain. "My father knew about it too and wanted to punish you for betraying the gang." Keith sneered, "In fact, it was just an excuse to kill you." "I asked him to let you go. He agreed but in one condition. I have to endure four months of punishment." By this time, tears had already rolled down his face. "At first, he locked me down the basement and left me to starve for a month. He only gave me a small bottle of water every day. I'm his son. Why did he treat me like that? He treats me like a prisoner!" Vale flinched when he shouted, her lips quivering. "On the second month, he treated me as his punching bag, and he whipped me until I fainted. I woke up with blood on my eyes and experienced the same treatment every day. I lost a lot of blood, and I felt like my life was slipping away. He didn't get a doctor to treat me." Keith looked at her and smile. "But, when I thought of you, I wanted to live. If I die, he would find you and kill you. I don't want that to happen. I still wanted to see you smile and wanted to see your face. I still want to experience what it felt like to be loved. I want to marry you and have a child with you." Vale broke down crying, covering her face in her palms. "I manage to escape death. But, he didn't stop. Even if I begged him to stop, he didn't listen, and my friends couldn't stop him either. He tied me to a chair and connected wires around my body. Then, he asked his subordinate to give me an electric shock. He increased the level day by day." "When he saw that I couldn't move anymore, he stopped and asked a doctor to treat me. I was slipping away, again. I try as hard as I can to stay conscious but fail." "I woke up a month and a half later and still couldn't move. My friends took care of me the entire time. Eric got an opportunity to made every final decision on the gang when I was absent." "When I recover a month later, I fell into depression. Eric didn't only torture me physically. He also tortured me mentally. He called me names, he cursed at me, he made me felt guilty, sad, angry and afraid. At some point, I felt like I've turned into a crazy person." "I drowned myself in alcohol and starved myself once more. I don't have an appetite to eat after everything. Every night, after my torture, he would ask his subordinate to pass me a piece of dry bread. I remember myself wolfing it down before vomiting it out." A small smile appeared on his lips. "Funny, a month ago, my mother brought me to see a fortune teller. He said that I wasn't going to live long. I don't believe him." Keith wiped his tears and looked at the sobbing woman a few meters away from him. He got up and sat beside her, pulling her into his embrace. "I'm sorry...It should've been me...It should've been me..." Vale mumbled repeatedly.