The sunlight had climbed high enough to pierce through the gaps in the still-closed curtains. The clock read 8:12 a.m. when Nara finally woke up.
But instead of feeling refreshed, her body felt like it had been crushed. The pain was especially intense in her lower abdomen. It hurt so badly that Nara couldn't move her body even a little.
With great difficulty, Nara tried to get up and sit on the bed. Her hand immediately pulled the white blanket over her naked body.
But when the blanket lifted, her gaze fell straight onto the sheet beneath her body. Bloodstains stood out clearly, marring the fabric that had once been as white as snow.
Tears slipped down Nara's cheeks when she saw the stains. She had been defiled by a husband who saw her as nothing more than a doll in bed.
“Miss, you're awake?” asked Sari, the maid responsible for taking care of Nara during her stay at Zico's mansion.
Nara didn't answer. She only lowered her face, looking utterly exhausted and drained.
“Sir left for the office early this morning, Miss.” Sari informed her of something Nara hadn't asked about—and very much didn't want to ask about.
“Before he left, he gave this to me. He said you have to take it every time you finish sleeping with him.”
Sari handed Nara a packet of medicine. Hesitantly, Nara took it. But she was stunned when she saw what was inside. It was a birth control pill that she had to take every time she slept with Zico.
'So he wants me to take this? Fine. I don't want to have a child with a demon, either. Even if he hadn't given it to me, I would've bought and taken these pills myself,' she thought.
“I'll take it,” Nara replied.
She opened the package, took out a pill, and swallowed it, just as Zico had ordered.
“I've taken it. Now I want to shower. So could you leave?”
“Um, Miss... don't you need my help?” Sari wasn't convinced that Nara would be able to walk to the bathroom on her own. Judging by her condition, it seemed her master had tortured her terribly the night before. Sari was even certain that Nara couldn't walk—not even a few steps.
“I'm fine. Please leave!”
“All right, then, Miss. I'll go. I've prepared all your clothes in the wardrobe over there.”
Sari pointed to a six-door white wardrobe on the right side of the room. Then she bowed and left Nara's bedroom.
After Sari left, Nara tried with all her strength to get out of bed. But the pain throughout her body made it incredibly difficult to move. She had to try several times before she finally managed to slowly climb down from the bed, though groans of pain kept escaping her lips.
“Ah, it hurts so much. My whole body feels crushed. And my lower abdomen hurts so badly,” she complained.
Nara tried to take one small step at a time toward the bathroom. When she arrived, she stood in front of a mirror and stared at her reflection.
Her eyes slowly traveled over her own body. Reddish marks were visible almost everywhere, leaving her speechless.
Her tears fell again as she remembered how Zico had tortured her all night. Zico had unleashed his lust like a wild beast—no! More accurately, like a demon.
Nara then made her way to the shower. Her hand was still trembling as she turned the faucet, enduring the pain spreading throughout her body. Water poured over her head, then slowly streamed down and soaked her entire body.
Nara's tears fell again, mixing with the shower water running down her cheeks.
“Dad... Mom... Nara wants to join you. Please take Nara with you, too. Sob... sob...” Her sobs finally broke free.
Tan Group
Zico sat in his office chair. His hand toyed with a ballpoint pen, spinning it aimlessly. His gaze remained fixed on a framed photograph of himself with both of his parents.
At that moment, Zico's thoughts drifted back to the previous night, when he had tortured the daughter of a traitor named Adinata Wijaya. He was certain Adinata Wijaya was crying right now as he watched his daughter suffer.
Suddenly, a knock sounded from outside Zico's office, shattering his reverie.
“Come in!” he called coldly.
The door opened, and Jo entered the room.
“Sir, it's time for us to go to the meeting room.”
Without saying much, Zico stood and walked out of the office, with Jo following behind him.
Meanwhile, in the conference room, all the employees already there grew noisy when they saw Zico and Jo approaching. They reminded one another to behave during the meeting that was about to begin.
Click!
Jo opened the conference-room door. The employees who had been busy talking fell silent the instant Zico entered.
Zico sat in his executive chair. The employees then took their seats, while Jo stood beside Zico.
“Begin!” Zico ordered in his cold voice.
Gulp!
The sound of someone swallowing reached Zico's ears. One of the employees scheduled to give a presentation looked extremely nervous after hearing Zico's command.
“Are you nervous?” Zico asked, his voice still cold.
The employee didn't answer. He was so nervous that he couldn't get a single word out.
“Get out of my company!” Zico suddenly roared.
Everyone in the room flinched at his shout.
“I don't need weak-minded employees like you! Are you trying to destroy my company, huh?” Zico glared sharply at the employee. “You have no idea how I rebuilt my family's company at such a young age! Are you making a fool of me?”
Zico was extremely sensitive when it came to his company. After his family's company collapsed following his father's departure, he had been forced to rebuild it when he was only nineteen.
“N-no, sir. I-I'm sorry. I-I'll start the presentation now,” stammered the employee named Santi.
“Too late. Get out of my company right now. You're not welcome here!”
“Sir, please don't.” Santi begged, tears beginning to stream down her face. She didn't want to lose her job.
“Jo!”
“Yes, sir.”
Jo immediately approached Santi and escorted her out of the conference room. Santi kept pleading with Zico through her tears, but Jo continued taking her away.
Zico then shifted his gaze to all the employees, who were now standing. His sharp eyes swept over each of the ten employees in the room, one face at a time.
“You've seen it for yourselves! If you don't want to leave my company, show me what you're capable of. I only accept high-quality people here!”
“Yes, sir,” they replied in unison.
After that, Zico left the conference room in an irritable mood. Because of what had just happened, his precious time had been wasted. The meeting should have produced new ideas to advance the company, but instead it ended without accomplishing anything because of an employee he considered incompetent and weak-minded.