Ah... He's back... What will he do to me this time? I thought as I shut my eyes, revelling in my last few moments of peace.

"I'm back, Lila..." a man's voice echoed throughout the silence. Footsteps pounded across the wooden floor, heading towards the room she was in.

The sound of her heartbeat grew deafening as she anticipated the man entering anytime soon. The metallic taste of blood laced her tongue as her lips grew drier and paler.

"Lila... why didn't you answer me?" the man said as his voice grew louder and closer. He was right outside the door. The woman opened her mouth to say something but instead, kept it shut, ignoring the man.

The door creaked open and the sound of footprints clicked across the wooden floor. The woman swallowed her non-existent saliva as she tried to calm the excessive beating of her heart.

"Lila... why won't you look at me?" the man asked as he stroked the side of her cheeks. The woman flinched from his touch but did not shy away from his touch.

Silence filled the room as the man's breath tickled her face. "Your lips... are chapped... haven't you drunk the water I gave you?" the man asked as the sound of rustling filled the silence.

Suddenly, the man pressed his lips against hers as he forcefully pried her lips open. Forcing in the sweet tasting water to quench her thirst.

Some water trickled down her throat as they parted lips. She felt the man's hot tongue trace the length of her nape, chasing after the drop of water.

Ah. Is he going to **** **** to me? the woman wondered as she felt the man undo her blouse. "It's been hot lately. Why don't you take a bath?" the man said, ruining the woman's thoughts.

She didn't reply and sat in silence, clenching her fist. "... You still won't look or talk to me..." the man said softly as he then stood up.

"... I left a new pair of clothing at the bathroom door... You should take a bath... I'll... make dinner..." the man said as he left the room.

The woman slowly pried her eyes open as she glanced around the room. Ah. The bottle of water was left here again. The woman then reached out towards it and took in a generous gulp as she smiled satisfactorily at herself.

As she made her way down the stairs, she turned towards the kitchen and looked at the man, fixing up dinner in the kitchen.

She then made her way to the bathroom where she saw the new set of clothing left by the man. A nightgown...

The woman stared at the direction of the kitchen before heading into the bathroom sighing deeply. Why is he holding her here anyways? If he wasn't going to do anything to her?

Everyday felt as if it were going to change but nothing had happened. Even the name... Lila... wasn't her name. Everytime he called her Lila, her stomach grew queasy and she tastes the bitter taste of envy.

That's why... I refuse to speak or look at you. Not until you call my name. I'll remain as your 'Lila' and stay in this cage, where I have you at my beck and call.

Attracting men came easy to me. I had the looks and the smarts. Basically, the whole package. The only man that hadn't given me a second glance nor even a hint of his interest is Sam Trott.

The first time I saw him, he walked past me without even glancing at me. It was hard for me to accept the fact that he would not even spare me a glance. It hurt my pride as an arduous woman.

I did my research, checking to see whether he was gay but found out that he had been in multiple relationships with women proving that fact to be false. Then why isn't he attracted to me? All the other women he had dated were nothing compared to me.

Other than my looks, I'm charming, funny and intelligent. I can make any conversation go from zero to hundred, investing many men to grow more interested in me.

It may seem like stalking at this point but I never intended to bump into him. It was so frequent I thought it was on purpose. Instead, it wasn't, as I found him going about his usual activities and of course, not noticing me.

I grew eminently invested in him as my interest and fascination grew stronger each day. I felt as if our random encounters were the work of fate and finally decided to take matters into my own hands.

***

I saw him again in the mall as he strolled down the aisles, grabbing some groceries as he pushed his shopping cart slowly. I followed him closely, too closely I might add as he turned around so suddenly I flinched and fell backwards.

He caught me smoothly as I felt his strong arm wrap around my waist, holding me firmly against his chest. My heart pounded wildly as my face flushed a beet red. It was a first for me, to react in such a manner.

We finally made eye contact that day, his steely smoky grey eyes caught mine as I felt the surrounding temperature increase. I took that opportunity and leaned against him with the excuse that I had twisted my ankle.

He said nothing but let me keep holding onto him. I smiled cunningly to myself as I held onto his strong muscular arm. I breathed in his spicy cologne and revelled in his clean shaven chiseled chin. Oh, what a sinful man. I never knew this was what it was like to be in love.

***

He brought me back to my house as he applied the first aid treatment to my ankle, standing immediately after, informing me that he had to leave. I stopped him by throwing myself against his torso, wrapping my slender arms around him. There was no way I'd miss this opportunity!

Sam stopped in his tracks, contemplating before finally choosing to sit himself next to me on the sofa. His expressionless face broke into a soft smile as he stroked my fingers. I avoided his gaze as I felt my cheeks set ablaze as if on fire.

He stopped however, retracting his hand from mine as if he had touched a boiling kettle. "I-I'm sorry!" he apologized as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

My pride and ego as an arduous beauty was hurt from the way he reacted. I bit the bottom of my lips as I glared at him. How could he play with my feelings this easily? It made me sad to think he didn't like me.

However, all thoughts flew out the window when I saw his usual face, void of expression replaced with one filled with sadness and regret. Did he... dislike touching me that much?

Without realizing it, I had blurted out that question making him jump in his seat as he averted his tearful gaze toward me.

"That's not it... Having such a beautiful woman show interest in me is such a flattering thought... I just... thought of my ex-girlfriend... That's why I apologized... To have such thoughts... I felt like you could sense it as well... Erm..." the man said flustered.

I was so surprised from his reply that I burst out into laughter, something I haven't done in a long while. Especially since I hadn't felt such joy for many years.

His facial expression lifted and he smiled back at me as he rubbed the back of his head shyly. He then extended his hand towards me and told me his name. I smiled and returned the favour. It'd be odd if I were to say that I already knew it so I played it off as if this were our first meeting. Playing it off as if we were in a fairytale and this was the beginning of a love story where the main characters fell in love at first sight.

***

I didn't think that she would be this naive... From talks about her, the countless men that got their heart broken told me that she was a vicious and cunning woman.

I didn't think acting as someone who had no interest and was innocent could get her this interested in me. I thought she would ignore me in turn, out of spite but instead she got more invested in me.

Acting as if I couldn't see her was pretty tough as well because her presence was really strong. Her confidence in herself and the way she held herself was what shaped and brought her to her current standing to this day.

Fooling her was one thing, making her fall for me was another. Hence, I kept a strong hold on her by pretending it was the first time we had met, throwing her confidence off balance. In all honesty, she was the one who threw me away first. Now...

I'm just glad she fell for the act, all I had to do was to ensure she would never... ever... escape from this trap... this trap as sweet as honey. Not till I had my revenge.