Chapter 25: The Breaking Point

Chapter 25: The Breaking Point

Pain had become my only constant.

Days blurred into each other. Morning, night, it didn't matter. I no longer knew how many hours had passed between punishments, between tests, between their endless need to make me obey.

If I moved too slowly, I was punished.

If I spoke too quietly, I was punished.

If I hesitated even a second too long, I was punished.

They weren't trying to break me anymore. They were making sure I stayed broken.

And I let them. Because fighting back wasn't an option anymore.

The Endless Torture

It started with Leo.

He controlled everything.

When I could wake up. When I could eat. When I was allowed to speak.

If I disobeyed—even in the smallest way—he was there, punishing me with cold precision.

"Try again," he would say, making me repeat a task over and over until I got it exactly the way he wanted. Kneeling, walking, standing in place for hours. It didn't matter if my legs were shaking, if my vision blurred.

"Perfect obedience. That's what I want."

And when I failed, the punishment came swiftly.

A slap, a forced kneel, a bruising grip on my wrist.

And worst of all? He was never angry.

His punishments were calculated, controlled. He was training me.

Then there was Adrian.

He turned my suffering into entertainment.

Unlike Leo, he wanted to see me react.

Flinch. Shake. Hesitate. Anything.

He would get close, his fingers tracing over bruises, pressing into sore spots just to see how much I could take.

"You're so quiet now," he would murmur, lips brushing my ear, his storm-gray eyes filled with cruel amusement. "Not even a glare? No struggling?"

I never gave him what he wanted.

So he pushed harder.

He would order me to do things just to see if I would obey—hold out my hands and let him strike them, stay perfectly still while he whispered taunts against my skin.

And when I stayed silent?

He would smirk, then suddenly grab my jaw, forcing me to look at him before crushing his lips against mine.

Not for passion. For control.

To see if I would resist.

I never did.

And that made it worse.

"Damn," he would sigh, pulling back, studying me with a look of twisted satisfaction. "You really are broken, huh?"

Then there was Nico.

He was different.

He didn't touch me often. Didn't hit me. Didn't tease.

But he was always watching.

Always waiting.

He tested me in ways that were more dangerous than Leo's punishments or Adrian's cruelty.

He tested my mind.

He would make me sit in silence for hours, just letting the tension suffocate me.

Or he would say things—quiet things. Things meant to get inside my head.

"You belong to us."

"There's nothing left of you to fight for."

"This is your life now."

And every time, his emerald-green eyes would lock onto mine, waiting for me to break further.

I don't know how many days passed before it happened.

All I knew was that I was standing in the center of the room, Leo's cold gaze locked onto me, Adrian smirking from the side, and Nico watching in silence.

My body was weak. Too weak.

I had barely eaten. Barely slept. They had been pushing me harder, testing me more, making sure I had nothing left.

And now, they were going to push me one last time.

Leo stepped forward, gripping my chin. "One more time," he murmured. "You know the rules."

I tried to respond. I really did.

But the room blurred, my vision swimming.

My body swayed violently.

"Sophia?" Nico's voice was sharp.

I tried to move, but the world tilted sideways.

Adrian's smirk disappeared. "Whoa—"

The last thing I saw was Leo reaching for me as darkness swallowed me whole.

The Truth They Never Expected

I woke up somewhere softer than usual.

A bed.

Not the cold floor.

My body ached, but something was different.

The moment I shifted, I heard voices.

"…She hasn't eaten properly in days."

Nico. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

"She's been weak, but passing out? That's not normal." Leo.

A pause.

Then, Adrian's voice, quieter than usual. "…What if it's something else?"

A cold feeling twisted in my stomach.

Before I could move, a warm hand pressed against my stomach.

My breath caught in my throat.

Nico's voice, soft but certain: "She's pregnant."