Novella woke up and looked around in the darkness. It took a few seconds for her eyes to get used to it. She heard Roman snoring softly next to her. For three days she had not been chained up, and he allowed her to roam around the house freely. He was starting to trust her more and more. She could feel the switch in him. He battled with two sides inside him. The rough side he was so used to and a more soft side that apparently had arrived along with her coming to this house. She would probably never understand the true battle inside him.

She got out of bed and left the bedroom. She walked to the bathroom and emptied her bladder. She wasn't tired. She should go back to bed but she didn't feel like it. Instead she brushed her teeth with the toothbrush she had earned as a privilege, and then she walked downstairs. She started the coffee maker and looked out of the window while the coffee brewed. Outside the world was asleep, and no one out there had a clue where she was.

"Can't sleep?" Seth asked.

She turned around and locked eyes with him. By this time she was used to them all seeing her naked so she no longer tried to cover up with her arms.

"Not really," she said.
"Me neither," he said. "I haven't slept good since... Whatever. You're making coffee, I see. Can I have a cup?"
"You're actually asking?" She asked.

He smirked at her and found two mugs in a cabinet. He handed her one of them and she poured coffee for both of them.

"Were you expecting me to throw you out of the kitchen and claim all the coffee for myself?" He asked.
"I don't know. Maybe. It's not like I really know you, and you guys tend to play it rough around here," she said.
"Huh, how about that?" He tilted his head. "I like you, Novella. You don't call me sir or apologize constantly. You're quite the honest type, aren't you?"
"Roman says the same," she said.
"Roman prefers honesty," he said. "Sit down and enjoy your coffee with me. Let's talk."

They sat down at the kitchen table and sipped their coffees.

"Am I allowed to ask?" She asked.

He sighed and placed the mug down.

"You wanna know about Becky?" He asked.
"Roman told me to ask around about Becky and Jimmy," she said.
"I fell in love with Becky. I kept her like Roman kept you," he said.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Jimmy happened," he answered. "Jimmy is... was Jey's twin. Becky played us both. He was going to help her escape. Jey caught on and ratted out his own twin to his cousin. Can you believe that? He sold his own twin brother to the devil. That night we waited outside for them to make their grand escape. They ran right into our arms," he said.
"And then?" She asked.
"And then they never ran anywhere again. They're buried outside. In pieces. Roman chopped their hands and feet of them before separating their heads from their bodies. Both of them screamed so loud. I can still hear her inside my head. Her screams as the axe went into her," he said.

He felt tears in his eyes. He had never cried in front of anyone when it came to Becky. His tears had been for him alone.

"The worst part is that despite knowing she did all this to me, I still loved her for a long time after. It's hard to just let go of love even though it was never real," he said.

Tears spilled down his cheeks. She got up from the chair and walked around to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her and allowed himself to be comforted for once.

"It was real to you," she said. "You're allowed to feel the way you do."

He tightened his arms around her. It felt good having someone understand.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Roman yelled.

Seth and Novella split apart so fast but the damage was done. Roman was seeing red. He was sure he had walked in on them doing something they weren't supposed to do without his permission.

"You fucking whore!" Roman yelled.

Roman grabbed Novella's hair and pulled her towards him.

"It's not what you think," Seth said.

Seth stood up but Roman pushed him right away. Seth stumbled back and landed on the floor. He sat there and watched as Roman pulled Novella with him.

"Daniel! I need Daniel in my room!" Roman screamed so the entire house heard him. "And someone keep Seth in the kitchen until I come back!"
"Fuck!" Seth muttered.
"I'm on Seth!" Jey yelled.
"Fuck, fuck, extra fuck!" Seth mumbled to himself.

Roman kept his hand in Novella's hair. He forced her up the stairs and into his bedroom. He pushed her and she landed on the floor next to the bed. She grabbed the bed and pulled herself back up.

"Roman, I..." She started.
"No!" He screamed.

He backhanded her and she fell back down on the floor.

"You don't talk unless spoken to!" He yelled.

She kept her eyes locked with his and once again pulled herself up to stand. She ignored the pain from her split lip and the blood slowly running down her chin. She didn't say a word but she wasn't rolling over like a dog either.

"Admit you were about to fuck him," he said.
"I was not. I was comforting him. He was crying," she said.
"Seth doesn't fucking cry," he said. "Confess, whore!"
"He told me about Becky and how he loved her," she said.
"Stop lying!" He yelled.
"You called, boss?" Daniel asked.

Roman turned his head to see Daniel had entered the room.

"I did," Roman smirked. "She won't stop lying. She's a whore. What do we do to whores around here?"
"We fuck them," Daniel said.
"I want you to do that," Roman said.
"No," Novella said. "I'm not lying, Roman. I'm not that stupid that I would dare lie to you. You gotta believe me."
"Confess and this won't happen," Roman said.

Novella took a step back. Roman was on her fast. He grabbed her neck and kicked her feet away under her. He pulled her over to the bed and forced her over it with her knees resting on the floor. He kept a firm grip on her neck so she couldn't move.

"Daniel," Roman said.
"If I admit to it, it will be a lie," Novella said. "Roman, please. I'm not lying."

Roman nodded at Daniel. Daniel walked behind Novella, opened his jeans and pulled his dick out. He spat in his hand and lubed the head of his dick up just slightly.

"Last chance," Roman said.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Novella said. "Why won't you believe me?"
"Fuck her," Roman said.

Daniel grinned at Roman and leaned over Novella. He placed his dick by her asshole and started pushing in. She cried in pain and tried getting away but Roman kept her there. Daniel grabbed her wrists and held them behind her back so she couldn't use her hands either.

"Fuck, she's tight," Daniel said.
"Stop!" Novella cried.
"You got her?" Roman asked.
"I got her," Daniel answered. "Fuck, I'm gonna enjoy this."

Roman stood up and watched as Daniel started thrusting his hips. Long, hard thrusts that could break anyone.

"I did it! I did it!" Novella cried.
"I know," Roman said. "And now you're gonna take your punishment like the whore you are. Give her everything you got, Daniel. I'm gonna go talk to Seth."

Roman left the bedroom and slammed the door behind him. He didn't wanna hear her downstairs. He stomped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Seth had found his way back to a chair, and Jey was standing there with his arms crossed.

"Did he have anything to say?" Roman asked.
"Not a word," Jey said. "I think you broke him somehow. What's going on?"
"I'll tell you later. Leave us," Roman said.

Jey left the kitchen. Seth stood up and looked at Roman. Seth's arms were hanging down his body in defeat while Roman had his arms crossed in anger.

"How the fuck could you do that do me?" Roman asked.
"Do what?" Seth asked.
"After everything I've done for you, you go after what's mine," Roman asked.
"Is that what you think?" Seth asked.
"How else are you gonna explain what I just walked in on? The two of you in a tight embrace. She would have sucked your dick soon enough if I hadn't shown up," Roman said.

Seth bolted his fist and gritted his teeth. He was angry. Roman had it all wrong. Seth stepped up close to Roman and stared him down.

"She was comforting me, you asshole! I was crying, for fuck sake!" Seth yelled.

Roman's face dropped. It couldn't be true. Seth was saying the exact same thing as Novella had said.

"But you never cry," Roman said.
"Not in front of you or anyone in here, but I do cry. I've cried a whole fucking lot in the shower, alright? Becky fucking broke something inside me. I can't explain it. I loved her more than I care to admit. I pretended that I was fine but I'm not, Roman. I'm not fucking fine. And what you walked in on was me finally opening up to someone about it. Maybe it's because she's a woman. I don't know. All I know is that it felt good to finally tell someone, and now you've probably killed her over nothing. So well done to you. Maybe fucking ask next time instead of seeing things inside your head," Seth said.
"Fuck!" Roman yelled.

Roman ran up the stairs again and burst in through the door to his bedroom. He stopped and watched as Daniel was closing his jeans. His eyes dropped to Novella who was lying curled up on the floor.

"Get out!" Roman barked.

Daniel just shrugged and left the room. Roman hurried over to Novella. To no surprise she was crying. She hadn't cried since her first day in the house, and he never thought he would see her cry again. He hated that he had brought her to this point.

"Don't cry," he said.

He placed a hand on her shoulder but she swatted it away. He sighed and placed it there more firmly. He couldn't lose her now after everything they had built up in such short time.

"I fucked up big time. I'm sorry," he said. "Come on, baby girl. Stop crying. I'm apologizing here. Everyone who knows me knows I don't ever fucking apologize to anyone."

She sat up with tears still running down her cheek. Her beautiful, green eyes stared into his. He didn't like the look he was getting.

"You keep saying you love my honesty. Ask me again if I hate you," she said.
"Don't say that," he said.
"Will you kill me if I say it out loud?" She asked.
"You're talking out of anger right now. Let's get you in a nice, warm bath and then we can talk," he said.
"I hate you," she said.

He sighed and shook his head no. She started crying harder.

"Please, kill me," she begged.

Instead of saying anything, he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. She refused to look at him any longer. It hurt not having those eyes on him. He had grown addicted to those eyes.

"Seth!" He yelled.

He heard Seth sprinting up the stairs two steps at the time. He entered the bathroom shortly after.

"I promised her a bath," Roman said. "And I'm in the dog house right now so I would like for you to stay out here with her so she doesn't drown herself or something. Talk to her. Comfort her like she comforted you."

Roman left the bathroom and closed the door after him. He knew he could trust Seth and Novella alone. He had fucked up big time. He just saw red when he walked in and thought he caught them together. It was a feeling he wasn't used to. He felt jealous. He thought she had picked Seth over him.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked.
"What do you think?" Novella asked.
"Did he let Daniel go through with it?" He asked.
"Of course he did. Did you expect anything else?" She asked.

He pulled her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and cried.

"How do you do it, Seth? How do you stay in this house with all this anger and pain? All this torture and death? All those women you rape week after week? How do you live with yourself?" She asked.
"We've been on top for so long. It started out small. We terrorized the town a little. People were stupid enough to lend money and not pay back in time. Little by little we expanded until we ended up having an entire town fear us. We got a finger in almost every crime going on. The cops can't even take us down," he said.
"But how do you look in the mirror everyday?" She asked.
"It wasn't a problem until I met Becky," he said. "Now I find it harder to get out of bed every morning. Most days I just wanna burn this entire house down with everyone inside it."

He sighed and walked over to the bathtub.

"Let's run you a bath to get this bad experience washed off you," he said.
"Can you wash me inside as well?" She asked.
"Please, work with me here. I'm trying my best in a shitty situation," he said.

Almost an hour passed before Seth came walking downstairs. Roman was in the kitchen with Jey. The two men had emptied a couple of beers each.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Seth asked.
"I felt jealous," Roman answered.
"Jealous?" Seth asked.
"I know," Roman sighed. "When the fuck did I start feeling jealous? Not until I met her. I think she might be my Becky minus the whole cousin trying to run away with her thing."

Roman looked over at Jey who laughed in return.

"She's not my type," Jey said. "Besides, I don't want you to go Patrick Bateman with an axe on me like you did with Jimmy."

Roman smirked at Jey and then looked over at Seth again.

"I put her in your bed," Seth said.
"Thank you. I better go check on her," Roman said.
"No, you're gonna let her sleep," Seth said. "Her favorite food is grilled chicken and fresh corn."
"So?" Roman asked.
"So you're gonna cook dinner tonight. Send someone out to get fresh corn and chicken," Seth said. "If you wanna get back into her good book, you gotta work for it. You can cook so do that tonight, big dog. Earn her forgiveness."