Fair Trade

A lot of swear words came into her mind.
Giulio could clearly see her continuously struggling in the water, yet he kept right on enjoying his cocktail like Sei was not flailing around right before his eyes.

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If I keep expending my energy like this, won’t I likely die from drowning?

Sei vowed to master swimming within this year if she somehow ended up alive after this ordeal.

When her legs relaxed, she was sucked into the water.
But it happened only for a brief time.
Her floundering body was pulled up to the surface and fresh oxygen filled her lungs.

“Haha… You said you’d hold me!”

Cold water dripped down on her drenched face.
Hugging her hips, Guilio looked up at her with a strangely heated look.

Sei immediately perceived the danger.
Guilio Parenti was the personification of twisted love.
He was both a sadist and a psychopath – far from being affectionate.

As she struggled to avoid his dark brown eyes, she twisted her body to get out of the water.

“You’re truly… fascinating.”

He grabbed her seaweed-like drooping hair.
Just when she moved her head towards the sky to avoid him, a shower of wild kisses rained down on her face.

Sei resisted with all her might.
Despite the fact that she knew nothing would work no matter how hard she tried, she kept scratching his shoulder with her fingernails.
He was especially persistent today.
It didn’t matter how many times she bit his lips and tongue.

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The water splashed in all directions.
As soon as she felt Giulio’s hand slipping into her panties, Sei pushed his face away as hard as she could.

“I don’t want to! No!”

After being pushed by her, Giulio’s eyes darkened dangerously.
Giulio puffed his chest as if to calm himself, then clutched her slender neck and crushed it against the glass wall.
Sei grabbed his arm and tried to get him off of her.

“Now… I’m starting to dislike hearing you say no.”

“It was you who told me to say no!”

“You can’t even spread your legs obediently.
Don’t you think you’re taking too many liberties with me?”

“Ha! But who’s the one who made me like this… Don’t you know about Pavlov’s dog? Giulio… I get goosebumps when I hear your voice.
All I can think of is that I have to resist you.
If you want to blame someone, then blame yourself for conditioning me like this.”

Sei hoped it was a clever answer.

As his grip tightened, Sei’s face turned blue and saliva trickled down her lips.
But Giulio’s face was filled with nothing but a strange anger.

Sei thought she might indeed die.
However, she couldn’t spread her legs to him.
The people who became useless to Giulio Parenti were not abandoned but simply eliminated.
Whether it was a woman or a man.
Whether it was his lovers or call girls.
Even if it was his own flesh and blood, there would be no exceptions.

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“If you kill me… Everything from your account… will be robbed.
You won’t be able to catch… that bastard, Giulio.”

Tears welled up at the injustice she was facing.
Giulio’s eyes glided over her bloodshot ones and soon the grip on her neck relaxed.

As soon as her body started to relax, Sei was sucked into the water.
Giulio grabbed her face lightly just before it could submerge underwater.
Then he put her face on his shoulder and wrapped his arms over the back of her head and neck, gently holding her in his arms.

“Cough cough! Ha…”

Her head was dizzy due to the brief interruption of oxygen.
She could even hear her pounding heartbeats.
Sei, who was breathing hard, put her arms around his strong neck.
Then she trembled as the man’s lips pressed against her shoulder.

“I’m letting you off the hook for now… But that’s it, Sei.
This will be the last time.”

*   *   *

When Sei woke up, it was already afternoon.
The cool breeze blew in and caressed her skin.

Sei let out a dry cough, fiddling with the bandage wrapped around her neck.

This lunatic really wants to kill people!

It felt like there was a fire burning in her throat.
Her whole body ached as if she was experiencing muscle pain.

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As she looked in front of the mirror, swearing inside, she noticed that the necklace that used to be hanging from her neck had disappeared.

Sei dashed to the bed she’d been sleeping on, rolled up the pillow and sheets, and looked everywhere for the necklace.
It was, however, nowhere to be found.

The bracelet on her foot remained, but that was all.
If the necklace fell into Giulio’s hands, it wouldn’t just end with her throat being strangled.

Sitting on the bed with a dazed look on her face, she slowly turned her head to the direction from where she felt a gaze on her.

Giulio was standing in front of the door, his arm crossed, staring at her as if she were a strange object.
A ruby necklace hung from his finger.
In shock, Sei’s lips parted.

“Are you looking for this?”

Her stomach sank.
As he approached her with the necklace, a fear that she had never felt before slowly eroded her mind.

Giulio came to a halt and furrowed his brow seeing that Sei was on the verge of fleeing out the window.

“It’s a birthday present… I got it… from a friend.
So please give it back.”

Then he placed the necklace on the tip of his finger and stretched out his hand and said, “Then come and take it.
Don’t tell me, are you scared?”

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“… I’ve never been not scared of you.”

“Have I ever frightened you?”

“Always.”

Her throat stung and she grimaced involuntarily as she swallowed her spit.

Giulio approached her with a quiet sigh and carefully placed the necklace in Sei’s hand.
He then shut the window and ushered her to the bed.

“I’ll give you diamond ones, so throw these away.
Or either sell them.”

He didn’t seem to notice anything unusual about the necklace.
Nonetheless, she remained vigilant and sat down, her eyes almost popping out as she stared at Giulio.

Instead of going back, he pulled out a chair and sat down by the bed.
His unsuitable, worried eyes slowly started to suffocate her and fear instantly crept throughout her body.

“This came out of your bag.
Explain what it is.”

Yuri Petrov’s watch appeared in Giulio’s palm.