Chapter 94: Chapter-94. (Plan Was Failing).
The plan started to prepare my mind, giving me courage to execute with every passing second.
Also, after getting out, I need to investigate Emma’s story.
That big house, her name being a number, that lady Rosa, everything, because I knew one thing for sure, that it was not random.
Josh was not stupid enough to get a girl from any orphanage or from any other facilities like that. My gut told me that it was way deeper than I thought.
To get to the truth, every step I take has to be measured and careful. Those scraps were clues, and in this tiny prison, clues were everything.
***
Days came and went by, one by another. I kept counting it until it could not fit into my fingers.
It had been more than two weeks, as per my calculations, since that night when Josh allowed Emma to stay with me for one night. He had made me promise that I would do anything he asked in return, but since then, there was nothing but silence.
I prepared myself that he could demand something in return at any moment, but he still had not told me what he wanted.
Of course, that freaking silence did not comfort me at all.
On the contrary, the silence made me restless and nervous. Josh was not the kind of man who simply forgot such a golden ticket to bend me to his will.
If he was being quiet, it only meant one thing... that he was planning something.
Something big yet hidden that I could not see it yet which was more terrifying than his words or his anger.
I told myself this time I could not just sit and wait for him to strike. If I did, I would definitely be crushed. So, in order to be two steps ahead of him, I needed to move first, no matter how risky it could be.
So I changed the way I acted a bit by bit.
At first, I kept it small. When Josh told me to sit, I sat without arguing.
When he told me to eat, I did not complain. When he snapped at me to keep quiet, I stayed quiet. I forced myself to lower my gaze, to act like I had given up.
And then I started to add more to it in small amounts.
When he walked past me, I let my eyes follow him for a second longer than normal. Not too long, not enough to make him angry, but just enough to make him notice.
Sometimes, when he looked back suddenly, I did not look away fast enough and let my gaze linger on him a few more seconds.
The first time it happened, I caught a flicker of confusion in his eyes. Another time, I saw his smirk twitch like he was hiding something.
Once, he even froze mid-step, as if my stare had broken through the mask he always wore.
He quickly pulled it back, of course, but I had already seen it.
The shock.
The surprise.
All of it that he wanted to hide it from me.
It told me something important...he was not expecting me to bend like this, but what I could not figure out was whether this was good or bad.
Was my act convincing him that I was slowly giving up?
Or was he enjoying it too much, waiting for the right moment to remind me who held the chain?
Every day, this thought gnawed at me. Every time he came in front of me, it became torture as I could not figure out what was going on in the thick mind of his.
And this morning was no different.
I sat at the old table with Emma beside me. She quietly picked at the piece of bread Josh had given her, nibbling in tiny bites like a little mouse.
I forced myself to spoon the cold porridge into my mouth. It tasted of nothing, but I chewed anyway, trying to keep my face calm.
Josh sat across from us. His spoon scraped the bowl slowly. His eyes wandered over me, then Emma, then back to his food, but even when he pretended to look away, I could feel him watching.
All I could think about were the last two weeks.
What if my plan was failing?
What if all my efforts, including obeying, lowering my gaze, and acting submissive, were only feeding his ego?
What if I were not controlling anything, but simply making him stronger?
My stomach twisted at such thoughts.
Emma’s small fingers brushed against mine under the table. She did not say anything, but her touch felt like a whisper of hope, like a reminder that I could not stop now. I squeezed her hand lightly.
For her, I had to keep going.
I had to try one last time.
For Emma.
Josh slowly set his spoon down on the table. The sound of metal against wood rang out sharp and final in the small room. My chest tightened as the alarm rang in my mind.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned back in his chair. For a moment, he looked at me like he was deciding something. His lips parted, as though he was about to speak.
My heart jumped.
This was it. The moment I had been waiting for, maybe even dreading. He was finally going to say what he wanted from me, but before he could open his mouth, I cut in.
My voice was calm...too calm. I forced it to stay steady, even though my insides were shaking.
"Josh," I said, looking straight at him. "I want to talk with you. Privately."
The words hung in the air.
Emma’s head turned quickly toward me, her eyes wide in shock. I had never dared to speak to him like that before.
Josh raised an eyebrow. He leaned back further in his chair, studying me with those sharp eyes. For a long moment, he said nothing. The silence pressed down on me, heavier than the chains around my ankle.
I wondered if I had gone too far.
But I held his gaze. My heart was racing, but I would not look away.
Finally, a crooked smile spread across his face. Slow, deliberate.
"You want to talk to me?" he asked softly, almost amused. "Privately?"
His tone made my skin crawl, but I nodded once.
"Yes."
He tapped his fingers on the table, like he was savoring the moment. Then he stood, pushing the chair back with a long scrape against the floor.
"Alright then," he said, his voice low. "Let’s talk."
He glanced at Emma, then back at me.
"Alone."