Chapter 56

Seris’s POV

Tears streamed down my face as he glared at me, barking out each cruel command. I wanted to disappear beneath the table, to escape the disgusted looks the other men were throwing my way. Finally, he roared, “Get on all fours and eat the food off the floor like a dog!”

I choked on shame but forced out, “No. I can’t. I’d rather starve.”

His response was a brutal slap across my cheek. My head struck the table’s edge, sending stars across my vision. He struck again and again, each blow hammering my flesh. “Do it, or I’ll kill you, ungrateful bitch!” he snarled.

Defeated, I crawled forward on all fours. My heart hammered in my chest as I forced my face down to the dusty shards of food scattered across the floor. The room exploded with mocking laughter. Every time he dropped a morsel, I picked it up in trembling hands and forced it between my lips, swallowing dirt and grit without protest. He watched to make sure I didn’t waste a crumb.

Whe