A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat. Groomed. Like a f*****g dog. What ceremony? Me being sold off?
The idea of being bathed, waxed, and styled like a doll was too absurd, too humiliating. But I was too weak, too drained to fight it. The pain, the heat, the mark on my back—it was all too much. I just wanted this nightmare to end.
The door creaked open wider, and several maids entered, their eyes downcast as they approached me. I couldn’t even muster the strength to protest as they gently guided me back to the bed. They moved like ghosts, their hands quick and practiced as they stripped me of whatever dignity I had left.
The bath came first. Warm water against my fevered skin, but it did little to soothe the fire that raged inside me. My body felt alien, heavy, like I didn’t belon
