THE DON'S CAPTIVE MISTRESS

Walk Of Pain

HAZEL

I don't know how long I lay there. And I probably should be thankful that nobody came into the dining room, which I was sure Angela should have walked into by now.

After a while, I stood up and started walking out of the dining room. Every time I took a step, I felt my back—my butt, throb in pain, and I knew it was going to take a few days before I could probably sit down again.

When I walked out of the dining room, it took me a moment to notice that Nico was still there. He was looking straight ahead, not at me, something I was grateful for. I continued walking, trying to contain the pain in my steps. I climbed those stairs, biting back the hiss that tried to escape with every movement, until I finally walked into my room and closed the door behind me.

I went straight to the bed and lay down on my front.

I guess I must have fallen asleep, because suddenly there was a knock on the door. I jolted, sitting up in the bed, then immediately wincing, remembering I couldn't actually sit on my ass.

I went to open the door, and there was Angela again with her products. She didn't say a word. She didn't make eye contact. She just walked right into the bathroom, prepared a bath for me, and then said,

“You should take a bath, then apply this.”

That was all she said. And then she left. No goodnight, no nothing. But then again, that was Angela.

I decided to listen to her. I didn’t want to have my ass burning forever. So I took off my clothes, walked into the bath, wincing as I did, and then sank into the water slowly, carefully, every inch of me screaming.

I tried to take my mind off the pain.

But when I took my mind off the pain, I was assaulted by something worse...the humiliation, the feelings, the way my body had betrayed me in front of Axel.

And that was not something I wanted to think about.

That was something I wanted to bury so deep it never saw daylight again.

So I focused on the pain. I let it drown out everything else...the shame, the heat, the memory of his hands, the memory of my own reaction. Because the pain… the pain was easier than the humiliation.L

Funny thing was, I thought that after the shower, when I finally got to bed, I would have a hard time sleeping. But it was the opposite. The moment I lay on the bed preferring my front, because there was absolutely no way I was lying on my back, I fell asleep instantly. The exhaustion pulled me under like a tide.

The only thing that woke me the next morning was Angela. She came in with breakfast on a tray, calm and silent like always. When I tried to sit up, a sharp sting shot through me, and I winced so hard I saw stars. My ass was still sore as hell.

Angela didn’t comment. She didn’t glance at me or say a word about the previous night, even though I knew that she knew. She just went on with her usual tasks, tidying, adjusting the curtains, and placing the tray on my lap. She made sure I had eaten, then collected the bowls and left without a single mention of anything out of the ordinary.

No judgment.

No pity.

No curiosity.

Just Angela.

After I finished eating, I stayed in bed. I didn’t need to sit. I didn’t want to move. Sleep seemed to be the only thing my body could handle.

And that went on for two days.

By the third night, just before dinner, Angela walked into my room again. This time she had something in her hand, a garment. She placed it carefully on the bed beside me.

“Mr Moretti is expecting you downstairs in thirty minutes,” she said quietly. “So be ready.”

“I’m not going,” I told her immediately. “My butt still hurts.”

It wasn’t like the truth needed to be hidden. I was sure Angela knew exactly what happened in the dining room. Everyone probably knew by now. Why pretend otherwise?

She blinked at me a few times before answering.

“Just get ready… please. I don’t want to get in trouble. When he finds out you weren’t ready on time…” She shook her head.

“I’ll be here to help you get dressed.” she finished off. Then she left.

I let out a long breath. As much as I didn’t want to face Axel, I couldn’t get Angela into trouble. Not after what happened to Nico. This wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t her job to protect me from her boss being an asshole.

So I started getting ready. When Angela returned, she narrowed her eyes slightly, realising I was already dressed. She didn’t comment, just nodded once and offered to help with my hair. I let her. She styled it neatly, added a touch of makeup because she knew I didn’t like too much, and stepped back to look at me with quiet approval.

Then I left the room.... Of course, Nico was there, already dressed in a sharp suit. For a second I wondered if he ever left his station at the door, or if he just stood guard outside my bedroom twenty-four seven like some statue.

I started walking downstairs, Nico keeping a respectful distance behind me. And when I reached the bottom of the staircase, Axel was just stepping out of his office.

He turned toward me. And he watched me.

There was something about the way Axel watched me.

Maybe it was just me. Maybe I was hallucinating. But I could’ve sworn.....sworn that he looked at me like he wanted me. Like he was touching me with his eyes. Like the way he’d looked at me a few days ago, when he helped me fix my clothes, his fingers brushing my skin as if it meant something.

And Axel has never watched me like that before. Not openly. Not deliberately. It was almost like he wanted me to notice.

But then my stupid brain remembered the dining room, remembered him looking directly at me and saying he only put his hands on someone worthy. I wasn’t worthy. His words. His tone. His dismissal.

If I wasn’t worthy, then why was he doing this?

Why was he letting himself… look at me like that?

Was he playing a game?

Trying to humiliate me?

Setting some trap I hadn’t recognised yet?

Before my head could explode with questions, Axel shifted his gaze from me. And then coldly, abruptly he said,

“Let's go.”

No explanation. No softness. He didn’t even offer me a hand. He just turned and walked out. I took a long breath, trying to steady myself, and followed him out.

By the time I reached the car, he was already in the car, already on his phone, typing like his life depended on it. His face was unreadable, eyebrows low, jaw hard.

I climbed in and sat next to him in the back. Nico sat at the front with the driver, and the moment the door closed, the car pulled away. I didn’t even register the direction.

My thoughts were all over the place. I didn’t fully realise something was wrong until Axel suddenly stopped typing.