Chapter 8
1274 Words
It has been two weeks ever since I started working here, and I have not had a single day of peace. Amria and Ann have made my life a living hell. Miss June is not making anything better.
Today is Saturday. The boss is at home with his brothers. The whole mansion feels different when they are all here. Heavier. Louder. More dangerous.
I woke up at five to clean. The dark was still thick outside the small window in the servants’ quarters. I took a cold shower because the hot water was “for family only.” The water bit my skin and chased the sleep from my bones. I put on my uniform stiff, faded, and two sizes too big and stepped out to get to my room to start the day.
Sir Alessandro chose me to be cleaning his east wing every day. That single decision has made Maria and Ann hate me even more. They whisper when I pass. They “forget” to tell me about chores until it’s too late. They watch me like hawks waiting for me to slip.
I grabbed my bucket and mop stick and went up to the east wing. The marble floors were cold under my slippers. My heart was beating too fast. I can’t shake off the feeling rising in me. It’s like the air itself is warning me.
I finished cleaning the corridor. The last door was Sir Alessandro’s room. But the man was still in there. How do I face him?
Taking a shaky breath, I walked to his door and gave a soft knock.
No response.
I knocked again, a little louder.
Still nothing.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to myself. “Is he sick or something?”
Maybe he had gone out early. The house was quiet except for the distant sound of the other brothers talking downstairs.
I turned the knob slowly and pushed the door open. I walked in and closed the door behind me. I dropped my bucket with a soft thud and turned to start cleaning.
And then I saw him.
Sir Alessandro was standing in front of the full-length mirror. Bare chest. Water still clung to his shoulders. A towel sat low on his hips.
“Arrh!”
I gasped and immediately covered my face with both hands. Heat rushed to my cheeks.
He turned to me with that cold, assessing gaze he always has. The kind that makes you feel like he can see through you.
“Who allowed you in?” His voice was low. Dangerous.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see anything,” I said quickly, my words tumbling over each other. My heart was hammering against my ribs.
But something lingered in his eyes. It wasn’t anger. It was sharper. Like a predator who just noticed movement in the grass. He set his hairbrush down on the dresser with deliberate slowness and started walking toward me.
“Don’t come any closer. I didn’t see anything. I will take my leave now,” I said, backing toward the door.
I reached for the handle and tried to turn it. It didn’t move.
He whistled once, low under his breath, and I heard the soft click of the automatic lock.
“Open the door. Now,” I said, jerking the handle harder. Panic started crawling up my throat.
He gave a low, dark chuckle.
“I though you weren't cheap,” he said. “I didn’t know you were this reckless.”
His words cut. Sharper than any slap.
“What do you—”
“Silence.”
The word stopped me cold. I swallowed and took a step back, pressing myself against the wall near the corner. My mind was racing. I don’t trust him. I don’t trust any man in this house when we’re alone.
“Come here,” he commanded, motioning with two fingers.
I didn’t move. My feet felt nailed to the floor.
“Sir, please, let me go. I promise I won’t come to your room again. Please.”
My plea seemed to slide right off him. He closed the distance between us in three strides and caught my wrist. He pulled me into his hold, and I could feel the heat coming off his skin.
“Isn’t this what you want, huh? Isn’t this why you came into my room?”
His hardness below terrified me. I could smell his soap, and the faint scent of his cologne. My body went rigid.
“No, sir. Let me go,” I struggled, twisting in his grip, trying to get free without making it worse.
After a few seconds that felt like hours, he let go. I stumbled back, rubbing my wrist.
“Next time you come into my room without my permission, I won’t be so lenient,” he scolded, his voice flat.
“Yes, sir,” I whispered.
With that, I scurried out of his room the moment the door unlocked. My uniform was a bit ruffled. My hands were shaking. I just hoped no one noticed me.
But I guess luck ran from my side.
The moment I stepped down from the last step leading from the east wing, Miss June caught hold of my left ear.
“Arrh!”
I cried out, tears springing to my eyes instantly.
“You miserable church rat,” she hissed.
SLAP.
A hot slap landed on my cheek. The sting radiated down to my jaw.
“Arrh.”
I couldn’t hold back my tears. They flowed freely down my face.
She has never been happy any time the first young master, Alessandro, sends for me. Because of that, I have received countless slaps and whippings from her. The slaps have started affecting my gums. Sometimes the side of my face swells, and I try to hide from the first young master. She has warned me: if he ever finds out, I am as good as dead.
“What did I tell you last night?” she demanded, gripping my arm hard.
She told me not to answer Sir Alessandro’s call. Told me to let Maria do it. But I will also get whipped if I ignore the first young master and let someone else go in my place. I don’t have any other choice. I’m trapped between them.
“I’m sorry, Miss June,” I pleaded, my voice breaking.
But she wasn’t having any of it.
Maria and Ann stepped out from the corners of the hallway like they had been waiting. Like this was planned.
“Take her to the punishment room at the back of the mansion,” Miss June ordered. “Tie her up and wait for me.”
My eyes grew wide in shock.
No. Not the punishment room. The one with the cold floor and the chains on the wall. The one where you can hear people scream and no one comes.
“No. I’m sorry. I promise I won’t go to the east wing nor serve Sir Alessandro again. Please. I’m sorry.”
A guard stepped forward and helped Ann and Maria grab my arms. I kicked and twisted, but they were stronger. They dragged me down the back corridor, past the kitchen, past the laundry, to the heavy wooden door at the very back of the mansion.
My chest was tight. I couldn’t breathe right. The fear was sour in my mouth.
As they pushed me inside, all I could think of was Julie. Would she find me? Would anyone?
The door slammed shut behind me, and the lock turned.
Darkness.
And the sound of my own breathing.
- Writer
