You Are Mine

Chapter 6

AURORA’S POV

"Aurora, get up now!"

Splash.

Cold water. All over me. At 4 AM.

I shot up, wiping my face, panting. "Did the bucket have a personal vendetta or what?"

"It's already four in the morning and you still have the audacity to be sleeping," Ann said, arms crossed. "Now get up from there and get to work immediately."

I looked up. Ann and her backup dancers. I mean, maids.

"Why would you pour water on me?" I asked.

Ann looked at the other maids and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha"

"A common property like you has the nerve to throw questions?" one of them said.

I turned to her, dripping. "Don’t ever call me a property. I’m not a chair."

Ann stopped laughing. Malicious face activated.

"So if you’re not a property, what are you? The CEO? Dream on."

I wasn’t ready for their banters. I turned to go to the bathroom but Ann yanked me back.

"And where do you think you’re going to?"

I stumbled back, holding my shoulder. "I’m going to freshen up, so get out of my way."

I tried to pass her but she blocked my path.

"I wonder why the boss still keeps you here. He should have taken you to the north layers."

I sighed. "And what the hell is the north layers? The basement for mean girls? No matter what it is, I don’t care. Move."

Slap.

Ann slapped me hard across my face.

The other maids laughed.

"You get that for not taking my orders immediately," Ann said. "Now miss property, go out there and wash every single clothes you find outside."

Oh God, what have I done to deserve all this.

"I’ll do no such thing."

Ann looked behind her.

Two maids walked to my back and grabbed my arms.

"What..what are you doing?" Fear crawled in my belly.

"You think you have the nerve to turn down my orders?"

"Let go of me!" I struggled.

Ann landed a punch on my stomach.

"Huh!"

I gasped.

She landed another and the girls let go. I fell to the ground in pain.

"Now let this be a lesson to you."

"What is going on here?" I heard Mrs. Emma’s voice as she entered my room.

"Oh my, why are you on the floor?"

Tears traced their way down my face.

Mrs. Emma rushed to help me up.

"She has been ordered by the boss to wash all his clothes outside," Ann said, while looking at her nails like she was in a spa.

"But it's still too early, why can't he wait?" Mrs. Emma asked.

Ann tied the rope of her robe.

"She has been given only two minutes to take the clothes downstairs. If not..."

Ann looked at me. "I'm sure you don't want to make Damien angry."

She walked out with the other maids, then turned back.

"Oh and one more thing," she gazed at Mrs. Emma. "No one is allowed to help her."

Oh god.

I quickly went out of my room and saw rows of baskets filled with clothes. Mountains.

"This can't be. How can I be the only person to wash all of this? Did I sign up for a laundry reality show?"

The guards standing around in the corner like statues pretended not to have heard me.

Mrs Emma walked out of the little corner room and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry dear, I can't help you."

With that she left to her room, looking worried.

I wiped off the tears running down my face, accepted my fate, and lifted one of the baskets. "Fine. Cinderella era begins."

***

8:00 AM

I'm exhausted and my palms hurt so much, yet I'm not done. One basket left.

I yawned.

"I'm really hungry. I better find something to eat before I faint and they blame me for dying on their floor."

I left the clothes and went in to eat something.

Passing through the dining area towards the kitchen, I saw Damien at the long end of the table. Served with many varieties of food. My mouth watered and my stomach grumbled so loud it was embarrassing.

"Good morning, Sir."

I was about to pass by but he called me back.

"Get back here."

I stopped in my tracks.

His presence always made it difficult to breathe. Cold. Dominating. Like walking WiFi that blocks everything.

I walked back.

"So, you've learnt to disobey me, huh?"

Fear hooked me.

He stood up and turned to me, towering over me. I stepped back.

"I heard you decided to pick a fight with the staff."

Huh? A fight?

Ann must have told him a lie.

"No, Sir, I didn't disobey..."

He grabbed my chin, pinching me hard.

"Don't ever speak while I'm speaking."

It hurt so much.

"Ouch."

He let go of my cheek and took a drink from the table.

I looked behind him towards the kitchen and saw Ann standing at the door with the other servants. She smiled mischievously. Like she just won an Oscar for Best Villain.

I sobbed in my heart.

"For disobeying my order this morning before doing anything," he said.

He poured the drink on me.

"Ahh, Damien what are you doing?"

He grinned. "Oh, not enough."

He brought the bottle of wine and poured it all over me. Red wine. In my hair. On my already wet clothes.

"Damien, please stop this. Why are you humiliating me?"

I felt so disgraced.

"You're my property and I do whatever I want with you," he said. "Keal."

He called one of the guards.

"Yes, boss."

I hugged myself as I sobbed.

"Take her to the punishment room and decrease the temperature to -78°C."

What.

Excuse me? That’s not punishment. That’s a freezer. Are we making human popsicles now?

I couldn't stand and watch Damien freeze me alive.

I turned and started running towards the door.

"Get that girl!"

The other guards chased after me. I got to the door but it was locked. Automatically.

I tried to open it but no response.

I watched as Damien walked up to me.

Fear crept into me.

"You have no idea what you've just done," he said, and gave me a slap.

"Ahhh!"

I cried out. My nose bled.

He grabbed my hair.

"Ahhhh!" I screamed. My scalp was on fire, like my hair was about to be pulled out.

"Let..go of me."

Damien brought his mouth to my ear.

"Maybe I should punish you myself."

I gasped.

"No no, please Damien. I've been washing for hours now...Please don't punish me. My hands hurt so much.. please."

I begged him but he dragged me by one of my legs, and my body swept across the floor.

"Please.."

I cried but he seemed not to be listening.

His grip on my leg was iron firm.

He dragged me across the tiles. My body got marks and scratches till we reached a huge steel door.

He unlocked it and immediately it opened. He threw me in and I landed on the ground. My ribs felt like they were shaking.

He came in and locked the door behind him.

He grabbed one of the whips hanging on the wall.

"Please, I haven't done anything wrong. Please, I can explain what happened today, please..."

He walked to me, slowly and deliberately, dragging the whip with him.

"You don't have a say here. You disobeyed me by telling Ann you'd do no such thing, and for you to have used that rude tone, I'll punish you."

I sobbed.

"Please, I've been washing your clothes, please...Ahhh!"

He landed the cold whip on my body, not caring where it hit. Back, Arms, Legs,

I cried and screamed and pleaded.

After a while he stopped and hung the whip back up.

I felt like dying. Blood seeped from my wounds.

He walked out and was about to lock the door.

"P.. please, let me out. I'm hungry."

"You would stay there till I say you can come out."

The door slammed shut.

I sat in the corner and cried.

Aurora, you shouldn't be crying. Crying won't solve anything. But also, -78°C? Really?

A while later I felt the temperature dropping. My breath started fogging.

No no. He can't freeze me.

"Someone please help me!"

My fingers went numb. My lips turned blue. The cuts started stinging 10 times worse in the cold.

Just when I thought I was going to become a human ice block, I heard footsteps.

The door creaked open.

Mrs. Emma stood there with a blanket and a thermos. Her eyes were red.

"They said not to help," she whispered. "But I’m not watching you turn into a popsicle."

She threw the blanket over me and helped me up. My body was shaking so bad.

"Can you walk?"

I nodded, even though my legs felt like jelly.

She led me out. The warmth of the hallway hit me and it hurt, Like fire.

"Thank you," I whispered, teeth chattering.

"Don’t thank me," she said. "Just stay alive, child."

She took me to her room and cleaned my wounds. She didn’t say much. Just hummed.

When she was done, she squeezed my hand.

"Damien is not cruel, he's just like this because he's hiding behind a cold wall he has built in his heart over the years."

I listened to her.

But what has that got to do with me.

I lay on the small bed, wrapped in blankets, still shivering.