Chapter 10
600 Words
This chapter will shift between first person (Selene) and third person (Liana) POV.
Selene’s POV
I was already exhausted when Liana's command came.
“Go get me tea,” she said without even looking at me, her tone sharp and condescending.
My hands were sore from scrubbing the marble floors all morning, but I bit back a retort. This wasn’t the time to argue. Not when I had a chain around my ankle and eyes constantly watching me. I bowed slightly and hurried to the kitchen.
The servants barely looked at me anymore. I wasn’t one of them, not really. I was something worse—marked. Humiliated.
Balancing the silver tray carefully, I walked into Liana’s chamber. She lounged on a chaise like a queen, her painted nails tapping rhythmically against her armrest.
“Your tea,” I said softly, holding the tray out with both hands.
Suddenly, Liana flicked her wrist, hitting the underside of the tray. Scalding tea splashed across her arm and down her silk robe.
She stood up, screeching. “You lowborn i***t! You spilled hot tea on me!”
My heart jumped. “I—I didn’t mean to—”
“Oh, you didn’t mean to?” Her voice was high with false innocence. “You think you can attack me in my own quarters?I know u are jealous of me .
She turned to the guards stationed by the door. "Guard,Whip her twenty lashes and make sure that her pathetic face should be spoilt."
“No! Please, I didn’t—”
The guards grabbed my arms and forced me to kneel. The first strike landed across my back, hot and sharp. I gasped, tears stinging my eyes. The second lash came harder.
“Enough.”
Kairo’s voice cut through the room like a blade.
Third Person (Liana’s POV)
Kairo stood in the doorway, his presence overpowering. Liana looked up, her lips twitching into a fake pout.
“My love,” she said sweetly, walking toward him. “She spilled hot tea on me. I had to discipline her.”
Kairo’s eyes briefly flicked to Selene, who knelt trembling on the floor, her back already red and welted. His jaw tightened, but his expression stayed neutral.
“She’s my personal maid,” he said coolly. “If she falls ill or weak from your punishments, she won’t be able to serve me.”
“But she disrespected me,” Liana argued.
“There are other maids for you. Don’t use her again. She’s mine to command.”
His words made Liana’s stomach twist. Her smile faltered. She knew what he was doing. Protecting her. Protecting Selene.
As Kairo turned and left, Liana's hands clenched into fists.
***Liana’s Thoughts****
He stopped them from flogging her because he still loves her. No matter how much he denies it, it shows. The way he looked at her—like she mattered.
I will not let this girl destroy everything I’ve worked for. He will marry me. And she... she won’t live long enough to see it.
She composed herself quickly, putting on her usual smile as she walked to the mirror, but in her heart, the storm had begun.
Selene’s POV
Back in my corner, the lashes still burning against my back, I stared at the stone floor. Kairo hadn’t looked at me. Not really. But he had saved me. Again.
Why? Because I’m his personal maid? Or because... something else?
I didn’t know. And I was too tired to care.
But Liana 's smile haunted me more than the pain.
And I knew I wasn’t safe.
- Writer
