CHAPTER 4
1206 Words
My heart pounded in my chest so hard I wondered if Erin could hear. As Serene placed the plate of caviar in front of me, the sight of the glistening black eggs made it impossible to breathe.
Or swallow.
My eyes were fixed on the plate as it there was some venomous snake curled there just waiting to strike.
Erin leaned closer again, “Your father told me you loved caviar. What better way to welcome you into your new home than with your favourite thing?”
Of course, my father would have told him that. The fact that Jayne loved caviar was well-known.
I could not refuse this without arousing suspicion. Though the other guests were focused on their plates, I could still feel their attention on me.
This is it, I thought. This is definitely where everything falls apart.
I could still remember vividly the last time I had accidentally eaten caviar on a little yacht trip with Theodore. I remembered the way my throat closed up and I struggled for breath. My skin had turned a disturbing shade of red and I had to be rushed to the hospital.
The memory made my fear worse.
“Go on, Jayne,” Erin's voice sounded gentle, but there was an underlying time of command that I definitely did not want to disobey, “Don't be shy. It's for you,”
But my hands remained still in my thighs, my muscles stiff with fear. Erin's gaze remained for me and as I swallowed, I felt a bead of sweat run down my back.
“Still shy?” Without giving me a chance to answer, he picked up a cracker and stopped a generous amount of the black caviar.
Then he brought it to my mouth,
“Here,” He said, “let me feed you,”
His hand hung a few inches away from my lips, waiting for me to open up.
The entire table was silent now and all eyes were on us. My breath caught.
Praying silently that somehow an allergy I had lived with for years would disappear, I parted my lips and accepted the food.
The taste exploded on my tongue. I intended to just hold it there in my mouth and discreetly get rid of it at the end of dinner but Erin's gaze remained on me, waiting.
So I started to chew because I had no choice.
Almost instantly, I felt it. It started with the familiar pricking sensation on my tongue, followed by tightness in my throat like I had a lump of food stuck in my oesophagus.
A burning sensation spread across my face. I ran a finger down my neck. The skin there felt hot and swollen.
I panicked. But I willed myself to stay calm.
Panicking would get me nowhere anyway. I turned to Erin, forcing an apologetic smile, “Excuse me. I need to use the bathroom,” I said, my voice a raspy whisper.
I pushed my chair back before he could answer and I didn't look back as I walked as quickly as I could.
As soon as I was out of the dining room and into the grand hall, I ran all the way to the master's bedroom and shut the door behind me.
I stumbled into the bathroom, dropping to my knees in front of the toilet bowl.
Then, I retched, trying to get the undigested caviar all out of my mouth. Once I had spat it all out, I flushed the toilet, gasping for air.
My throat felt like it was closing up. I was desperate for relief.
I needed to find my medicine. The little plastic bottle was always in my bag. I stood up quickly and rushed for the bag I left on the bed earlier – thankfully, Serene had not put it away yet.
I dumped the contents onto the bed – lipstick, wallet, keys. I shifted the pile with shaky hands but the small orange bottle was nowhere to be found.
Then, it dawned on me that the one thing that could save me was gone.
I felt dizzy. I collapsed to the cold floor, grateful for the relief it brought to my burning skin.
I heard the door open and a tall imposing figure entered the room.
Erin.
He stood over me, his face unreadable.
In his hands was a small orange pill bottle. My pill bottle.
Then he said in a chilly tone, “Looking for something, Demitra?”
My heart skipped a beat. He had said my name. Not Jayne’s. My name.
He tossed the bottle at me and watched with a look of disgust in his face as I scrambled to pop the pills in my mouth, relaxing only after I had swallowed them.
“Are you surprised I saw through your act?” He asked. A cold smirk appeared on his face as he crouched down beside me.
I had not expected that he could tell I was not Jayne. I looked like her. I talked like her. I acted like her.
How did he know? Was my acting that bad?
"Only a truly stupid man would not know you weren't Jayne. That pathetic copy of her voice didn't help, either.”
I was dumb. I could only stare at him. He chuckled,
“Did you and your fraud of a father really think you could deceive me? That you could pull such a pitiful trick and get away with it?”
He lifted my hair slowly, letting it drop again like it was trash. Then, with a finger, he lifted my chin so my gaze met his.
“Perhaps it's time I teach Henri a lesson. I could break a limb in two. Use him to set an example. One that won't be forgotten in a hurry,”
His words made me scared. What would father say if he found out that Erin saw through my facade. I could already hear the words as if he was saying them.
Worthless. Stupid. A shame.
I fell to the floor and wrapped my arm around his leg, using the very last of my strength to plead.
"Please! Please, don't! It was all my idea. I... I was the one who pushed my father to do it. It wasn't him. I told him I would stand in place of Jayne…”
He peeled my hands away gently, “Don't play with my intelligence, Demitra,”
Tears were streaming down my face now, “Please! Please, I'm begging you. Don't punish him. I'll do anything. Anything you ask,”
“Seeing you beg like this …it's exciting. I'm looking forward to consummating the union,”
I stared at him, mortified not knowing what reaction to give.
He just looked at me too, “I won't punish him. He's safe.”
His eyes searched my face, “Anyway, I do have a secret of my own. And since we're married now, you need to know,”
My mind raced as I thought of the possible things he could say right now.
“You'll have to brace yourself for a future without children, Demitra,” He said.
My eyes furrowed in confusion.
“I'm impotent,”
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