When I woke again, the sun had long since set, my neck ache from sleeping from a pillow too high, my throat and even jaws hurt from dehydration, my back sunk into the mattress full of sweat.

My curtains glowed with the faintest orange, the glow of a day that was already dead and gone. My head felt heavy, my body heavier, like I had slept for weeks, maybe I had.

I wasn't awoken by myself, someone had been shaking me, I heard my name being called multiple times, and the first thing I saw when I blinked away the blur was Eirlys.

She was sitting on the edge of my bed, calm and composed as she ever was, but with a shadow of worry etched into her face.

"Cory?" she said softly, though the firmness in her tone made me jolt upright more than the actual words.

Before I could even ask why she was here, the door opened again.

And… That woman walked in, wearing a maid dress.

Anshur von Rodolfo met eyes with me as she tread, carrying a tray, and she set it down on my nightstand.

A silver dome lifted to reveal fillet mignon dressed in a dark wine sauce, berries on the side, the steam curling upward freshly heated just for the sinful rat that I was… This was perhaps dinner in bed, or just dinner in my room, like I hadn't just vanished from the mansion the entire night.

"Wh- wha…"

I froze at the sigh of Anshur, my throat locked. Bloodshot in my eyes and fear blitz through me.

"What happened yesterday?" Eirlys asked, voice firmer this time. "Where did you go? No one could just… Go missing in our mansion… Are you okay, Cory?"

My gaze, without thinking, snapped toward Anshur, she was standing just beside me, setting the tray down with pristine care. My stomach churned because I knew the truth, but the truth had no place here, not with her in the room… Hell, even if I told it directly to the heiress, Eirlys, she might not even do anything in time and I'd already have a knife in my throat.

Inside, my mind turned into a screaming mess as everything tangled together. Fear, hatred, shame, and something filthier, lower, crawling up my ribs like rot…That wretched heat, the memory of being bound, of skin stung and wax burned, of her shadow towering over me… It was exhilarating, like a play rather than an actual kidnapping, that was when I knew I would never see the kingdom of heavens.

I hated myself for it. I hated that part of me could remember with a twitch of hunger, the same way a pervert might remember a victim of theirs.

Say something, I must, because if I don't now, I sure will regret it for the rest of my life.

But the fear pulsed stronger. Every time I looked at her, all I could see was that smile… That damn subtle smile cruelty, the one she made when Eirlys couldn't see her, that smile told me she'd already won. She knew for a fact I was too much of a pussy to know right from wrong.

And then she touched me.

Her hand slipped over mine, gentle as a sister's nurturing the younger.

"The madams and I were really worried about you, Ms. Smith," she said, the concern in her voice dripping with honey, almost teary, "You can tell us the truth. We're always here for you, do you need help?"

I wanted to rip my hand back, but I didn't, because I couldn't. My heart hammered too loud for me to move.

"Anshur…" My voice came out shredded, barely a whisper.

"What was that?" Eirlys leaned closer, her brows furrowing.

I swallowed hard, forced myself to say it louder.

The only difference is, I changed the entire sentence.

"I'm sorry. After lunch, I wanted to grab some fresh air, but I walked too far and… ended up sleeping at a friend's place. I couldn't sleep all night because they were snoring too loud."

Eirlys's eyes narrowed. Doubt lingered as there should be, she didn't buy my story at all.

"A friend's house?" she repeated.

"Yes," I said quickly. Too quickly. "Just a friend, that's all."

Silence stretched as my lie trembled in the air, an obvious lie so fragile I thought it might come snapping back at any second. But I kept repeating it in my head, and perfecting it as we went: A friend house, indeed, they were snooring too loud and I couldn't sleep… That's a safe, stupid lie I could confidently conjure up.

Eirlys stayed there for a minute, trying to break me under the weight of her silence and heavy gaze, searching for cracks in my expression. My chest burned under it and I didn't even dare look at Anshur because I might show something that she didn't like… But eventually, Eirlys let out a quiet sigh and leaned back.

"Fine," she said, though I could hear the disbelief beneath it. "For now."

She stood, brushing invisible dust from her leather pants.

"Rest well… For now, we'll have Anshur take care of you, she insists, seeing how she's the only one who wanted to help you."

When she left, the room fell silent again as I was left alone with Anshur… Too much of a pushover to protest what Eirlys said.

Anshur von Rodolfo leaned down slowly, her shadow falling over me, and pressed a kiss against my forehead. Her lips were cool, the gesture mockingly sweet, both hands of hers were rested on my cheek, the warmth was surprisingly soothing my broken heart, as if these weren't the same hands.

"Did you hear that? The madam said I'll be serving you in the near future," she cooed, her voice lilting in a playful tone that made my skin crawl. "So let's get along."

I sat there, frozen, her words dripping into my ears like poisonous honey. And the tray of food beside me steamed quietly, untouched.

"Do you want me to cut it up for you?" Anshur asked , hand on the knife.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.