Chapter 32
FLASHBACK
A few years earlier
MAIN VILLA
1 walk into my father’s office with Maria. He’s sitting in his big chair, signing documents at his desk that towers over me
He doesn’t even bother to lift his head to look at me. He just gives a wave of his hand to let me know I can speak.
“Do you think Maria could take me to visit her family, who lives in the countryside?”
“What the hell would you want to do there?”
“Her brothers have a big farm with chickens and cows! I could see the animals and help take care of them!”
He lifts his head and looks at us both before bursting out laughing.
Maria squeezes my hand tightly to show she supports me. Innocently, I continue
“Did I say something funny?
“You already look like a street rat, if you set foot in a place like that, you might turn into a real animal.”
I’m used to his cruel remarks. He leaves his chair and stands in front of Maria, whose body I can feel trembling. She’s terrified by the physical proximity he’s imposing
“You are an employee, Maria. Not a friend or second mother to my daughter. I forbid you from encouraging her to do such things or to integrate her into your family. Even if it’s hard to believe, that little thing is my blood. And even if having a daughter like her is a disappointment, she must follow the rules and act according to the blood that runs through her veins.”
Maris lowers h her head and nods.
“I’m sorry. 4 thought it would make her happy to discover new things.
to stop myself from pouring all my hatred onto this man.
I bite my lip to ste
“You’re not paid to think, but to clean and take care of the brat! Now go clean all the villa’s toilets. I assume my men must have dirtied them well”
He flashes a mocking smile. Maria nods, lets go of my hand, and heads for the door. I whisper
All the filth in those tollets will always be cleaner than you.”
I know he heard me because he looks at me with a severe glare.
“What did you just say, Inara?”
I’m terrified, but I can’t let him treat Maria like a dog.
“I said all the filth in those toilets will always be cleaner than y
1 you
He looks shocked by my boldness and grabs a metal ruler from his desk.
“You’re feeling chatty, aren’t you?
As soon as he starts walking toward me. Maria steps in to protect me while i stare him down.
1/5
Chapter 32
“You want to hit me? Do
It’s the first time I’ve dared to defy him.
“Get out of my way right now before I slap you instead of that spoiled brat
“She’s just a child, she only twelve She doesn’t know what she’s saying! Please, don’t hit her
“She needs to learn to shut her mouth and respect the man who feeds her
“You spend your time beating this poor gel!”
“Now you’re going to teach me how to raise my daughter?”
He says it with a challenging tone, testing if Maria will speak up. She’s about to reply, but I step in, standing in front of him despite my small size.
“Hit me, but leave Maria alone!”
“Hold out your hand,”
Tobey. He hits each of my hands forty times with Hruler until they’re completely red and about to bleed.
Maria screams, but she knows she can’t intervene. He hits me violently, but won’t kill me, though he wouldn’t hesitate if it were her
“Get out of my office, both of you, right now! Your training won’t last three hours tonight, but five. Make sure you’re up to it.”
END OF FLASHBACK
My father destroyed both my hands. I couldn’t feel my fingers or my palms anymore
I didn’t act to defend my honor, but to defend Maria’s, which is worth a hundred times more than mine.
“As long as I work for my father, I’ll be miserable. I have nowhere else to go”
says knew the “Talways
intense training he made you go through was to turn you into his successor in the gang”
“I’m not his successor. I’m just a member of the gang”
I’ve always wondered why Maria never reported my father to the police. She knows so much about him–more than anyone else. She’s the only one who’s served him long enough to know a good part of his secrets.
He must terrify her. She knows very well that he’s a monster without a soul. She saw him abuse and hit me before I even knew how to read or write.
“I really wish I could’ve stayed with you these past two years,” Maria tells me
“I needed to get away from the gang. I couldn’t stand being around all those men anymore.”
“All they want is to sleep with you.”
“know, Maria. They’ll never get anything from me, and even if I have to kill one of them to set an example, I won’t hesitate,”
She taps my head lightly, smiles, then looks at my face, specifically my forehead. She immediately frowns.
“Who did that to you? Your father?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The bump on your forehead.”
Chapter 37
thed completely forgotten.
How can Texplain that I hid Newander in my bathroom, that Hakies came into my room to find ant head, and then tried to serually astmult mai
get it. It’s part of the Inb”
What happened to your hand?”
“had a little accident with a broken glass. Just a superficial cut”
She notices my half torn robe on the nightstand and gives me a worried look.
“Who dared to tear your robe?”
“No one I pulled too hard on it
Maria picks up the robe and examines it while I watch her warly
“know you’re hiding something from me.”
“I’m not. Stop worrying about me.
always worry about you.”
I know what I’m doing You’ll get sick if you keep stressing like this.”
won’t even be able to fix this. It’s fit for the trash”
*t’s fine.” manage.
neone stronger than you.”
“Be careful, inara. One day you’ll meet someone
I already have, Maria stronger than me, and not just physically
He’s in another gang or rather, he runs it”
She looks at me, surprised.
“Are you in love with this man?”
Inearly choked.
“Of course not! I barely know h
Thim: He’s unbearable, narcissistic, full of himself, and too impulsive for me to be remotely interested!”
She gives a little knowing smile. She rolls her eyes while i shrug
“I don’t even know how I’m not crazy yet! He thinks all women are at his feet! He thinks he’s irresistible and calls me stupid nicknames”
“Then why are you seeing him if you don’t like high? How did you meet him?”
What I’m saying must completely confuse her, since she doesn’t know how we met or what pur relationship
So tell her the whole story without leaving anything out except that he stole hiy weapons and came into my room last night,
Marla panics easily. If she found out he set foot in my room, she might threaten him. And Tid rather she stay far away from Alexander,
08:18 Wed, 20 ADO
Chapter 32
Au
“Jean’t believe your father sent you to a men’s prison just for informatives.
“What curpilses me is that Melander didn’t try anything i
I know he’s planning sõivething for now, he’s making me believe he just wants me
keep an eye on Alexander
“But what’s re special about this Alexander that your father wants to uncover his secretsh
I tried asking him, but khalid is always just as secretive
“You really didn’t find anything on him?”
“He figured out my cover really fast. Khalid doesn’t know. If he finds out, he’ll kill me
“I’d rather you stayed out of trouble by staying as far away as possible from that young man.”
ght have a heart. Tomorrow, I’m spending a full day with him. Better if she doesn’t know, or she might have at
“I want to find out what Khalid is hiding, and also what Alexander was doing in that prison
by caresses my check,
She gently
“I really like to see what this man who’s driving you crazy looks like.”
I get up from my bed under Maria’s curious ga
“What are you doing?”
ver the picture: Mina I walk over to my underwear drawer to take out the photo of Alexander that I had taken from his prison file: I stood and handed takes it and looks at it for a few seconds. She starts smiling like she just saw a marvel,
“This young man is gorgeous. Did you see his curly hair? They’re lovely”
“Maria! You’re not supposed to compliment him–you’re supposed to hate him! Just like I hate him!
She starts laughing
“He hasn’t done anything to me! From this picture, he looks quite charming. There’s a unique beauty about him,”
1 look at the photo. A small smile slips.
It’s true he really is handsome in that shot. His facial features are relaxed, and he looks much calmer than he does in real life. His piercing gaze gives off something inexplicable, his beautiful mid–length hair is wavy,
“For someone who hates this man, I find you spend a lot of time staring at his photo
She just pulled me back to reality
“What are you talking about? I’m looking at it because he’s actually uglier in person!”
“Why art
are you so nervous?
“I’m not nervous! I’m going to get ready before my father starts throwing a fit!”
I rush into the bathroom and slam the door with a sigh, I open it again and walk toward Maria, who’s watching me strangely. I take the photo from her hands to put it away.
Chapter 32
“Why are you keeping a photo of a man you hate hidden under your underwear?”
“keep that photo to remind myself how much I hate him.”
She gives a genuine laugh and lets me head to the bathroom, spating me another awkward question.
used to be better al lying, Inaral Then again, I can’t hide anything from heat
AD
