Chapter 4

Evelin POV:

I fumbled through the unfamiliar cupboards in the sprawling kitchen, searching for the gin and tonic supplies. My hands trembled, making the glassware clink loudly. The kitchen was massive, gleaming with stainless steel appliances, but I couldn't find anything. My anxiety mounted with each passing second, knowing Aubrey was waiting, impatient. I was an intruder, lost in a labyrinth of privilege.

Finally, I located the bottles. I mixed the drink, my movements slow and clumsy. I carried the tray, the glass clinking precariously, back to the living room. Aubrey snatched the glass from the tray, her eyes still fixed on her phone. She didn't even acknowledge my presence, treating me like an invisible object.

As she brought the glass to her lips, she deliberately bumped my hand with her elbow. The tray tilted. A splash of gin and tonic sloshed onto her pristine white dress. My heart leaped into my throat. The liquid felt cold against my skin, a precursor to the storm brewing. I knew it was intentional, a calculated act of aggression.

Aubrey gasped, a theatrical sound that echoed through the room. She stared at the small wet patch on her dress, her eyes wide with feigned horror. "Evelin! What did you do? You clumsy fool!" She shrieked, her voice rising in pitch. Her accusation was baseless, but her performance was convincing. Her eyes, however, held a flicker of triumph.

A sharp, searing pain shot through my hand. I looked down. The glass had slipped, and a jagged shard had sliced across my palm. Blood welled up, a bright crimson against my pale skin. The pain was immediate and intense, a stark reminder of her maliciousness. My vision blurred slightly, a dizzying wave of pain washing over me.

Jefferson, who had been observing from a distance, rushed to Aubrey' s side, his face etched with concern. He bent down, dabbing at the stain on her dress with a napkin. "Aubrey, darling, are you alright?" He completely ignored my bleeding hand, my visible pain. His focus was entirely on her, on her trivial discomfort, while I stood bleeding, a testament to his utter disregard. The betrayal was absolute, a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Look what she did, Jeff!" Aubrey wailed, clutching his arm dramatically. "She ruined my dress! And it's a brand new designer piece! She probably did it on purpose, the jealous little witch!" Her lies were delivered with such conviction, such theatricality, that it was almost believable. Her friends, who were now gathered around, whispered their agreement.

Jefferson stood up, his gaze turning to me, cold and accusatory. "Evelin, what were you thinking? Can't you do anything right?" His voice was sharp, laced with open contempt. He didn't care about my injury, only about Aubrey's superficial complaint. He was protecting her, always her, at my expense. My stomach clenched with a mixture of anger and despair.

"Clean it up," he commanded, his voice tight with anger. "And get Aubrey another drink. Immediately. And this time, don't mess it up." The security guard, who had been lingering nearby, stepped forward, his eyes fixed on me, a silent warning. I was being punished for an injury I hadn't caused, forced to perform a task I could barely manage. My cut hand throbbed, a constant reminder of my helplessness.

I returned to the kitchen, my hand throbbing, leaving a faint trail of blood in my wake. I gritted my teeth, trying to stem the flow, but the wound was deep. I meticulously prepared another drink, my movements careful, precise. Each step back to the living room was agony, but I forced myself to ignore the pain, to present an image of perfect subservience. It was a humiliating ritual, a performance of my own degradation.

This cycle continued. Aubrey would order me to fetch something, then find fault, then casually "accidentally" injure me, or orchestrate a situation where I was blamed for a mishap. A spill on the rug, a misplaced cushion, a wrong type of snack. Each incident was met with Jefferson's stern disapproval and my forced compliance. I cleaned, I served, I endured, my body growing weary, my spirit dulling under the relentless abuse. My hands were soon covered in small cuts and bruises, a testament to my torment.

Hours bled into days. My life became a monotonous cycle of forced servitude and silent suffering. I was confined to the west wing guest room, only allowed out to serve Aubrey and her friends. I ate scraps left over from their lavish meals, slept only when they had gone to bed, and moved through the house like a ghost. The sun rose and set, marking my captivity, my slow descent into despair. My body ached, my mind felt numb.

Late one evening, after everyone had retreated to their rooms, I finally had a moment of solitude. I crept back to my dismal room, my wounded hand throbbing. I found a small first-aid kit in the bathroom cabinet. I cleaned the cuts, wincing at the sting of the antiseptic. My reflection in the mirror showed a ghost of my former self, my eyes sunken, my face pale and drawn. I wrapped my hand in gauze, a somber ritual of self-care in the darkness.

The next morning, Jefferson found me in the kitchen, preparing coffee for Aubrey. He handed me a tube of ointment. "You should put this on your hand," he said, his voice flat. He didn't meet my eyes. His gesture was perfunctory, devoid of real care, a duty performed. It was an insult, a further demonstration of his coldness.

"Why do you care?" I asked, my voice as cold as his. I looked at the ointment, then back at him. His sudden "concern" felt like a calculated move, a way to assuage some internal guilt, or perhaps just to ensure I could continue to perform my duties. It was not kindness.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Aubrey complained you were too slow yesterday. Said your hand was making you clumsy. She's delicate, you know. Doesn't like drama." He blamed me for her complaints, twisted her cruelty into my fault. He was still protecting her, still prioritizing her comfort over my well-being. My anger flared, hot and sharp.

"She told me you were making her feel uncomfortable," he added, his voice losing its flatness, a hint of steel entering it. "So keep your head down. Don't cause any more trouble. You're here to serve, Evelin. Nothing more. Remember that." His words stripped me of my humanity, reducing me to a mere object, a tool for his and Aubrey's convenience. I was his permanent servant, his hidden shame.

I looked at my bandaged hand, then at the tube of ointment. I would endure this. I would endure it for as long as it took to escape. Marcus' s message, my grandfather' s lifeline, was my only hope. I needed to hold on, just a little longer. I pictured the distant possibility of freedom, a beacon in my suffocating darkness.

Days blurred into weeks. Each dawn brought a fresh wave of despair, each night a brief respite. I performed my duties mechanically, my mind numb, my spirit retreating further within itself. I moved through the opulent house like a phantom, avoiding eye contact, uttering only necessary words. The luxury around me felt like a cage, its gilded bars suffocating me.

One afternoon, as I was sweeping the sprawling veranda, a familiar, playful bark broke through my robotic routine. It was Charlie, the scruffy terrier mix Jefferson and I had adopted together. He was a stray we found near the community college, a little ball of nervous energy that we had both instantly fallen in love with. We had named him Charlie, after a character in one of our favorite books. He was "our" dog, a symbol of the brief, genuine happiness we once shared.

Charlie bounded towards me, tail wagging, his little tongue lolling out. I knelt down, forgetting my pain, and buried my face in his scruffy fur. His warmth, his unconditional affection, was a balm to my bruised soul. He was the last remaining link to the loving, kind Jefferson I thought I knew. He was a symbol of my lost happiness.

"Hey, buddy," I whispered, scratching behind his ears. He licked my face, his love pure and uncomplicated. I felt a pang of longing for the simple days, before the deception, before Aubrey. Charlie was innocent, untainted by the cruelty that now filled my life. He was a small, flickering flame in my encroaching darkness.

I stood up, holding Charlie close, and walked towards his dog bed, nestled in a cozy corner of the living room. It was an oversized, plush bed, a silly indulgence Jefferson had insisted on. "Only the best for our Charlie," he had said, his eyes full of genuine affection. I smiled faintly at the memory, a brief moment of warmth in the cold reality.

But the dog bed was empty. My heart skipped a beat. A cold premonition, sharp and sudden, pierced through my numbness. Charlie always slept in his bed. He loved that bed. He was never away from it for long unless he was with me or Jefferson. Where was he? My hands tightened around his leash, my knuckles white.

A high-pitched yelp, then another, cut through the quiet house. It came from the garden, a sound of pure terror and agony. My blood ran cold. It was Charlie. My mind screamed. I dropped the leash and ran towards the sound, my heart pounding, a terrible dread choking me. My feet pounded on the polished floors, my every instinct screaming danger.

I burst onto the patio, my eyes scanning the lush garden. Then I saw it. Aubrey, dressed in a flowing silk robe, stood by the rose bushes, a metal gardening trowel in her hand. Her face was contorted in a sneer of pure sadistic pleasure. At her feet, Charlie lay crumpled, his small body convulsing, blood staining the vibrant petals of the roses. His whimpers were weak, fading. He was dying.

Aubrey raised the trowel again, bringing it down with a sickening thud. Charlie let out a final, agonizing cry, then went still. His eyes, once full of playful mischief, now stared blankly at the sky. He was gone. Aubrey stood over him, a triumphant, cruel smile on her face. Her eyes gleamed with a chilling satisfaction. She had killed him. She was enjoying it.

A wave of nausea hit me, so powerful it almost brought me to my knees. The image of Charlie, lifeless and broken, branded itself onto my mind. My vision swam. My throat closed up. The world around me spun into a dizzying vortex of horror and rage. My childhood trauma, the feeling of utter helplessness, resurfaced with terrifying clarity. I couldn't breathe. My lungs burned, starved of air.

Aubrey kicked Charlie's still form, sending him rolling into the thorny rose bushes. "Useless mutt," she spat. "Always barking, always getting in the way. Now he's trash." She laughed, a chilling, heartless sound that echoed the emptiness within her. She treated him like garbage, a discarded toy. The casual cruelty was breathtaking, sickening.

"What did you do?!" I screamed, my voice raw with grief and fury. I rushed towards Charlie, falling to my knees beside his lifeless body. My tears mingled with his blood, staining the earth. "How could you?!" I cradled his limp body in my arms, rocking him gently, desperately. My heart was breaking into a million pieces.

Aubrey shrugged, her expression bored. "He bit me," she lied, holding up a perfectly unblemished hand. "He was a menace. I was just defending myself. You know, Jeff warned me about him." Her words were a twisted justification, a further act of cruelty. She was incapable of remorse, immune to empathy.

Jefferson appeared at the doorway, drawn by my screams. He took in the scene: me, cradling Charlie's body, and Aubrey, standing over us with a nonchalant smirk. His eyes flickered, a momentary flicker of something, perhaps shock, perhaps regret, but it quickly faded. He walked to Aubrey, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He sided with her. Again.

"Evelin, calm down," he said, his voice firm, devoid of any sympathy for my loss. "It's just a dog. Aubrey was scared. She had to protect herself." He dismissed my grief, minimized Charlie's life, and justified Aubrey's monstrous act. The man I loved was truly gone, replaced by this cold, calculating stranger. My heart, already shattered, splintered further.