Chapter 7

After what felt like an eternity, the basement door finally opened.

I stumbled toward the light, my body weak.

Evertt blocked my path. "Have you learned your lesson?" he asked, his voice cold.

I tried to speak, but my throat was raw. No sound came out.

"Apologize to Kylee," he commanded.

I shook my head, my voice a hoarse whisper. "I did... nothing... wrong."

I grabbed the doorframe to keep from collapsing.

His eyes narrowed. "If you don't admit your mistake, you can stay down here." He motioned for the guards to close the door.

The thought of the suffocating darkness made me break. Terror seized me.

"I'll apologize," I choked out, my eyes red and wild.

Kylee was lounging in her bed, a triumphant smirk on her face as she leaned against Evertt.

I stood before them, my body aching, and mechanically repeated the words. "I'm sorry."

My face was streaked with dried tears. I was a mess.

"That doesn't sound very sincere," Kylee pouted.

Evertt' s voice was like a whip crack. "Kneel."

I looked up at him, shocked.

A servant stepped forward and pushed down on my shoulders. I resisted for a second and saw a flicker of something-regret? hesitation?-in Evertt's eyes. It was gone in an instant, replaced by cold indifference.

My knees hit the hard floor. My vision went black for a moment from the pain. The wound on my knee from when he'd forced me to kneel on glass shards reopened, soaking the hem of my dress in blood.

My face was ashen.

Kylee watched me, enjoying the show.

Evertt frowned, then called for a bodyguard. "Teach her a lesson. Keep going until she understands what she did wrong."

I stared at him, my mind numb with disbelief. He was going to have me beaten.

The first slap was sharp and stinging. My head snapped to the side. I tasted blood.

The blows came one after another. My face was on fire, my head ringing.

"Dustin, stop," Kylee said, pulling on his sleeve with a show of fake concern. "That's enough."

Evertt grunted and waved the guard away. "You're lucky Kylee has a kind heart," he said to me. "Now, apologize properly."

I was on the floor, the pain a dull, throbbing thing. All I felt was a profound, soul-crushing humiliation. I just wanted it to be over.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Kylee ignored me, turning to coo at Evertt about some food she wanted. He fed her a piece of fruit, his attention completely on her, as if I didn't exist. As if I wasn't bleeding on their floor.

Blood dripped from my forehead onto the expensive carpet. My vision blurred.

"Oh, my," Kylee said with fake surprise. "She's still on the floor. People will think I'm mistreating her."

A servant helped me to my feet. As I was led out, I heard Kylee whisper to Evertt, "She's such a good actress, isn't she?"

I stumbled back to my room and touched the wound on my forehead.

I remembered Evertt promising me, years ago, that he would never let anyone hurt me. That he would always protect me.

Just empty words.

I sat in front of the vanity, my expression blank.

In the mirror, I saw a stranger. Her face was bruised and swollen. The cut on her forehead had started to scab over, a dark, ugly mark.

A maid gently applied antiseptic.

"It's a deep cut, ma'am," she whispered. "It will probably leave a scar."

I almost smiled. A scar on my face was nothing compared to the scars on my soul.

My gaze drifted to my phone. The screen showed a countdown.

Only a few more days.

The days passed in a blur of quiet endurance. At night, I finally slept. The nightmares that had plagued me for months were gone. Now that I had given up on him, I could finally rest.

One night, a sharp knock woke me from a deep sleep.