Chapter 3 The cage with golden bars

The firs thing I noticed when I woke up wasn’t the pain. If I was being honest it was infact the bed.  It was soft, warm and had a faint smell of  lavender. For a long time,I simply stared at the ornate ceiling above me, wondering if I had already died.

But I knew dead people probably didn’t ache this much as I did. And not long a sharp pain shot through my ribs as I tried to sit up.

An audible gasp escaped my lips and the bedroom door flew opened almost instantly.

A petite woman dressed in a black-and-white maid’s uniform hurried inside.

“Miss!”

She rushed to my side before gently helping me rest back against the pillows as I winced even more with each movement. How come I didn’t feel this much pain in the moment of my escape from the debt collectors yesterday

“Please don’t move. The doctor said you suffered a concussion and two fractured ribs.”

Miss? I checked around me to see who she might have been referring to but I came up with none. Never for once in my life had anybody called me that before.

I wasn’t even worth a handful of gold coins yet i had been called a miss. I blinked slowly at her taking in everything around me. It all felt too good to be true. “Where am I?”

“The De Luca Manor.”

The name meant nothing to me because I had never stepped so much as far out of the town to other wealthy residents.

“I…” My voice cracked probably due to all my shouts from the previous day but still i managed to croak out painfully “am  I safe?”

The maid smiled kindly at me sensing my fears as she replied almost immediately 

“Yes so you don’t have to be afraid anymore. You are safe here” the words struck me harder than I expected as I felt my resolve cracking again. She knew I was afraid and undoubtedly I have been so afraid for so long that I had forgotten what it even felt like not to be anymore.

Fresh tears suddenly blurred my visions threatening to embarrass me further but I quickly wiped them away gently sniffing before she could notice.

After offering me a glass of water she helped me bathe based on the instructions ahe had been given. She even brought me clothes amd they were surprisingly softer than anything I’d ever worn in my whole existence. 

The place felt like heaven amd for a minute I genuinely thought I could have been dead and in heaven enjoying for all the suffering i had endured on earth. But I pinched myself again and again as ai realized I was truly living the reality of what could have only been my wildest imagination.

A doctor was not long escorted in by one of the maids it check my injuries while another maid brought me breakfast consisting of fresh bread, fruits and hot tea. 

I stared at the food clearly confused on who they had brought it all for so I asked  “which of them am I supposed to take please?”

The servants exchanged strange glances before whispering at themselves. The petite one then pushed the tray closer to me saying

“Of course they are all for you Miss.” I hesitated already knowing there was going to be a clause to it so I tried again “How much will I have to pay?”

The room fell silent and one of the maids looked almost heartbroken and had glistening tears in her eyes. The others also excused themselves as they hurriedly dapped at their own eyes too.

“You don’t owe us anything miss. They are all for you to eat and become strong again.”

I almost laughed because I knew nothing about life was free. At least not mine though. Seeing they weren’t playing I ate the food like I had been starved for days. Cause I might as well do it now and get back to paying them when the time comes.

After all nothing in life was free.

That evening…

A short knock came as a voice echoed in

“The Master requests your presence for dinner.”

Master? Was it the stranger who saved me or someone else? Without any questions I followed the maid through hallways so large they looked like something from a movie.

There were Crystal chandeliers and Paintings worth more than my entire neighborhood.

Everything felt unreal until finally the dining room doors opened to reveal a table so long enough to seat thirty people stretched before me. Even though only one seat was occupied.

I recognized him to be the man from the highway and even though he didn’t look up he seemed to be more attractive that I had thought him to be. He was as dressed inyet another tailored suit but he didn’t look up as he instead continued reading several documents while eating his dinner.

The silence around us had suddenly become suffocating and intimidating that I wished the ground would just swallow me already. What was I supposed to say in such scenario? Was I even supposed to talk or just wait until spoken to?

The maid who had no idea of my internal feelings gently pulled out my chair.

“Please.”

I sat as quietly as I cloud with no intention of moving until he gave me a go ahead. Surprisingly neither of us spoke and what appeared to have minutes passed.

The only sounds were cutlery jamming against porcelain from where the table was being set. Finally he folded ine if the document without looking at me and simply said “eat.”

That single word startled me so much I quickly picked up my fork. I then thought to myself that maybe he wasn’t cruel after all and instead just quiet.

Halfway through our dinner another man entered and instinctively my guards went up. My body became rigid as I glanced around trying to look for exit spot incase he wasn’t an ally.

The man appeared to be in his late thirties wearing a neat suit and accompanied by glasses. He walked straight to the stranger whose name I still haven’t gotten.

“Boss.”

The stranger didn’t respond and instead the man leaned down and whispered into his ear.

I couldn’t hear everything but only fragments like “…deadline, council, the succession, heir..”

This seemed to all make the stranger’s jaw tightened and for the first time since they had met he looked irritated. His cold grey eyes slowly lifted meeting mine before they stayed there so intense and long enough to make my heart race. Then  rashly he stood up and the chair screeched loudly before tumbling down.

Every servant immediately lowered their heads as everywhere became quiet. Without breaking eye contact he slowly walked toward me.

He took one step then another until he stood directly beside my chair. My heartbeat raced violently as I saw his fingers reaching out to me.

My breath immediately caught in my throat and my body went rigid. Surprisingly his fingers gently brushed a strand of hair away from my face and my cheeks instantly gree warm.

Why?why was my heart beating so fast just because he brushed my hair? Was this what they called love at first sight? Cause I had much more contacts from boys growing up but none had been able to make my heart almost fall out of my chest.

His calm voice drew my attention back at him as he spoke “look at me.” I immediately obeyed and looked up while he intently studied my face. Then he moved to my eyes and lastly mu lips like he was looking for something.

 This made me remember his longing gaze from the previous night. Was he also feeling the same thing I feel towards him? Was he finding it hard to breathe well while staring into my eyes just like I am?

Finally he turned toward the doctor who was still standing nearby and his voice suddenly turned emotionless.

“How old is she?”

“Twenty-two.”

There was a short pause before the stranger asked a strange question again.

“No previous pregnancies?”

The doctor checked his tablet before he replied in his monosyllabic tone  “None.”

The stranger nodded once before he then asked the question that made the entire room go silent.

“Confirm whether she’s still untouched.”

The fork slipped from my fingers and clattered loudly against the floor as I stared at him so certain I had heard him wrong. Every love struck expression on my face I was sure was now gone as i stammered out  “…W-What?”

He didn’t repeat himself and Instead, he looked at the doctor.

“Arrange the examination immediately.”

The doctor’s expression faltered for a second as he asked the stranger “Tonight?”

“Yes. Tonight.”

My face drained of every color there was. And I knew it was bad when even the 

maid beside me looked horrified. I couldn’t flee from being prostituted just to be trafficked of my organs. No! I instantly shot to my feet and shouted

“No!”

Every painful memory from my father’s house crashed back into me as my chair toppled over.

“I won’t let anyone touch me!”

I stumbled backward toward the door.

“I trusted you…”

My voice cracked as I backed away even more “I thought… you saved me.”

For the first time a flicker of something crossed the stranger’s face. It wasn’t guilt or sympathy like I would have expected. It was just pure annoyance that said i was being difficult than he was going to like.

He immediately turned to the guards and ordered “Stop her.”

Heavy footsteps thundered toward me.

But I ran.