I will never again allow a man to take from me something that isn’t his. I need to play this smart.
I nod my head and his eyes narrow further, silently considering if he should trust me or not, but wanting to make this transition as easy as possible, he releases his grip on my throat and steps back. “Fourth door on the right. You will shower and dress in the silk robe. The lingerie will come once the stylist has a chance to take your measurements.”
My eyes drop to the stairs and without another word, I start climbing them, trying to put a little distance between me and Marcus, but considering it’s past three in the morning, I doubt he has anywhere else to be other than his bedroom.
I get to the top and turn to the right only to find a long as fuck hallway and looking behind me, there’s one exactly the same. It’s going to take me forever to figure out this place. I’ve never understood why rich people buy homes like this. There’s no way in hell Marcus could have a use for every single room in this house. It’s not possible. He said there was an indoor lap pool and I don’t doubt there’s probably a squash court because rich pricks like Marcus are into the sort of shit. There’s probably a room just for his cigars, shoes, and suits.
After walking forever and reaching the fourth door, I push through to a lavish bathroom with marble everything. It’s insane. I’ve never seen anything like it, not even Maria’s personal bathroom is like this.
I step through and close the door behind me, making sure to lock the door. I double-check it and take a good look around, checking for anything out of place. If I’m about to strip off in here, I don’t want to do it with an audience or on camera.
Confident that I’m truly alone, I walk over to the vanity and look up in the mirror. I’m a fucking mess. Today has been huge with all sorts of emotions rushing through me. I’ve never been so exhausted in my life.
I’m still torn on whether today has been a good day or a bad one. Obviously, there’s the whole marrying Marcus which is the biggest downfall ever, but then, learning that Slade is alive…well, fuck, nothing could ever be greater than that. I got to touch him, feeling his hand in mine, his voice wrapping around me like a caress. I thought those small blessings that I always took advantage of were gone forever. But never again, I’ll never take advantage of that. Every touch will be cherished, every kiss, every hug, I’ll remember every single one because they’re all so damn important to me.
I pinch the top of my finger and pull these ridiculous gloves off my arms. They’re so fucking stupid. I look like an idiot in them. The veil was lost back at the church but I’m sure it’s neatly folded inside Maria’s handbag, either that or one of her country club bitches stuffed it in her bra along with her fake titties.
I start pulling pins from my hair and cringe at the makeup plastered on my face. I’m no stranger to makeup but this is absurd. I look one hundred years old, it’s all caked on and thick and the wrong color for my skin. The makeup artist went for a smokey eye and this morning it looked mostly alright, but after the day from hell, I now look like a raccoon.
Turning around, I get a good look at the back of the dress. How the hell am I going to get out of this? If I was wearing anything else, I’d do my best to keep my clothes on, but I need to get out of this thing. It’s hard to breathe, hard to move, and certainly will be hard to fight. That point was proven in the church.
If I want a fighting chance to avoid being raped tonight, then I need to have something on that I can move in and unfortunately, my only option is the silk robe hanging on the back of the door. At least I can tie it up and try to keep myself decent.
I start pulling at this stupid corset back. Maria made sure to do it up as tight as my body could possibly allow. I wonder how she’ll feel about me finding a pair of scissors and cutting myself out of it. For a brief moment, I consider finding one of the staff to help me undress but then I run the risk of her seeing the knife at my ankle and confiscating it. I haven’t earned their loyalty yet but it’s something I’m going to have to start working on. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here and if it’s longer than I’m hoping, I need to get some friends on my side.