nor'

t more suffering and beating awaited me. I briefly thought that Kieran Lancaster might be my way out of a ni

oks like a scene out of a fairytale in movies, yet to me, it felt like just another prison, a place where I didn't fit in, a place where I

ound of heels echoed carelessly down the hall like a

what you b

, to find Kieran's mother at the top of a grand st

and beautiful face. Yet her beauty brushed against the deep hatred showing in her icy blue eyes; God, this wo

elt like a warning sign. I stood frozen with fear, too weak to respond or run, my legs paining me due t

ste like I am a piglet. "She looks like a rat that j

g over me as I drop my gaze to the shining floo

bbing his head as if he had ant

tone sharp as glass. "You brought this

l form. The longer she stared, the deeper her hate for me grew. "She doesn't belong here. You bo

to admit, but I held my tongue, hol

ined unreadable. "

et I could feel the atmosphere shift. The moment those words left

igest it, there was a

knees tuned. My vision faded, my skin ached,

is wife?" she hissed. "You are nothing but a who

them back. I couldn't afford to cr

ffer my son? Love? Power? Respect?" She looked down, her voice dripping with hat

men, by strangers willing to pay for my suffering, and by monsters hiding in the shadows.

I had stained her. "Take her to the servant

re I could speak. He turned his gaze as he led me away from his mother's anger, away from the wa

*

person. The walls were bare and rough, and the air was thick with dust and smell of urine. It was colder than

cheek throbbed from the slap, my ears still ringing from the cr

ee how Mad

nking she could become

t last a

eir taunts, but their words brushed under my skin like poison. I

was something different. This was an angu

*

mind was filled with memories I longed to forget

or maid. "Lady Lancaster has assigned you a ta

the hallway. My legs felt unsteady, and my stomach tw

e they were taking m

de the door, alongside old rags

ou miss even a spot..." She leaned in close, her bre

llowe

to my knees and

ak and my stomach turning with nausea. My fingers froze f

. It all blurred into pain. Then, just when I thoug

d slightly, my heart sin

an

the tiles, a smug smile playing on her lips as

where you bel

was too exhausted, t

, she pu

imy liquid soaking my dress, hair, and skin. I ga

filled

a mess, Sinclair."Tears threatened

he beginning. And if I showed any we