ing, her diamond necklace, the one she wore to the party, went missing. She

re! It was a gift from

frightened eyes who always avoided my gaze, "discovered" it during her morning cleaning. I

voice trembling. "After all you've

d tired. I knew it was useless. The trap h

a. His gaze was fixed on me, burning with a cold, righteous anger. He

absolute. "From now until I say you can get up. You will kneel

for maximum humiliation. He wanted the staff, the delive

s for her own good. She's becoming like them, greedy and grasping. I have to save her from it. This is how you

rgiving, pressing into my kneecaps. Hours passed. The staff walked by, their eyes averted. A delivery

ds. My life was a finite thing, a candle burning down. In a strange way, it gave me a sense of peace. This pain, this humiliation

ng through the tall windows. He didn't say a word. He just looked at me for a long time. Then, he placed a small bottle of pills and a glass

flicker of the man I used to know. A sliver of hope pier

feet, my legs numb and weak, Isabella appeared. She saw the pill bo

pened the bottle and emptied the pills into her hand. "But we can't have you getting comfortable." An

as gone. This was pure

g this?" I asked,

venomous. "I gave up everything for him. My career, my family. I have sculpted myself into the perfect woman fo

wasn't just jealous. She was fighting a war for her ow

ing intensity. "And I will erase every last trace of you from his life. I wil

ervatory glass is filthy." She turned and glided away, leaving me standing there, my bo