Chapter 23

Isat huddled in a chair next to my father the entire plane ride back home. I’d sobbed until I had no tears left. By the time we had landed, my face was swollen from the amount of crying I’d done, and my father was enraged at having to listen to me. No matter how many times he’d snapped at me to shut up or threatened me if I didn’t quit, I’d just sob harder.

The ride to the house from the airstrip was quiet as I sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window with my heart breaking into a million pieces. Each mile that took me away from Valen seemed to rip another hole in my soul. If I thought there was any way that I could escape, I would do it. I considered opening the door as we drove down the freeway and throwing myself out of the car. There was little traffic since it was so late at night, so the chances of being run over were slim. But the idea of the fall itself at such a high speed kept me from making the move.

I could feel my father’s eyes on me during the entire ride and had a feeling he knew what I was thinking of doing. When he broke the silence, it was to warn me.

“If you do anything stupid, I promise your punishment will be worse than you can imagine.” His tone was so calm, so matter of fact, I think it hurt worse than if he’d screamed at me. Instead, it showed me that I meant nothing to him. His concern wasn’t for my safety or out of love. His only concern was making sure I didn’t cause him any more trouble that would keep him from his campaign trail longer than he’d already been delayed.

“Why are you doing this?” I hated how weak I sounded, how broken. These people had already taken so much from me, and I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me so low. “I’ll never be the daughter you want. I don’t want this life! Please, if you ever loved me at all, just let me go!”

I turned my head so I could see his face, and so he could see the despair in my eyes. I don’t know what I expected him to say or do, but hearing him scoff and look away from me in disgust was enough to have fresh tears fill my tired eyes. I guess I still had some left to shed after all.

“I’ve asked very little of you, Kallista. You just needed to be there for show. All you had to do was look happy for the cameras and marry into a rich family. You would have had all the comforts of being a rich politician’s wife and daughter. This defiance changes nothing. I can’t have the voters thinking I can’t control my own child. What would they think? That I can’t do my job, either? I took you in from the gutters and gave you a home. You would have been an orphan with no prospects other than to live on the streets. This is how you chose to repay me?”

“How do you know I’d be on the streets?” I cried. “You don’t know that!”

“I saved you!” he roared, turning back to me with fury. “You will do what you’re told, or I will tell the world that you died from the illness you developed over this last year.”

I swallowed hard at the realization of what they’d done to excuse my absence. I suppose as explanations went, it was a good one. Not only would it let the public know why I had suddenly disappeared, but it would garner sympathy from both political parties. Who hasn’t experienced the heartache of seeing a loved one suffer? If I died now, it would only help him. Either way, he wins. I give in and do what he wants, or he kills me, and they have a huge, elaborate funeral that is televised and brings in sympathy votes.

“I hate you,” I whispered brokenly. There was only one hope left for me. I had to believe that Valen would come. He had to come. Only, I hadn’t told him my full name, where I was from, or who my parents were. He had no way of finding me. I turned back to stare at the road as we exited the freeway and began taking the turns to reach my parent’s estate.

“If you think I care, you really haven’t known me very well, Kallie-bean.” I ignored his mocking words and the hated nickname, choosing instead to plead with the universe that my mate would be okay without me.

The car turned, then slowed to a crawl as it approached the large gate that sat in front of the huge house at the end of the half-mile driveway. The driver rolled his window down and spoke a few quiet words to the gate guard before being waved forward. Before I was ready, the car came to a stop in front of the double doors with the leaded glass. I think I dreaded walking back into that house even more than when I woke up in the cold cell.

I waited until my door was opened for me. Before I could step out, a guard appeared next to the driver and took my arm, roughly pulling me to my feet. My father must have told them to treat me like a prisoner because before I’d left, everyone had treated me with kindness and respect. Now, I was nothing but the wayward daughter who couldn’t be trusted. It was easy to see that my life would be drastically changed from here on out.

The guard kept a tight hold on me as he ushered me up the steps and waited until my father entered first before following him inside. When the heavy door closed with an echoing thud, my heart jolted along with my entire body.

My mother was standing in the foyer with her hands folded in front of her looking like a proper lady even though it was probably the middle of the night. Her makeup was immaculate and her hair was styled in its carefully wrapped chignon. The only time I’d ever seen her rumpled and with her hair a mess was the time I’d caused the ceiling to partially collapse.

She looked me up and down, a look of pure disgust making her stern but pretty face twist into an ugly grimace. “Take her upstairs and lock her in her room. Let Martha in when she arrives.” She stared me down. “You will not fight Martha when she bathes you. Everything you’re wearing will be removed and discarded. I will see you in the morning to discuss your future.”

She turned on her heels, clacking away in the direction my father had disappeared to as soon as he walked through the door. I was sure they would have a brief discussion about where he’d found me and the events that happened during our trip home. Then they would go to bed and roll over in opposite directions to fall asleep, virtual strangers in their marital bed. My heart ached as I thought of Valen for the millionth time since I’d woken up in that cell. The way he’d held me as I slept, the way he’d gently taken care of me in the shower after we’d had sex for the first time.

I let the tears fall freely as I was pulled up the stairs and to my room at the end of the hall. The guard shoved me inside the room, making me stumble and have to catch myself with a hand on the desk against the wall before I landed on my face. I turned back to glare at the guard I didn’t recognize. He just sneered at me then shut the door in my face, the lock snicking loudly in the silence of my empty room.

I looked around to see not much had changed, while at the same time, the changes were glaringly obvious. My bed was still there against the middle of the wall, but the cheerful bedding that I preferred with the pretty violet flowers was gone. In its place was a plain white comforter. The curtains had been changed out as well for the same bright white.

My bookshelf was still there against the far wall next to the bathroom door, but instead of the classic books that had been there since I was young, there were what appeared to be books on politics. I looked down at my desk where I still rested my trembling fingers to see all of my pretty supplies were replaced. The matching pen and paper holders were boring, plain white. I didn’t bother to open any drawers, I already knew what I’d find.

I slowly walked toward my open bathroom door and flipped on the light. All my department store products had been replaced with items that could be purchased at any grocery store. My life of luxury was gone. My parents were showing me that I had clearly ruined whatever chances I’d once had of living a pampered life. If only they knew I couldn’t care less. What I truly cared about was hundreds of miles away.

I stepped up to the sink so I could splash cold water on my face and stilled when I saw my reflection in the large mirror. I looked terrible, with dark circles under my eyes and dirt smudged on my face. I had a bruise I hadn’t known was there on my forehead, likely from when I’d been hiding in the bathroom before I passed out at the warehouse loft. I gingerly touched it, surprised to see it was already yellowing as if it were days old instead of several hours. It didn’t hurt, but there was a small bit of tenderness as I pressed on it.

My eyes froze on the brand on my wrist that was reflected in the mirror. I knew my parents would be outraged, thinking I had tattooed myself. They would probably try to have it removed as soon as they could make the appointment. I covered the mark with my other hand, as if I could protect it but laughed quietly to myself. I doubted there was anything on earth that could remove a mating brand other than to cut it off.

The sound of the lock turning on my bedroom door had me closing my eyes. Martha was a new maid who had been hired shortly before I had run away. When it came to the way all the staff treated me with kindness and respect, she was the one exception to the rule.

Ever since Martha had arrived to work at the estate, she’d acted as if we were enemies. She’d never been outright rude, but she’d never been polite, choosing instead to narrow her eyes at me when I passed. If she cleaned my room, I found that my sheets were still dirty or that small items would go missing. There was never anything that I would feel the need to report, and I’d ignored the stares, but it was evident that she didn’t like me.

Martha strolled into the bathroom, looking like she’d been roused from sleep. She was wearing a robe and a smirk on her face. She was young and pretty, with shiny black hair pulled back in a ponytail. I had always wondered if we could be friends if she weren’t so hellbent on hating me for reasons I couldn’t understand.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen, huh?” she said as she walked straight up to me without hesitation. She reached out and gripped the collar of my dress and yanked hard. I heard a ripping sound as the seams tore. With a gasp, I used both hands to hold the bodice up over my breasts. “Get over yourself, princess. I have a job I was woken up to do, and I’m going to do it. I don’t care about your ugly tits.”

With both hands, she pulled until I couldn’t hold on to the fabric any longer. I lost the tug-of-war on the dress, and it fell to my waist. I crossed my arms over my bare breasts, uncomfortable at being naked with her, regardless of what she’d said.

“I dare you to fight me. I have instructions to call the guard in if you give me a hard time.” She grinned at me but it was anything but playful. She seemed almost hopeful that I would put up a fight.

With one arm still over my chest, I reluctantly shimmied the destroyed dress Valen had bought for me down over my hips and thighs, letting it pool on the floor. I looked down at the once pretty fabric and mourned the loss of his gift. He hadn’t needed to do something so nice for me. It was the only thing I had left from my time with him, and I wanted to scream and cry at the injustice of it all. Instead, I stepped out of the fabric and walked on wooden legs to the shower.

I heard Martha snort with laughter as I turned away from her. “No undergarments? My, my, what a little slut you are. Did you run away to be with a man? Tell me, slut, are you still the virtuous little princess you always pretended to be?”

I refused to answer, choosing to turn on the shower and step under the spray before it even warmed up. If I had to endure her presence, I could do it the way I was raised, with poise and grace.

My lack of response must have angered her even more because, by the time I was finished showering, my hair had been pulled and tangled so horribly that it would take me forever to get it straight again. She’d also managed to scratch me several times and tripped me as I stepped out of the shower. My towel had somehow ended up falling into the water, so it was cold and damp.

By the time I fell onto my bed after Martha was let out of my room with a parting satisfied smirk, I just wanted the whole night to be over with. I didn’t know what dawn would bring, but it couldn’t be much worse.