Page 34 of To Hell

“Ettore,” He snarks, and I gulp.

“Master Ettore. She means a lot to me. I’d love to see her; and she’s got the best fabrics for your suits.”

He breathes out heavily. “Alright,” he sounds dismissive. “You can go tomorrow.” He steps away from me. “Get up,” he clips, but I don’t stand. I crawl to a corner and stay there, staring at him with adoration.

I wasn’t expecting him to say yes.

He exhales sharply and then stalks over to me. I fight myself to stay still instead of shrinking into a hole. He crouches in front of me and picks my chin up with just the tip of the back of his index finger.

His touch is like hot coal on my skin. I feel my skin melting and hear the sizzling sound in my head.

“What do I do with you?” He croons.

Keep me.

Chapter Nineteen

ZOE

Tomorrow is here!

Fidgety as I might feel about this, I also feel a new stream of enthusiasm coursing through me.

It’s a nervous kind of happiness that is also wedging a brick in my chest because it is likely to end like the last time.

I jump out of bed when I see the sunlight glinting on the glass pane.

I can see outside my bedroomnow that Master Ettore has shown me how to make it less dark, but I still enjoy the blanket of gloom. I don't want to dig into the reasons for this right now.

I step closer to the pane and press my face on it, beaming at the sun. The warmth creeps into my veins, electrifying every sense with a new wave of hope.

I might be seeing Valerie Moore today.

The last time I felt this way was fifteen years ago. When I knew I made it to the grand finale of the contest and was going to be announced the winner during Fashion Week.

I couldn’t eat that day, while Virgilio… I chuckle, stopping while I shower as I remember the light in his translucent green eyes. The way his lips had curved into the perfect shape of a crescent to smile at me. The way he pulled me off the floor and twirled with me in his arms.

I felt like I could reach for the sun that day.

He became a core part of my world. And I was already thinking of going to prom with him and our first kiss there. I thought about so many things with him.

But the last time also came with the most tragic events of my life.

My life taken away from me. I was turned into a sex slave.

The last time I felt this, I was wrecked. A shipwreck with my parts scattered in the ocean. No matter how many pieces of myself I collect, I can never be put together to become whole again.

I angrily apply the lather on my skin, wishing I could scrub harder and get some of the crippling feeling as I think of everything I was denied. Everything I could have had.

I could have been married with kids and a thriving fashion career. I was so close to it. I could almost touch it. I could taste it.

I could have created a life with my first love.

I sniff as a wave of tears swells past my chest, burning up my cheeks

I loved him. I was in love with him.

I didn’t know what it was then, but I loved him. I know it now. He was my first love and perhaps my only one.

---