But how did they meet? And why would he help her? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
After doing my hair, I leave the bathroom. Dwelling on Kelsey’s situation is pointless, I doubt I’ll ever get those answers. So I push it out of my mind and slip on the undergarments that she left out for me, as well as the long red dress.
It’s absolutely stunning, every inch of it. It has thin straps on the shoulder, and it’s made of some fancy material that I’ve never even seen before, but it feels amazing on my skin. The dress is loose on my body, yet somehow perfectly shows off my curves.
“Are you ready?”
I jump at the voice, having not heard her enter the room. I turn around to see Kelsey standing in the doorway.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
She leads me downstairs, not that I need to be shown where it is. I’ve been here for almost three weeks now. I’m no stranger to this house.
When I get to the table, a dish is already sitting in front of my usual chair. Crepes, covered in powdered sugar, with strawberries and raspberries on the side. A glass of water sits beside it.
“Thank you,” I tell her. She nods before disappearing from the room.
Over the past two weeks, things have started to change around here. Sam has become increasingly controlling. Literally every single second of my day is controlled by him. What I eatand when, what I wear, what room I’m allowed to be in. And in his presence, he even regulates when I’m allowed to speak.
Every day, at least once a day, some expensive luxury gift is given to me, either by him, or left in my bed when I wake up or when I lift the comforter to go to sleep at night. Jewelry, lingerie, shoes, clothing. One time it was a pair of ice skates, though I don’t know when he expects me to be able to use those.
The gifts are incredible, of course. And they’re worth more money than my entire family has ever made combined. But they don’t make me hate it here any less.
They don’t make me hatehimany less.
Just as I’m finishing up my breakfast, a loud slam echoes throughout the house. I stand up, backing towards the far corner of the room, away from the sound.
“Where is she?” a woman’s voice yells. “Hello?”
I see Kelsey run by the dining room doorway, looking flustered. A moment later, I hear her speak.
“Mrs. Warwick, I didn’t know you were visiting today.”
“My son is not expecting me. He’s not even here. I didn’t come to see him. I came to seeher.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, who are you referring to?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Mrs. Warwick says. As she continues to speak, her voice gets louder, like she’s getting closer. “I know she’s here.”
“Mrs. Warwick, I’m going to have to ask that you-”
“I’m going to stop you there, honey. You are not in charge of me. Now where…” she trails off as she enters the dining room and sees me.
I stand, completely frozen and unsure of what to do.
She marches over to me and looks me up and down. “Leave the room, Kelsey.” When Kelsey doesn’t move, she speaks again. “Now.”
Kelsey’s footsteps echo as she walks out and down the hall. Mrs. Warwick still hasn’t taken her eyes off of me. She sneers, before speaking with a lowered voice.
“Look, I don’t know what you did to my son to result in this behavior from him, but I’m not going to let him continue to be distracted. So here’s what’s going to happen. I will pay you two million dollars to leave the minute he gets tired of you. And believe me, he will.”
She pointedly looks at my hair, before scoffing at me. My blood is already boiling at this woman’s presence. It’s pretty obvious what she thinks of me, and she’s not doing anything to hide that.
“Two million dollars,” she repeats. She pulls a card out of her pocket and hands it to me. “Call that number and I will make sure you get paid. Butonlyif you don’t encourage him. Let him get over this and then take the money and disappear. Don’t come after him; don’t go to the media. My son is going places, and you’re holding him up. He doesn’t belong with a girl like you, and he’ll see it soon enough.”
With one last dirty look, she marches out of the room. I’m left staring after her, wondering what the fuck just happened.
“Strip.”