Page 10 of Cruel Promise

I know the truth, but I don’t want to think about it too hard.

This wardrobe is not me. There’s no life to it, and all I want is to live.

A knock on the door makes me jump, but when Mrs. Brown sticks her head inside, I relax slightly.

“Just brought you some food, dear.” She carries in a large tray, which she sets on a small table near the window. “Eat up. Claude is a wonderful chef. You won’t be disappointed.”

I frown. How can she speak so highly of this place when it’s a literal dungeon?

“Mrs. Brown, why do you work here?”

“What do you mean? I needed a job.”

“But this place is so …”

She sighs and points at the food. Filet mignon. Stuffed potatoes. Broccolini. “Eat up.”

Slowly, I sit down and scoop up a bit of potato and take a sniff. Is it poisoned?

“It’s not poisoned,” Mrs. Brown says as if she can read my mind. “Mr. Petrov wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“But he bought me,” I say, dropping my fork.

A mixture of emotions crosses Mrs. Brown’s face. “I know he did. And there’s nothing you can do to change that. So, make the most out of it and eat. Don’t go hungry. You’ll only hurt yourself.”

Except I can’t eat. I can’t eat while my mom is dead. After my father hurt me in a way I don’t think I’ll ever recover from. I push the food away.

She sighs. “You won’t eat?”

“No.” I can’t but if I say that, I’ll start crying, and I can’t cry here. I can’t sully my mom’s memory here.

“All right. Well, I’ll leave it here for now. Eat it when you’re ready. If you want me to warm it back up for you, just let me know.”

“Why are you so nice?” I ask before she can leave.

She gives me a smile over her shoulder. “Because what’s the point in being mean?”

“But you work for a man who bought me. How can you live with that?”

“As I said, Ava. I needed a job. Begger’s can’t always be choosers.” With those words, she leaves.

I slump back in my seat. So, I understand Mrs. Brown. Working here is a matter of convenience for her. I can’t blame her for that. When my mom and I left my father, we didn’t have many options. She enrolled me in public school, where I worked my butt off to get into Yale because I wanted more opportunities in life.

I was going to become a professor myself. I love to learn, so I thought, why not learn the rest of my life? And teach it while I was at it?

But now, I doubt that will ever happen. Nikolai bought me. There’s no way he’s just letting me go. A man who buys someone will want to keep them forever.

Or until he kills them.

Kills me.

I shudder at the sight of the food.

I won’t accept anything from Nikolai Petrov. I would rather die than be a prisoner in this mansion the rest of my life.

And I want to do it on my own terms.

NIKOLAI

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