Page 10 of Maxim

I know he doesn’t want a response, so I keep my mouth closed.

“Time and time again, you disappoint me. You are not the good girl that I’ve trained you to be. Such a disappointment…”

What is he talking about? How am I not good? Night after night I do what he asks without any pushback. I do things I don’t even want to do, but it’s never enough. If anyone is a disappointment, it’s him.

“Daughters.” He scoffs. “They aren’t good for anything. All they do is cause problems. Your sister is still young, so she might be moldable, but if she’s anything like you…then we know how that will end. Maybe I should have killed her when I had the chance.” He shakes his head.

I think of my sweet baby sister and how sweet she is. How can he say such cruel things? She’s just a child!

My mind flashes to right after she was born, and I overheard her birth mother talking about running away with her. Maybe she had the right idea. If I ever get out of here, maybe I’ll take the kids and run. I don’t know if I’ll make it far, but the least I could do is try.

“At least your brother does as I ask. Women are useless, but men, they are the future. They are the heirs we need,” he rants.

My heart clenches as he mentions my siblings. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s not wrong. Alek would do anything he asks. He’s a son seeking his father’s approval after all. Meanwhile, for Daryna, he’s basically a stranger. He’s just a man who lives in the same house and makes his presence known every so often. As wrong as it is to admit, I try to protect her a little more than I do Alek.

“I’m sick of your disobedience, and it’s time you learn what the consequences are,” he says, pulling me back into the present.

I lick my dry lips and force the words out. “I’m sorry, Father, I’ll do better next time. I promise.”

Father tsks. “There is no next time, Olena. I’m done. Tonight you earned yourself a trip to the market.”

My heart crashes to the floor. No, no, no. I’ve heard rumors of what the market is, and if they are true…

“No, Father, please. Give me another chance,” I beg.

The image of my brother and sister flashes in my head. If he sends me to auction, it will be terrible for me, but it will mean my siblings will be left alone. Who will protect them?

He shakes his head. “There are no more chances, Olena. As of tonight, you will not see your siblings ever again. You should have thought of them before you acted out tonight.”

I press my palms together in front of my chest and scoot forward on my knees as tears track down my face. “Please, Father…”

His eyes soften for a moment before they harden once again. “Oh, how pretty you beg, my sweet Olena. Some man will devour you.”

I choke back a sob.

“But before I send you to the madam to increase your training, I’ll have to punish you.”

My body shakes as he walks past me and opens his office door. As he speaks to the guard outside, I move from my knees to my butt.

I want to plead my case, try to get him to change his mind, but if there is one thing that I’ve learned after living with my father for eighteen years, it’s that once he’s made up his mind, there is no changing it. If he says I’m gone, I’m gone.

God, why can’t he just kill me? I would prefer death over being sold as a slave.

God, I’m a slave. What kind of man am I going to end up with?

I start to gag as it hits me that I’m going to be forced to have sex with a man I’m not in love with.

It could be a woman too, I guess.

“Up,” Father demands.

Slipping slightly on my tears, I scramble to my feet, keeping my head down.

I watch in horror as he pours rice onto the floor between us. Most people don’t think anything when they see dry rice, but I know better. It’s one of his favorite forms of punishment.

“Hands and knees. Before you can ask, I haven’t decided how long you’ll be down there. I guess it depends on how quiet you stay,” he demands as the last of the rice hits the ground.

Wordlessly I get into position. I bite my tongue as the rice starts to bite into my palms and knees. The taste of copper fills my mouth. Demeaning doesn’t even begin to cover how it feels to be on your hands and knees in nothing but skimpy underwear in front of your father.

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