Chapter 6

Lilith's POV

"And why is that?" she asked angrily. I lifted up my face and looked at her for the very first time. A rush of anger swept through me, but I kept my cool.

"Maybe if I wasn't sore all over my body and covered in bruises, it wouldn't be so difficult to go to the bar and serve customers all day!" I wanted to say.

"Mother, I don't want to go to work looking like this. I would become a laughing stock all over again," I said, my eyes burning with unshed tears. Like I wasn't already a laughing stock? Like the scars on my face weren't already enough reason for people to laugh and scorn at me?

"You, my dear, would have to go to work. Certainly, people would understand that there are consequences for some actions," she scorned as she glared down at me. "Next time, you will think twice before coming back home so late," she spat.

I bowed my head down again, thoughts swimming through my mind. She turned around to leave, and just as she got to the door, she looked over her shoulder, "make sure you get my food ready before you leave, and be fast about that."

I sat on my bed with my head in my hands. I couldn't even get myself to cry because crying wouldn't solve any of the problems I was currently facing. I went and looked at myself again in the mirror. How was I going to cover all these bruises?

"Just wear big clothes; that way, no one will see your bruises," my inner thoughts reared. Yes, that is right. I would do just that. I will hide my bruises in clothes.

I managed to have my bath, but dressing up was a struggle as I couldn't wear clothes to cover my bruises. The pain when I tried was unbearable. I eventually wore clothes that allowed my wounds to be bare and breathe.

I went downstairs and cooked breakfast for my mum before leaving for the bar.

********

"Who did this to you? What happened?" Joseph, my beta manager, asked. He wore a frown on his face as his brows furrowed. I thought of giving him an excuse, any excuse at all. How could I tell him a mother had done this to her daughter? I couldn't even bring myself to say something like that.

"I fell down on my way home yesterday," I blurted out. He looked at me, totally confused. I played back what I had said in my head and realized that it made no sense. It was not possible for one to fall and get wounds like that. Maybe I should have just said I got attacked on my way home.

"Yeah right, can't you come up with any good lies at least, if you must tell a lie?" Joseph quizzed, folding his hands across his chest. He wasn't going to budge; he wasn't going to let it go until I told him what happened.

He was a caring man; having worked for him for years, I knew that at least. He tried as much as possible to be involved in the lives of his workers. He had often spoken ill of my mom for always maltreating me.

Yes, I had told him before how my mom would make me do everything and beat me if I made any mistake, but I had never told him how I came about my scarred face.

One time, after I came to work with a red cheek and told him it was my mother's doing, and that she had slapped me because the food I cooked was not to her taste, he was very angry and told me he would go home with me and talk to my mother about her behavior, but I had begged him severely not to do so.

I didn't want trouble at the time. Going home with me would make my mother very angry. She would probably pretend in front of him, but once he left, I would be sure to get the beating of my life.

She had often threatened me that if I breathed a word of what happens behind closed doors to anyone, she would have me killed. I was scared of her. A woman like her was not one to joke with; she just might carry out her threat.

"Talk to me, Lilith! Who did this to you?" Joseph growled. If he was angry before, right now, he was extremely furious. I couldn't talk; I didn't know what to say. I needed to think fast.

"I was attacked yesterday, I was attacked by a wolf on my way home," I said, my eyes brimming with tears.

"You were attacked? By who?"

"I don't know who it was, it was a wolf that attacked me. I shifted into my wolf too but couldn't fight back," I sobbed. I looked up at him, a worried look etched on his face. I continued with my lies; it seemed to be working, having its effect on him.

"It was obviously a male wolf; if not, how could he be so strong, digging into my flesh with his claws?" I brought out a handkerchief and wiped my tears. I was proud of myself for a job well done when I heard his voice.

"These wounds were not inflicted by the claws of a wolf, Lilith, you forget that I am over 100 years older than you," he said calmly, looking at me with concerned eyes. I couldn't meet his eyes. I had been caught lying again. Maybe I wasn't really a good liar; maybe I should just quit lying totally. The corner of his mouth twitched, and his question knocked me off balance.

"Did she do this to you?" he asked. I stiffened. Again, I couldn't say anything; I just looked at him with raised brows, as if I was completely unaware of what he was trying to say. Seeing that I was confused, he added, "Your mother, did she do this to you?"

My eyes burned. He had finally figured it out himself. There was no point in lying anymore. I didn't even want to lie. I resigned myself to the tears as they fell freely while I nodded my head in response to what he said.

He shut his eyes and pulled me in for a hug.

"Oh poor dear, it is a pity you have to go through all this at the hands of a woman you call mother," he said. The other workers were now beginning to come, one after the other, customers came too. They looked at me with pitiful, mocking eyes. Joseph, seeing what was happening, took me to his office.

My co-workers knew better than to bully me when Joseph was around. They knew he tolerated nothing of such at all. One time, he had sacked a colleague of mine, stopping him from coming to work because he had made jest of me, saying I would never find my mate with my face like that.

It had been very painful, for a while, I believed what he said and dwelt on it. Unknown to him, Joseph had overheard him from his office and called him aside later on. It wasn't until a week later that I realized he had stopped coming to work.

Rumors spread from one of his friends that he was sacked because he said something about me. He told them to be careful and tread lightly with me. He even mentioned that Joseph might actually be my father for looking out for me so much.

The thought made me chuckle. If only that was true. Growing up without a father had had its toll on me. It is every girl's dream to have a father figure in her life. Someone to teach her how she deserves to be treated. I had often wondered what it would be like to be "daddy's little girl."

"Sit down," Joseph ordered as we got to his office. I obeyed and sat down. He went around and sat behind his desk. He was obviously still angry about the revelation he had just uncovered himself.

We sat in silence as he gazed at me, probably thinking of what to say and how to say it. I waited patiently with my hands in my lap, wondering what he would say.

"This has to stop, I know it has been going on for a while, but we have to put a stop to it now before that woman kills you," he said. I gaped at him. "How are we supposed to do that?" I thought.

Was it even possible to make her stop? She had made it clear several times that nothing I do would make her love me. She hated my mere existence and wished I was never born. In her words, "I completely ruined her life."

I sighed at the thought swirling in my mind before shaking my head at what Joseph had just said. "She will never stop, Joseph, no one can make my mother stop," I said, my voice cracking.

"Even the king?" he asked, his brows raised. I gasped.