ログイン“You are an interesting woman,” he says finally, as though he has been collecting sentiments about me like curiosities. “I am not for your amusement,” I say. “Amusement is a generous way of putting it.” He turns his face to me and finally, which is nothing like mercy, he kisses me. It is a small t
“You will come with me tonight,” he says suddenly, and when I look at him the certainty in his eyes is a rope. “Where are we going?” I ask. I do not like the sound of my own voice in the dark halls. “To the club,” he says, as if the clubs he owns are nothing more than rooms he has arranged for his
The dinner goes on without ceremony. I wear a dress that fits like a promise and is less comfortable than anything else I own. The woman who dresses me fusses at the strap and at the hem with an intimacy that is practiced, like a ritual done daily for decades. The room where dinner is served is a pl
“You should not have broken a tray,” he says in that voice that is silk wrapped around steel. It makes everyone quiet because it is a voice that is treated like currency in this house. The words are simple but the way he says them says a thousand more complicated things. He is not angry the way I am
I come back from the memory to find sunlight in my eyes and orange juice dried on the carpet like the outline of a wound. My hands are trembling now for reasons I cannot name. The house clock in the hall ticks the way a heart does when it is being measured. There are noises behind the walls, small h
Oh God, I hate him. He is the center of everything I cannot control in this place. He is the reason doors close and keys rattle and the nights feel like traps. He is the reason my throat tastes like metal at dusk. He is also the reason, absurdly and against my every better judgment, that sometimes
~~ROMANO~~ “I hate all of you!” The words resound in my brain. Aurelia’s words. And I know it’s all zero’s on me. If only she knows… After making sure she’s secured inside the room, I lock the door and order for a bowl of warm water and salt to be brought up for her teeth. I would give anythin
~~AURELIA~~ My eyes sting with tears from the force of the slap. The taste of blood floods my mouth, metallic and hot. I spit, and a bloody tooth lands on the floor. “What the hell is wrong with you? She didn’t do anything!” Romano roars. Oh, now you care? A girl shrieks. A chair scrapes across
Glancing at Romano for help is a mistake. And I don’t dare look Estela in the eyes. “I honestly don’t know how to open my thoughts to you,” I say carefully. “Liar!” She slams a glass against the wall. Shards rain down. No one moves. “You’re playing hard to get, aren’t you, golden girl? You think
~~AURELIA~~ It’s night, and I’ve been waiting for Romano, but he never shows up with my food. Instead, a guy with a deep blond mustache brings in a tray of apples and a bowl of enchiladas. I’m too drained to try anything stupid, so I let myself eat. I’ll need the strength if I’m ever going to run.







