NINE

Hazel had always thought cages were made of bars. Metal. Locks. Chains.

But here, in Edwin’s mansion, the cage was silk and glass.

The doors were never locked, but the guards in the hallways made sure she couldn’t go anywhere without being seen. The food was perfect, but it had no taste. The clothes were beautiful, but they weren’t hers. And worst of all, the silence. The kind of silence that made her feel as if she screamed, no one would hear.

Three days. That’s all it had been since Edwin took her. And already, she felt herself shrinking, like the mansion’s walls were pressing in on her.

Her only lifeline was the memory of Charles.

Every night, she touched the small bracelet he had given her in middle school. Every morning, she whispered his name under her breath. But tonight, the need to hear his voice gnawed at her so fiercely that it made her reckless.

The maid who had been “assigned” to her, Miriam had a phone. Hazel had noticed it tucked into her apron pocket. Miriam was careful with it, never leaving it unattended, but that evening after dinner, Hazel caught her at the end of the hallway, distracted while speaking to another servant.

Hazel’s heart thundered. This was her chance.

She slipped into her room, closed the door softly, and pressed her ear against it. Footsteps faded. The hallway went quiet. She exhaled shakily, her pulse so loud it filled her head.

Hazel pulled the phone out from under her pillow. She had lifted it earlier, just for this moment. Her hands trembled as she unlocked it, she’d watched Miriam enough times to memorize the four-digit code.

She dialed Charles’s number from memory.

The phone rang. Once. Twice.

Then, his voice.

“Hazel?”

Hazel bit back a sob. “Charles. It’s me.”

“Hazel!” His voice cracked. She could hear background noise, announcements, rolling wheels, and the echo of a busy place. “Where are you? I’ve been trying no one answers me. I thought…I thought…”

“I’m okay,” she whispered, though her throat ached with lies. “I’m at Edwin’s. They took me. Charles… It’s horrible. I can’t breathe here.”

Silence. Then a deep inhale from his side. “Listen, Hazel. I only have two hours. Two hours before my flight leaves.”

Hazel’s stomach dropped. “Flight? What do you mean?”

“I…I got the scholarship. The Amedeo fountain scholarship in Italy. I didn’t want to tell you like this, but… Hazel, I can’t stay. If I miss this chance, I’ll lose everything. I’ll lose the only way I can become someone strong. Someone who can protect you.”

Hazel pressed the phone tighter to her ear, her heart splitting. “So you’re leaving? Now? When I need you most?”

“Hazel.” His voice was steady, but beneath it, she heard his own breaking. “This is the only way. If I stay, I’m nothing. But if I go, if I survive this, I promise, I’ll come back. I’ll come back for you. Stronger. Ready.”

Tears streamed down her face. She slid down to the floor, curling against the bed frame. “Don’t leave me, Charles. Please. I can’t…”

“I’ll never leave you,” he said quickly, fiercely. “Not in here,” she heard him thump his chest through the phone, “and not out there. Two hours, Hazel. And then I’ll be gone. But I swear, when I return, no one will ever cage you again.”

Hazel pressed her fist to her mouth to stop the sobs. “You’d better keep that promise.”

A faint laugh broke through his voice, rough and wet with unshed tears. “You’ll see. Hazel, remember this, you’re stronger than you think. Don’t let Edwin break you. Don’t let anyone tell you who you are. You’re Hazel. My Hazel.”

And then “Final boarding call for passengers” echoed in the background.

“I have to go,” Charles whispered. “Hazel hold on for me.”

The line went dead.

Hazel sat frozen on the cold floor, staring at the phone in her lap. The silence that followed was louder than anything she had ever heard.

The next day, Hazel woke up feeling emptier than before.

Miriam hovered as always, quiet and cold. Hazel handed back the phone, her face carefully blank. Miriam didn’t notice or maybe she did, but chose not to say anything.

Breakfast was served in the cavernous dining hall. Hazel sat alone at one end of the long table, the golden cutlery gleaming, the eggs perfectly cooked, the tea steaming. She ate nothing. The silence suffocated her.

At the bungalow, even a meal of plain rice and pepper sauce had felt alive,.Marie’s laughter, Daniel’s chatter, Charles’s jokes. Here, the food might as well have been ash.

Later, Edwin summoned her to the study.

He didn’t look at her when she entered. He was on the phone, his voice calm but commanding. Hazel lingered by the door, waiting until he waved her forward.

“You’ll begin lessons tomorrow,” Edwin said flatly. “Etiquette, language, business. You must be shaped into someone worthy of standing beside me. Do not argue.”

Hazel’s jaw clenched. She said nothing.

“Do you understand?” His voice was like steel.

Hazel lifted her chin. “I understand,” she said, but inside she whispered, I will never be yours.

Edwin’s eyes narrowed, as if he could hear her thoughts. Then he dismissed her with a flick of his hand.

That night, Hazel returned to her room and collapsed on the bed.

She pressed Charles’s words into her memory Hold on for me.

But the mansion was too big. The silence is too loud. She needed something, anything, to remind her that she wasn’t completely alone.

She found it when she stepped onto the balcony. The night air hit her face, cool and sharp. For the first time since arriving, she felt she could breathe.

She looked up at the stars. Somewhere out there, Charles was on a plane, chasing a future he promised would lead back to her.

Hazel gripped the railing, her tears finally falling freely. “Come back to me,” she whispered. “Please.”

The cage was closing in tighter every day. But as long as she had his promise, she swore she wouldn’t break.